UK blockchain firm to build crypto banks in India

October 27, 2020
By Sam Grant

The London-based Fintech firm is looking to open a number of physical crypto branches and operations in Northern India

The blockchain company, Cashaa, announced yesterday it will be collaborating with India’s United Multistate Credit Cooperative Society to develop a new venture. The two seek to jointly build a crypto-friendly institution dubbed UNICAS and will include 34 physical branches.

The operation will be primarily based in Northern India as well as covering the state of Rajasthan and renowned cities  such as Gujarat and Delhi. According to the announcement, Cashaa will be seeking to expand the network to 100 physical locations by next year. The company believes that the venture will facilitate the access of crypto products by interested users.

This comes just over a month since the crypto banking platform unveiled its expansion plans to regions like the Caribbean, Africa, and the US. The company had raised about $5 million from Dubai-based O1ex to facilitate the plans.

At the beginning of this month, Cashaa introduced a provision to allow its Indian users to open an account for buying and storing its native token CAS, as well as other cryptocurrencies. Cashaa also has plans to allow its users to set their crypto assets as collateral for loans.

The company’s founder and CEO, Kumar Gaurav, talked about the interest in India saying “Most Indians are not aware or are misinformed about cryptocurrency as an online product and they tend to trust what they see or what the government recognizes and recommends. India is still largely a cash-based economy despite a demonetization drive. We intend to address both issues which are slowing the process of cryptocurrency adoption.”

The latest reports emerging from India concerning the status of cryptocurrencies suggests that the news about the Indian Government considering a ban on crypto was false. No bill was proposed to ban cryptocurrencies when India’s Parliament met for the Monsoon Session in September.

Cashaa’s CEO expressed his opinion, saying that the reports on a possible crypto ban in India were nothing but speculative stories. He went on to add that he did not believe regulations would be a stumbling block to the venture.