Bitcoin and altcoins are gaining popularity in India. As one of the top users from my country on Steemit, I often get asked a lot about getting started with investing in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general from Indian users on Facebook. Today, I thought it would be a good idea to share a few tips to help you make your first investment in Bitcoin or any other alt-coin of your choice if you are from India.
India is adding over 200,000 users monthly. These are just the official numbers but if you account for p2p trades, then the figure is even higher. Our economy has 1.3 billion people ergo 200K/monthly signups on our exchanges is a tiny number but as you can tell, there's a HUGE room for growth! Imagine if a small percentage bought and held Steem!
It's obvious that Steem can benefit from increased crypto adoption in India. Bitcoin is currently the number one gateway to crypto for most users in India. Bitcoin allows you to get involved in this entire space including any Steem blockchain based application rewarding it's users in Steem cryptocurrency.
Getting Started
- Signup for an account on CoinSecure, Coinome, Koinex or Zebpay.
- Complete your KYC process and you are good to proceed.
- This is a completely transparent process when you need to submit your PAN.
- If you plan on trading regularly, you will be liable for Tax. I will cover that bit later on.
- For anonymous purchases you can try LocalBitcoins at your own risk.
Wallet & Fund Security
I recommend you transferring out your bitcoin and holding it on Greenaddress.it or Blockchain.info. If you are purchasing in large sums or have a lot of other alt-coins I recommend you get a Legder Wallet or similar device. Both these services are secure with your funds. You can use Exodus, Jaxx or a similar service for holding alt-coins.
However, it is your responsibility to maintain the highest level of security. Hence, always use 2 factor authentication with Authy application on your mobile devices. This will greatly reduce chances of any theft.
HODL Steem
As a stakeholder of this platform, it is my duty to promote what I think is one of the best blockchains in the market as well as an undervalued cryptocurrency.
You can create a free account with Steemit, steeminvite.com or Anonsteem and get started.
Once you have your bitcoin you can use Changelly, @blocktrades or Shapeshift for a quick exchange to Steem currency. Changelly has some of the lowest fees. If you have knowledge of trading or if you plan on trading regularly then Bittrex or Binance-(alt-coins only as Steem isn't listed yet) are a good choice as well. You can use these exchanges to buy Steem or other alt-coins.
Steemit wallet is one of the most secure wallets in the crypto space. You can safely hold your Steem and SBD tokens at Steemit.com as SP or in Savings.
Managing the Taxman!
If you are a regular trader or user of Steemit you might incur tax liability if you are consistently cashing out Bitcoin into Rupees.
You can read my detailed guide on managing your taxes here! You can verify these guidelines with your auditor, do your due diligence and proceed to avoid running into any problems with the government for non-payment of taxes.
Remember to talk about Steem and facts about it's blockchain to your friends when you discuss cryptocurrencies.
You can also watch @heiditravels and her YouTube Channel Crypto Tips for new information from the world of cryptocurrencies and further educate yourself.
Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments and I will happy to answer them.
If you like my work kindly resteem it to your friends. You may also continue reading my recent posts which might interest you:
- I'm Getting Hooked To Steepshot! Have You Tried It Yet?
- Let's Talk—Has Your Personal Finance Improved From Using Steemit?
- Steemit.Chat Contest #8 + Contest #7 Winners Announcement!
Crypto is MAde for india! ICICI bank and their 'investments' are a laughing stock compared to crypto!
I have a good dear friend who wants to get some, but he doesn't want an Aadhar card.. Is it possible to get it with just a PAN? If so please do share so i can help him out.
many thanks!
First commenter! :). Obviously, I'm not Indian, but everything about what's going on in the crypto world is extremely interesting to me at the moment. Such an exciting time! Kay
It is indeed! :D
Aw, seeing your name made me smile BIG! Yay! Hi friend!
there is big gap in bitcoin price between india and other countries....In india btc is around 22,000 $ and in usa it is 20,000$...if we buy bitcoin in zebpay and then convert it into steem on blocktrade....lot of money gone in waste in that conversion ..because blocktrade convert acc. to USA btc price.....what to do to buy steem @firepower ?
Buy Bitcoin from Cex.io using credit card. Go to Bittrex and get your Bitcoin converted to Steem.
Though Cex.io has high price but it is still less than what zebpay is offering. Changelly charges are also high. So, trading bitcoin instead of Steem on Bittrex is better option. I also bought the Steem using same procedure. It will save some of your money.
I want to invest into cryptocurrency, I'm in India and I calculated about a 26 percent premium charged by Unocoin based on the mi- market rates. These guys are really taking a HUGE cut from all Indians who want to get on the Bitcoin train. Spectrocoin is on backlog from the huge user interest. Just used cex.io still paid a bomb
why don't you try koinex.in or CoinDelta?? The prices there are very reasonable. Just to mention here that both have stopped withdrawals and deposits as of now. So you may have to wait for some time. Unocoin is very expensive. I never use it.
Just an update coindelta has start deposits. Buy coins from there.
I mean with BTC prices skyrocketing I think it makes more sense to try cloud mining because of higher returns. https://hashflare.io/r/7487B9DC 10% OFF voucher: 7487B9DC-10OFF
I want to, actually, thanks. Why this one over others?
India, being one of the most untapped potential on the planet, is about to explode and this sort of knowledge is only helping us all out making dreams out of reality a reality!
Thank you so very much for all this information, namaste :)
True that! Thank you for stopping by Eric!
My pleasure and I look forward to reading more coming from your end! Namaste :)
So if I use Bittrex exchange for trading, that would make my bitcoin taxable. hmmm?
Nope. It wont' but if you withdraw to your bank account in India via any Indian exchange then it becomes taxable. Read my post on taxes to gain more insight into the procedures.
Ok, I just read it. So, taxes are higher in all 4-5 categories into which gains can be categorized, and if income more than 10 lacs, only then 30% taxes. thanks!
beautiful my friend
Also for people who are here a bit longer, it is good transparent information.
Thanks !
Thank you so much for the brilliant info.
When will I get to see you on some finance magazine's cover? Never did I get information with such detail on any other blog (not saying this based on this post alone). If crypto-currency has a future in India, you would probably be a boffin in the field.
Hey friend, I am from India. Your post is really very helpful.
Thanks for sharing these amazing tips.
good my friend
That fable tax man
I'm as thrill as you are with Steem but I have enough place in my heart for 2 cryptos.
I think Bitshares is worth at very least as much as Steem. It's hard to understand it at the beginning and that's why it's so undervalued ... but not for long !
True that!
Thank you @firepower for the useful information. Could you tell me any multi-currency crypto wallet? Is hedger multi-currency?
I would recommend Exodus (will update my post), Jaxx, Ledger Wallet Nano S (cold storage) and MyEthereumWallet for ERC20 tokens. I've used these so far and I'm quite satisfied with the features they provide so far.
Thank you. It is easy if there is a multi-currency wallet. I looked online but reviews were misleading. Are these wallets available for indians?
None of these wallets restrict use geographically. I suggest you spend some time and understand how each one works. :)
I will surely do that part. Thank you for your suggestions.
I'm not from India but it was worthy to read through your article here :) Thanks!
Thank you for reading! :)
Useful and informative thanks 🙏 for sharing.
Thanks. Please feel free to share it in your circles where this information is required.
Great post dear @firepower
Hi friend thanks for the great information, which is very important for us. Yes we should keep our key safe, your tips are applicable and realistic. Thanks, I have to discuss with you very personal matter which I can't ask here if I get your cell number, it will be very helpful to me. Wish you a very good day friend happy steeming.
Gone through all posts and conclusion is: 30% of your profit if what you earned is more than 10lakh.
Hmmm, so is there any specific amount that is taxable? Like for freelancers in India, if their revenue is more than 1 Lakh that revenue is taxable. Is there any such parameters on taxable income from crypto? or whatever you earn is taxable?
That is an Easy Guide to Get Started with the Crypto and Steemit. It could not get anymore AASAAN BAASHA. Thanks @firepower for this guide as it would definitely benefit the new comers. As I recall my beginning to this whole new world, it took around a month or more to absorb much of the things in blockchain or crypto and i still am a learner. But this guide will surely prove a head start for many new comers esp from India.
P.S. Stay away from Poloniex exchange guys. Atleast for now as it is freezes your deposits quite often, sometimes even months. Poloniex exchange is a lucrative one but distressing as well.
Thanks a lot for this post, I was just about to send you a long message on FB as well but just held it up after seeing this post. As of now trying to learn whatever possible in this new world to me and your posts are helping out a lot. Looking forward to learn more in time to come.
Thank you. I'm thrilled to see you join the platform! :)
the taxes are the biggest headache, so thanks for writing about that!
Very helpful post. It should reach to mass, resteemed. Keep posting more about taxation and exchanges. Tax is the most critical part nowadays that we should care about
Will do. thanks for reading.
Very very useful i agree
Hey, fellow mate! You've been on point! I wish I could publish this on any nationwide newspaper!
Hi @firepower Thanks for sharing this very informative post,as i am an Indian,this post is very helpful for me.
You said
But as i know that Steem is registered on Bitterx- Take a look here
Please correct me if i am wrong here.
I mentioned in brackets that Steem is not listed on Binance. Bittrex it is listed.
Ohh! Got it
Nice to see an indian as a top of steemit. Wish to meet u on discord. It is really helpful for all indian users. Thanks @firepower
nice one
Nice information sharing
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Hi @firepower, I really need your help. Can I chat with you, in discord, or steemit.chat? Thanks
Resteeming! This is exactly what i needed when I joined steemit and I had no clue, everything was so confusing. Brilliant post for new comers. Thanks!!!
India is a huge market and indians have potential to do any task, i daily read your post that boost me up to indulge more and more with steemit family. Thanks
much needed to read for indinan user who are confused with BTC because some things to know and without proper information its always creat doubt and this post as well as your last post about btc for india is perfect and will many way helpful.
Thanks for this insight of Bitcoin and how to get into it. I registered at Koinex and submitted by KYC documents today, hope to start investing soon.
Keep this coming as this will help us to know more about cryptocurrency and how to gain out of it.
This is so useful !! I need to make some of the Thai version. So many people want to join but don't understand how it works. we have such a wonderful place and it is such a shame that potential steemians wouldn't join because they claim that it is too complicate.
Nice article. Resteemed!
Good to see some niceblog from india for india.
Thanks!!!