Bitcoin rebounds in India too, rises 20% in 3 days to wipe off losses

Bitcoin bounced back from a major crash over the weekend and traded 24 per cent higher at Rs 2,79,262 per unit in India on September 18 from Rs 2,25,121 on September 15, data available with Zebpay showed.

Zebpay is an app-enabled bitcoin wallet provider headquartered in Singapore with IT offices in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Ahmedabad. It is involved in sale and purchase of bitcoins since 2011. It started India’s first bitcoin exchange in 2012.

The non-fiat currency had tumbled nearly 35 per cent between September 1 and September 15 to hit a low of Rs 2,25,121.

Reports said the crypto-currency recovered globally as traders in China switched to alternative exchanges or sought loopholes in regulation after a major crackdown.

The currency came under strong pressure after BTCChina, one of the biggest bitcoin exchanges in the world, last week said it would shut down all trading activities on its platform from September 30 after the regulators clamped down on crypto-currencies.

JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon last week said he would fire any employee trading in bitcoin for being ‘stupid’.

A Reuters report said JPMorgan Chase has been routing customer orders for bitcoin-related instruments, a spokesman said on Monday, despite the bank’s chief executive calling the crypto-currency “a fraud.”

Like other Wall Street banks, JPMorgan acts as an agent for buyers and sellers of bitcoin XBT, an exchange-traded note designed to track the value of the crypto-currency.

Crypto-currencies, also called virtual currencies, are created and held electronically. Bitcoin, invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, is commonly known as a decentralised digital currency.

“The future of bitcoin as currency will be more controlled and regulated by governments, which will eventually reduce the volatility. It will devise a new method of payments for websites, social media and freelancers,” said Hitesh Malviya, a bitcoin expert.

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