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Crypto-Friendly Banking Platform Cashaa Expanding in India, US, Africa

source-logo  news.bitcoin.com 06 September 2020 01:00, UTC

Crypto-Friendly Banking Platform Cashaa Expanding in India, US, Africa

Crypto banking platform Cashaa has unveiled plans to expand its services in India, the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean. In India, the company aims to create “the first crypto-friendly banking platform” that is regulated by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Cashaa’s CEO has shared with news.Bitcoin.com.

Cashaa Unveils Expansion Plans

London-based crypto-friendly banking platform Cashaa has unveiled its expansion plans, having raised $5 million from Dubai-based blockchain investment and advisory firm O1ex. “As a part of its expansion plans, Cashaa is set to launch its global banking services,” the company announced Wednesday.

Cashaa CEO Kumar Gaurav told news.Bitcoin.com: “At the onset, we are looking at fast-maturing markets such as India, which has tremendous potential in terms of not only having a sturdy economic base but a healthy banking and financial ecosystem backed by technology. A market that has the potential of adding 100 million users within the next 2 years.”

He noted that in India Cashaa is “already the largest liquidity provider and offshore bankers for most of the major crypto exchanges,” elaborating:

We will soon launch our neobank that will enable crypto-friendly banking in India, regulated under the Reserve Bank of India.

“This is a bold move and will require a lot of back and forth between the stakeholders,” he continued, adding that his company already provides GBP, EUR, and USD business accounts to customers. With the Indian expansion, INR business accounts will also be available.

India’s cryptocurrency market has been growing rapidly ever since the country’s supreme court quashed the RBI circular that banned financial institutions from providing services to crypto businesses. India currently does not have any direct crypto regulations, but there are rumors of the government discussing the bill submitted by the inter-ministerial committee headed by former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, which seeks to ban cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. However, the Indian crypto industry firmly believes that this bill is outdated and will not be the one the government introduces.

“The Indian government is currently engaging with various stakeholders and trying to work out a solution. India today stands at a juncture, where it can actually embrace the digital currency ecosystem as it is pushing for the digital revolution and is leading the way in the fintech segment,” Gaurav opined.

Cashaa will also focus on the U.S. next year, the CEO explained. “We have already started issuing USD accounts regulated by the Banking Division of Colorado to our existing business customers as beta users,” he further shared with news.Bitcoin.com, adding that some crypto clients already using Cashaa’s USD accounts include Nexo, Coindcx, and Unocoin.

Besides India and the U.S., Gaurav said, “Africa and the Caribbean islands are in our purview.” Citing that most African nations face political instability and many people have lost faith in their local currencies, he confirmed:

We are also going to explore Africa and the Caribbean islands in 2021.

“These islands are heavily dependent on markets that trade in USD. Now Cashaa is the right fit to step into these islands and help their banking systems by providing solutions,” the CEO emphasized.

Cashaa’s platform currently supports bitcoin, Cashaa’s native token, ethereum, and tether. “Other leading cryptocurrencies such as ripple, litecoin, bitcoin cash, and EOS will be added in 2021,” the company detailed in Wednesday’s announcement. It also claimed that more than 100 crypto companies are already using the beta version of its banking system and over 1,500 crypto companies worldwide are waiting to be onboarded. Furthermore, Cashaa announced that it will use some of the funds raised to cover the losses from the July Delhi hack.

news.bitcoin.com