Pluto Eyes B2B Transactions With Mobile Cryptocurrency Exchange Tool

Pluto Exchange is launching India’s first mobile cryptocurrency exchange solution with an eye on a few use cases for B2B transactions.

Reports in NDTV on Thursday (Dec. 28) said UAE-based Pluto Exchange will introduce a solution that enables bitcoin transactions using a mobile number. The firm’s founder and chief executive, Bharat Verma, said the solution addresses “the coordination problem between payment processors, financial gateways and banks.”

“All other apps already in the market do transactions using bitcoin addresses, which are long and prone to error while copying,” Verma said at a press conference. “Pluto Exchange will change this scenario by enabling transactions using mobile numbers only, which are just 10 digits.”

The executive cited a number of use cases in which using a mobile number could be beneficial in the bitcoin exchange process, including payments and remittances. He also cited business-to-business (B2B) commerce, supply chain finance and asset management, signaling a possible future B2B focus for the tool.

Bitcoin and other digital currencies have an uncertain future in India, however. Earlier this year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notice urging caution when dealing with bitcoin or trading in other virtual currencies.

“The Reserve Bank of India advises that it has not given any license/authorization to any entity/company to operate such schemes or deal with bitcoin or any virtual currency,” the bank stated. “As such, any user, holder, investor, trader, etc. dealing with virtual currencies will be doing so at their own risk.”

But, the RBI has also signaled support for digital currencies as the nation moves away from cash, as well as interest in blockchain technology. It announced in 2013 it would be exploring such tools to facilitate trade and transactions, while more recently the nation’s demonetization signaled, to some analysts, a push towards a cashless economy which could include cryptocurrency.