The world’s first physical crypto bank has launched in India that will allow users to transact in cryptocurrency and fiat through a single account. United Multistate co-op society or Unicas, an online crypto bank will open its first physical branch in Jaipur and will roll out 14 more branches across NCR, Rajasthan, and Gujarat by January next year. Through a joint venture with online banking platform Cashaa, and United Multistate co-op society, Unicas also plans to open 100 more branches by 2022.
With regard to the expansion Dinesh Kukreja, CEO of Unicas said:
This will allow us to build, scale and offer customized financial and crypto products for the local Indian markets.
Further, Unicas will provide banking services such as instant digital loans with crypto as collateral. This includes debit cards which will allow users to spend their crypto. Kumar Gaurav, CEO and founder of Cashaa said that in addition to banking, Unicas will offer information and guidance on “the level of convenience and security” that comes with blockchain technology. He added:
If we are planning to move ahead with the aim of digital India then we cannot hesitate in adopting new technologies and finding innovative ways to bring it to Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in India.
Recently, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), an arm of the Indian finance ministry proposed the taxation of cryptocurrency in the country. Reports state that the Goods and Services (GST) tax in India would treat bitcoin as an ‘intangible asset’ and also impose a tax on all transactions.
