Since Supreme Court lifted the ban on the use of cryptocurrencies placed by RBI, the market has noticed record-breaking transactions in the electronic currency. Local bitcoin trading and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) crypto exchanges have been increasing at an unimaginable pace. Bitcoin businesses have recorded a massive gain in their business due to this.
US-based P2P bitcoin exchange marketplace and cryptocurrency wallet startup, Paxful has been one of the businesses that has raked profits due to the increase of the digital currency once again. Paxful has entered Indian market only recently but has already garnered the biggest userbase leaving behind all other startups.
Ray Youssef, Co-founder and CEO of Paxful said, “People in India are betting big on bitcoin and seeing it as a tool for great financial returns. The growth is driven by the local entrepreneurial community, which has great talent and drive, and the will to figure out the platform. They are building their own cash cows, and we’re blown away by how creatively they are using it.”
Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback founded Paxful in 2015 with the idea of creating an “e-bay of bitcoin”. The startup itself does not indulge in buying of bitcoins instead it is a marketplace where users can list bitcoins and buy or sell the digital currency or even transact with a pool of vendors across the world.
Paxful aims to democratize access to bitcoin and drive financial inclusion in emerging economies like India and Africa. It is a universal translator of money, which means that any form of money can be turned into any other form of money instantly, as told by the co-founder. It also supports all major currencies and over 300 payment methods.
This year, the startup has observed an increase of 28% in average monthly new users signups. The Paxful app launched in 2019 already has over 100,000 downloads on play stores while their user base is growing by 40% each year. The startup claims to have a network of over 3 million users with an increase in revenue by 24% annually.
The plan to launch the Indian office in Hyderabad has shifted to 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis. Paxful aims to make the platform more secure by starting new safety initiatives. They also plan to venture into B2B business to make Cryptocurrency an acceptable way of transaction for merchants.