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Indian cryptocurrency exchange CrossTower regulates digital assets trading and investing for institutional and professional traders. With the launch of its personalised over the counter (OTC) services, it aims to help high net-worth individuals with trading in cryptocurrency assets by providing liquidity information on various cryptocurrencies. In conversation with FE.coms Ritarshi Banerjee, Vikas Ahuja, chief executive officer, CrossTower India, talks about the companys revenue projections and the growth potential of Indian markets. (edited excerpts)

With cryptocurrency investments rising for the past two years, what was CrossTower Indias revenue growth for FY22. What about FY23?

We have been in the Indian market for just six-seven months, as our products were launched on September 7, 2021. The products are taking time to stabilise because we are adding features to them. Still, in this span of time, we have acquired almost 5,00,000 customers. In terms of trading volume and revenue growth, it is at the preliminary stage as we havent started with our marketing campaigns but we are anticipating growth.

What is CrossTower Indias marketing strategy, and how much has it invested in that area?

The areas we will focus on include digital, social media, webinars, podcasts, print and TV, amongst others. In fact, we plan to have a session with industry veterans soon. The objective is to educate customers and traders. Neither do we give investment advice, nor do we market cryptocurrency as a getting rich scheme. Cryptocurrency needs to be treated like any asset class, with thorough analysis and study before one invests. So, the core message behind our mentioned marketing strategies would be to educate the customers. At CrossTower, we believe that customers should be acquainted with details before buying and selling tokens. For the coming quarter, we want to focus on marketing.

How will CrossTower Indias crypto investment plan (CIP) benefit the customers?

We have launched two schemes. The asset-bucketing scheme has been created for using mutual funds so customers can utilise their digital wallets, and the real-product scheme for customers to keep their cryptocurrency tokens as collateral which would reward them with a rate of interest. In addition, we are working on a simulation platform where people would be able to buy and sell using simulated digital currency.

How does CrossTower India assist budding cryptocurrency platform developers?

Our entire technology is based on blockchain, which has a number of user cases. Cryptocurrency and NFTs are applications to that technology. If NFTs are utilised properly, it can help not only young cryptocurrency developers but also other sections of the society such as tribal arts. We have just launched our beta version of the NFT platform, along with having training programs for blockchain developers. India has got talented developers is what we believe in.

In a regulations lacking country like India, how can one maintain their cryptocurrency portfolio?

We, as an exchange, remain focused towards KYC. With the regulatory clarity still missing in India, we make sure to follow all the standards and protocols assuming regulations will be implemented soon. A customer should invest only with that exchange which has a proven infrastructure and is backed by a technology-based team. A thorough research on the company must also be done. Since the day we launched, there has been no down-time. Our infrastructure has been made for institutional clients, which ensured our running of operations even in the days of heavy trading. My advice to all young developers is for them to have a background research on the exchange before investing.

In terms of growth, where do you see cryptocurrency markets for years to come?

For answering this question, we need to take into account the development of bitcoin throughout the years, and how companies have started to accept it. For example, online payments company PayPal has started to allow customers to trade in cryptocurrencies on their platforms. With currencies going digital, I feel that theyll have an important role to play in economies for upcoming years.

Where do you see the Indian cryptocurrency market in terms of financial stability?

I believe India has the potential to grow. According to a recent survey, 85% of Indians see an opportunity to start a firm versus 251% of the global average population. Indians have an entrepreneurial mindset with risk taking abilities. In 2016, we had approximately 1 million cryptocurrency traders and now, we have around 15 million. Given these demographics of India, I feel its cryptocurrency space will grow. We need support from the government and banking systems. The cryptocurrency industry should be regulated and taxed. Traditionally, we have seen India as an exporter of manpower to the west but if it starts creating products based on this blockchain technology, it could attract foreign investments. The industry needs to be managed properly, but there is an opportunity for growth.

Read more:
Cryptocurrency should be treated like an asset: CrossTower Indias Vikas Ahuja - The Financial Express