When Vivek Pethe read that the price of a bitcoin had surged five times between January and September 2017, he couldn’t resist jumping on the cryptocurrency bandwagon. Pethe started small. In June 2017, he invested Rs 11,000 in bitcoins and another Rs 15,000 in ATC Coin, an Indian cryptocurrency.
Although his Rs 15,000 investment in ATC Coin quickly grew to Rs 1.82 lakh, Pethe started having doubts when he tried to withdraw Rs 5,000 from his holdings. He was unable to execute the sell order smoothly. The computer screen just flashed ‘operational error’ messages. When that was resolved, and he was finally able to sell them, the money wasn’t credited to his bank account right away. “I finally received the money three months later, that too after many follow ups with the firm. I am not sure if I’ll be able to recover my remaining investment in this scheme,” he says.
While this incident prompted Pethe to sell his bitcoin stash immediately and vow to steer clear of such investments in the future, cryptocurrency exchanges claim that around 2,500 new users in India are entering the market every day. Gopal Jiwarajka, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry says, “Bitcoin is fraught with risks and not backed by any tangible asset. But the number of investors is still growing, which is a concern.”