Paytm, an Ant Group-backed fintech startup has stated that it may examine Bitcoin offers if India’s government legalises the digital currency by easing regulatory uncertainties around crypto usage. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the IPO-bound digital payments and financial services business, Madhur Deora, told Bloomberg TV that the regulations around these assets remain in a “grey area.” “In India, Bitcoin is still in a murky regulatory area, if not a regulatory prohibition,” Deora added. “Paytm does not currently accept Bitcoin. If it ever becomes totally legal in the nation, there will undoubtedly be options that we can introduce.” The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had prohibited cryptocurrency trading until March 2020, when the courts removed the prohibition. Since then, the government has considered enacting cryptocurrency law, but the RBI has remained sceptical and has maintained its prohibition.
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Deora’s remarks come as Paytm gears itself for what is believed to be India’s largest stock market debut. The company’s IPO size is Rs 18,300 crore (about $2.5 billion). Paytm is set to go public in mid-November. Meanwhile, the fintech firm announced on Thursday that it has allotted $1.11 billion in shares to over 100 institutional investors, including the Singapore government, ahead of Paytm’s IPO. According to a regulatory statement dated November 3, 122 institutional investors purchased more than 38.3 million shares for 2,150 rupees each in response to Paytm’s offer of up to Rs 18,300 crore.
Several firms, including Paytm, have accessed capital markets this year in a fund-raising frenzy spurred by the Indian stock market’s record highs, which has outpaced Asian counterparts so far this year. Paytm’s IPO is expected to be the largest in the country’s corporate history, smashing the previous record of 15,000 crores set by Coal India Ltd more than a decade ago.
