- Would you like to share what motivated you to start a Crypto exchange in India despite non-regulations?
In 2017, when I tried using Indian cryptocurrency exchanges to buy crypto, I was disappointed with the experience. Having built a global product (Crowdfire), I realized that the Indian exchanges were far behind their international peers in terms of UX, and transparency. So we decided to build WazirX – a world-class trading exchange for Indians. - What is WazirX and what would you say are the main advantages that WazirXhas over other exchanges in the market today?
We’re building WazirX as India’s most trusted cryptocurrency exchange, and we’re very transparent with our communication. Our advantage is that we have a strong product and team that continues innovating to give our users a superb experience. After the RBI’s ban on crypto, we innovated and came up with the world’s first auto-matching P2P system which makes WazirX P2P the fastest way to convert Fiat Crypto and vice versa. It’s also free. Within 7 months of launch, we crossed 18 Million USD worth of P2P trades on our platform. We’re seeing multiple trade matches every minute, and we’re the fastest in India! - What benefits do you see being brought to the crypto space by providing margin and leverage trading? Do you see any possible downsides?
The overall trading volume increases, and it’s a good thing as it brings in more liquidity in crypto. It also helps those who want greater exposure to crypto but do not have enough funds to match their appetite. Drawback can be the ability of an exchange to liquidate at the right time. Since crypto is a relatively new sector, not all coins have good liquidity globally. Due to this, there is a risk of loss during a liquidation event. - Recently, the big thing in the crypto space has been ETFs. What are your thoughts on the Bitcoin ETF? Do you think that with Bitcoin’s extreme volatility, an ETF will ever be approved?
Bitcoin ETF would be a welcome addition to the crypto ecosystem. It would allow institutional money and first-time buyers to take a position in crypto without having to actually deal with the handling of crypto. Traditional exchanges can offer ETF to their customers without needing to change their infrastructure. I see this as an easier onboarding of traditional investors to the new world of crypto investments.
- What initially got you interested in cryptocurrencies and where do you see crypto in next 5 years?
The technology, and the power it gives back to the public. Major players like JP Morgan are jumping into the movement, and within the next 5 years, crypto will become mainstream, and we’ll see more and more use-cases of crypto come to life.
- WazirX is now a global crypto exchange so how is the response you are getting from the international crypto users?
Our international sign ups are growing every day, and so many of them have been asking us to launch P2P in their country. We plan to launch P2P in the countries with the highest demand first. I’m sure that due to its unique features, WazirX P2P will solve the fiat <> crypto conversion problem for users across the globe. - Crypto World is moving towards decentralization, do you have any plans for the decentralized Exchange?
We’ll definitely ensure that WazirX evolves its technology as the crypto world progresses. Decentralized exchange technology isn’t matured yet. I’m sure it will mature in the future and whenever that happens, we’ll make the switch to a decentralized protocol for our exchange. - You are running #Indiawantscrypto campaign on Twitter and getting a good response from the Indian community did you expect to get such response from the Indian community?
I didn’t expect to get such a phenomenal response from the community! I started the #IndiaWantsCrypto to clear the misconceptions and FUD surrounding cryptocurrencies, and urge our government to regulate crypto positively.
I’ve been tweeting to the government and decision makers every day for almost 170 days, and it’s good to see so many people from our Indian crypto community join in. It’s gaining momentum and has been picked up by national and international media. We need to keep spreading the word, and I’m sure our voices will be heard.
- The weather is still foggy for the Crypto Regulations in India, what do you think will be the possible outcome from the Indian government?
We’re waiting for the July hearing, and positive that the government won’t let us down. With positive regulations in place, the banks will have to support the crypto businesses and traders. We’re already the fastest growing crypto exchange in India, and post regulations, with more Indians joining the crypto bandwagon, I’m sure our volumes will go up.
In the current scenario (with no regulation), we have P2P. In case the government decides against regulating crypto, it will force businesses to move out of India. I don’t think the government wants it.
- .What are your future plans for WazirX?
For now, our sole focus is on bringing in new features, and listing all the top cryptos on
CoinMarketCap. - How do you deal with the bot trading on WazirX?
You need to “deal with something” if it’s about faking data on an exchange. For example, exchanges sometimes fake their trading volumes in order to attract traders to their platform. I would like to clarify that all the volume and liquidity you see on WazirX is real. If you put an order to match an existing order, it will execute. WazirX has never faked its volume and will never do that.
As far as someone using bots to trade on an exchange is concerned, that’s a good thing for customers. Every exchange has APIs, and customers are free to use those APIs to automate their trading activity. In fact, it’s very common and exists even in the traditional securities markets. - We have seen many exchanges are doing IEO nowadays, can we see any IEO in the coming time on WazirX?
We do not have immediate plans for IEOs. We have just started our international rollout and are focusing our efforts on taking the WazirX P2P platform to every country on earth. People in the majority of developing and under-developed countries are facing banking issues while buying crypto and WazirX P2P is going to solve that problem. Solving this will help us onboard millions of users to crypto. - We have seen many crypto exchange hacking news recently, how do you keep WazirX secure? Can users trust the WazirX blindly?
User safety is our top priority. We keep doing security audits and improving our infrastructure regularly, so our users have nothing to worry about. - What are your thoughts on Crypto adoption in India?
More and more people are becoming aware of crypto, and wanting to pursue a career in Blockchain. Positive regulation will give a huge push to crypto adoption in India with more startups building projects on the blockchain. - Anything you want to say to our audience? And where they can find you to connect if they want to ask something?
Let’s keep talking about crypto, and clearing misconceptions around it. We need to work together to keep the crypto fire burning in India. You can connect with me on Twitter @NischalShetty.
Also Read: CEO of Civic Says Coin Has the Potential to Beat Bitcoin to Start a Bull Run
Fireside chat on #IndiaWantsCrypto with Nischal Shetty
