Cryptocurrency Adoption in India: Raftaar's Payment & Growing Artist Interest

The news of rapper Raftaar accepting cryptocurrency instead of actual currency as a performance fee is doing the rounds across online media.

Raftaar accepted cryptocurrency for an event that is scheduled for the second week of July. The virtual 60-minute event will be hosted in Canada, Ottawa for a private gathering of 100 people.

Raftaar is not the first artist who has shown interest in digital currencies. According to a report, cryptocurrency has already won the approval of many global artists such as 50 Cent, Mariah Carey, G-Eazy, Sia, Fall Out Boy, the Backstreet Boys and Lana Del Rey. In India, the rise of cryptocurrency as payment grew after the supreme court clarified the legality of the asset class.

Today, more and more investors are eyeing cryptocurrencies in their investment plans and strategies. There is no official data, but industry analysts project that there are 15 million crypto investors in India holding more than US$1.37bn.

“The Indian market is huge, and it is only starting to grow, if there was more policy certainty by now, Indian consumers would have been spoiled for choice in terms of exchanges because everyone wants to be here,” said Kumar Gaurav, founder of digital bank Cashaa.

Moreover, digital currency exchanges across the world are exploring ways to set up operations in India. Many Indian banks have also begun to collaborate with cryptocurrency exchanges. There were also rumors that RBI is looking to launch its own digital currency.

“It’s clear that the rewards outweigh the perceived risks, which is luring these global firms to the Indian market,” said Darshan Bathija, chief executive officer of Vauld, a foreign crypto exchange with a presence in India.