Building India’s most trusted exchange : Candid chat with Nischal Shetty
By: Shrikar Ru
Tags: Exchange, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin

Crypto-currency boom seems to be catching on in India. From new exchanges to new technology use cases of Blockchain, It is evident that India in a few years will be a major adopter of blockchain technology.

WazirX, launched this year is one such project in India’s Blockchain Ecosystem. Founded by Nischal Shetty, Sameer Mhatre & Siddharth Menon, WazirX is a cryptocurrency exchange that has begun operations by listing BTC, ETH, LTC & XRP. In a space entrenched with players like Koinex, Zebpay & Unocoin, WazirX seeks to differentiate itself with the issue of WRX tokens as a means to reward early adopters and users of the platform. It also claims to have an extremely secure and scalable infrastructure.

Here, We had an opportunity to talk with Nischal on how he first encountered cryptocurrencies, his plans regarding WazirX and other discussions involving the cryptocurrency space in general.

Nischal Shetty

Blockmanity: Tell us a little bit about your background.

Nischal: I graduated as a software engineer in 2007. I worked for a corporate entity for 2 years. I joined a startup (Burrp) and worked there for 1 and a half years. I then Quit my job at Burrp to work on Crowdfire, my first startup and then scaled it to 20 Million users and multi-million revenues.

I was part of the first ever Forbes India 30 under 30 list in 2014. I’ve primarily been a software developer for a major part of my life. I still get involved in architecture discussions with the team but don’t get the time to do it always.

But I make it a point to travel to one new country every year as I believe traveling and coming in contact with different cultures around the world helps us open up our perspective.

Currently, I’m on a mission to involve every Indian in the Blockchain revolution.

Blockmanity: Talk about how you first encountered the world of cryptocurrencies.

Nischal: It was in 2009 when Bitcoin was announced. I had tried mining bitcoins using my personal computer. But I realized it was way too early and hence did not pursue it much. I then happened to get into cryptos again in 2012 trying out the various cloud based wallets that were cropping up. I played with it for a while and then stopped again. Finally, in 2017, when I realized the true potential of Blockchain and how it can revolutionize every sector, I was completely sucked in to the Blockchain rabbit hole.

You can read all about this and more here — https://medium.com/wazirx/wazirx-building-indias-most-trusted-bitcoin-cryptocurrency-exchange-3488070a83c0

Blockmanity: You have joined the race to provide quality services to the crypto trader community in India at a time when exchanges like Koinex, Zebpay have gained a foothold in the market. What is the USP of WazirX and how do you plan to attract the local crypto trader towards WazirX ?

Nischal: We want to be India’s largest and most trusted crypto exchange. Trust comes with transparency and that’s exactly what we’re doing. We regularly update our tribe members with articles like these ( https://medium.com/wazirx/week-6-update-wazirx-launch-where-is-my-wrx-bug-fixes-6f3914b84c71 )

We believe we can be the largest if we share our success with our users. This is why we launched WRX coins that we’ll list on WazirX in the future. We’re giving away 150 Million WRX to our tribe for helping us bring in the right customers.

Collective inclusive growth is what the Blockchain is all about. We’re embracing it big time with the WRX program of WazirX. No other exchange ever cared to share it’s success with it’s users. I think that’s against the very philosophy of Blockchain.

Blockmanity: What are your thoughts on the Indian government’s views on cryptocurrencies? If the Indian government were to legalize crypto, what would be its stance? Would it adopt a hardline approach or a more nuanced legislation?

Nischal: I think the Government needs more time to figure out the way ahead and that’s expected considering there’s not enough information. I respect the fact that the government hasn’t gone in for a knee-jerk reaction to cryptos. That could drastically affect our future chances of being a top crypto nation.

I believe in our Government and it’s ability to formulate laws such that the common man succeeds while fraudsters are punished. I’m expecting a more nuanced legislation and one that has room to evolve as the Blockchain space evolves globally. I also believe the Government should involve more of us in this process. I’ll be happy to help them if I’m approached. I’m letting you know since I’m not really connected to anyone in the Government. If the right people read this then it can be helpful to the entire crypto community in India.

I hope to see our country become a leading crypto nation. That will help us leapfrog India into a superpower some day.

Blockmanity: What are your thoughts on decentralized exchanges? How do you think it can impact the operations of centralized ones such as WazirX and Koinex?

Nischal: I believe decentralized exchanges are the future and every exchange has to eventually adopt it. It will be an oxymoron if the world of Blockchain is surrounded by centralized exchanges. However, I don’t believe the infrastructure/product for decentralized exchanges has reached a mature stage yet. But, I believe that’s going to change very soon. When it does improve, WazirX will start work on a decentralized exchange as well.

Blockmanity: What are the cryptocurrencies that you believe have tremendous potential? What are your thoughts on ICOs?

Nischal: I don’t want to influence any cryptos. I, however, believe in Bitcoin for being the innovator in this space. I love the technology behind it and I admire Satoshi Nakamoto for giving us Bitcoin!

ICOs are a double-edged sword. While there are fraudsters out there scheming on how to take away investor money, I would like to talk about the advantages of an ICO for both, entrepreneurs as well as investors.

No equity dilution No board seat More participants = more evangelists for the product Anyone in the world can participate as against traditional fundraise having a geographic barrier Investors can invest small amounts of money and be a part of the success Liquidity is easier for ICO investors as soon as the token lists on an exchange

However, there has to be the better law around ICOs so as to protect investors. Several countries are working towards setting up regulatory frameworks for ICOs. Once these come in, we’ll see an even greater user interest in ICOs as they would be better protected against fraud. Regulation would also help bring in more companies to ICO as a lot of them are still standing on the sidelines and watching this space. Many aren’t jumping in due to the lack of a regulatory framework.

If you are looking to connect with Nischal

Link to the website: https://wazirx.com

Nischal’s Twitter handle

Nischal’s Medium account

WazirX Medium account

WazirX Telegram Channel

WazirX Twitter Handle