← Go back Dec 12, 2023
There is no denying the fact that the year 2023 was riddled with a slew of twists and turns for but overall, it would most likely be remembered as a reasonably good period in history when seen from the lens of blockchain’s evolution. Cryptocurrencies spiked significantly in the past year. rose by a whopping 165 percent, whereas Ether jumped by 84 percent between Jan 1 to Dec 20 in 2023. This was quite a recovery on the heels of bankruptcy of -founded FTX, a US-based crypto platform, towards the end of 2022. In fact, a few days ago, a major crypto exchange Binance and its were ordered by a US court to pay billions of dollars in fines for money laundering in a case filed by US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Zhao will pay $150 million and Binance will pay $2.7 billion to the CFTC. Such major climb downs and bankruptcies are more than enough to shake the confidence of investors in what continues to struggle for something as basic as its identity that still oscillates between a “currency" and an “asset class". Although crypto prices reached their all-time highs in November 2021 amid pandemic when everything and everyone was talking of going digital. And digital currencies were not far behind. However, the tide turned the following year i.e., in 2022 when normality started to return and digital currencies did lose some of their sheen. The year 2023, however, turned out to be a saviour of sorts when the prices recuperated rapidly, albeit not in entirety. Bitcoin, for instance, is yet not close to it's all-time high ($68,789 , it has covered some of the yawning gap and has already touched $44,000 in the international exchanges. “As an Indian crypto platform, we have observed significant retail enthusiasm since October, with customers eager to capitalise on the upcoming bull cycle, reminiscent of the gains seen in 2017 and 2021," says Vikram Subburaj, CEO, . ( ) Despite the recovery of prices, it is crucial to note that the road ahead for digital currencies is riddled with unpredictable turns, and certainly does not ensure a smooth ride. “While Bitcoin’s crossing the $40,000 mark is encouraging, our optimism about a true comeback hinges on the bigger picture. The chatter surrounding a potential in 2024 excites us. If approved, it could unlock a flood of institutional capital, potentially trillions of dollars, propelling the market to new heights. This potential influx is what makes us bullish on the entire crypto space, and we see current price movements as early signs of this shift," says Sumit Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO, As far as the upcoming budget is concerned, he hopes the 1 percent TDS that was introduced last year to be cut down substantially. “In our proposal for the impending Union Budget, we have advocated for a reduction in the TDS rate from 1 percent to 0.01 percent. The introduction of the 1 percent TDS on Indian exchanges last year resulted in an alarming 80% decrease in business volume. A recent Esya Centre’s study sheds light on a noteworthy shift, with approximately 5.2 million users migrating to offshore and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) platforms to circumvent TDS requirements," he adds. It is often stated that the cryptocurrency is still a work in progress and there are many more milestones to be achieved before it is regarded as a stable asset class and investors repose faith in its long term potential. Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away!
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