Cryptocurrency can fuel innovations, says IIITM-K

TRIVANDRUM: Kerala, with more than 10 per cent of its population working abroad and sustaining its economy, sees a vast opportunity in cryptocurrency.

India’s Supreme Court had last week lifted a ban on trading in the Blockchain-based free digital currencies imposed by the Reserve Bank of India.

The state-run Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-kerala (IIITM-K) says cryptocurrencies can fuel innovations through tokenisation.

“It can represent digital assets over the blockchain,” the IIITM-K, which the state recently elevated as a university of digital sciences, said in a statement here Friday.

“It will open up huge opportunities for a spectrum of enterprises, including startups and organisations in the blockchain space as India can emerge a preferred destination.”

The shared transaction record prevents anyone from double-spending cryptocurrencies or bitcoins and makes it extremely hard for anyone to alter historical transactions.

It is almost impossible to shut down or interfere with bitcoin, which is a form of decentralised digital currencies that uses cryptography for security.

The IIITM-K, rechristened as The Kerala University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology, runs India’s only blockchain academy opened three years back.

“The decision will prove to be a boon to the Indian economy, attracting many startups in blockchain space to work on crypto-related projects and token markets,” it said.

“Capitalising on this opportunity, India can become a preferred destination for cryptocurrency-enabled investors, entrepreneurs and new business initiatives.”

Even with the volatility, it says, the crypto market is worth the 237 billion as of 2019, and with wider adoption, the experts predict massive growth in its market share.

“The order will pave the way for re-opening the crypto-exchanges, shut down in April 2018 due to crypto regulations, to restart their operations,” says IIITM-K.