Zebpay, an app-based bitcoin exchange, has just crossed the 100,000 downloads milestone for Android and iOS devices, highlighting "India’s growing interest in bitcoin as an investment, commodity and technology." Eyeing a user-base of more than 450,000 by the end of 2016, Zebpay is now in the process of raising additional funding to "expand more aggressively in India," Sandeep Goenka, co-founder and COO of Zebpay, told Bitcoin Magazine . Founded in 2015 by computer engineer, Mahin Gupta, and businessmen, Saurabh Agrawal and Sandeep Goenka, Zebpay is a startup specializing in bitcoin-related products and services. Through its mobile apps, Zebpay allows users to buy and sell bitcoins for Indian rupees, buy airtime top-ups, pay bills and buy Amazon vouchers. Over 3.5 billion INR (US$52 million) worth of bitcoins have been traded over Zebpay so far, and the startup has been welcoming 20,000 new users every month. Zebpay is now looking for additional capital to fuel its expansion plans. "Bitcoin is just the first step in the new ‘digital asset revolution,’" Goenka said. "We aim to be India’s leading digital asset company." Although bitcoin adoption in India has had a slow start, awareness is growing rapidly. Bitcoin trade grew exponentially in recent months and currently stands at an estimated 5 billion INR (US$75 million) in volume per year. This remains tiny compared to China’s trading activity where traders buy and sell over US$100 million worth of bitcoins every day, according to Nikkei Asian Review . "India is where U.S. and China were in 2013," Goenka said. Bitcoin adoption has moved from attracting early adopters to attracting other segments "like young professionals and HNIs [high net worth individuals]," he said. "Users are now using bitcoin as an alternative investment. They are also using it for online shopping, airtime top up, paying bills and […]
