One Of India's Largest Payments Companies Says Open To The Idea Of Bitcoin Offerings

Paytm, one of India's largest payments portals, is mulling the possibility of accepting Bitcoin BTC if the Indian government relaxes its regulations around the adoption of cryptocurrencies.

What Happened: According to a report by Bloomberg, the Indian technology company would consider accepting Bitcoin if the government decides to officially make it a legal tender.

Cryptocurrencies remain a gray area in terms of regulations in India, with the country's central bank banning financial institutions from engaging in any activities related to virtual assets. The 2018 diktat issued by the Reserve Bank of India effectively halted the operations of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, with users unable to deposit or withdraw in Indian rupees.

The ban was eventually lifted in March 2020, but the central bank still voices its skepticism over digital tokens.

"At the moment Paytm does not do Bitcoin," the company's Chief Financial Officer Madhur Deora,  said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

"Bitcoin is still in a regulatory grey area if not a regulatory ban in India. If it was ever to become fully legal in the country then clearly there could be offerings we could launch."

Launched in 2010, the company is gearing for an initial public offering and is reportedly seeking a valuation of between $20-22 billion, which would make it the largest IPO in Indian history.

Price Action: Bitcoin traded 2% lower at $61,805.76 at the time of writing on Thursday.