Reliance Jio to develop its own cryptocurrency JioCoin: Report

Mukesh Ambani’s elder son Akash Ambani will reportedly lead the JioCoin project.

New Delhi: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is planning to venture into the cryptocurrency market by launching its own JioCoin as per a news paper report.

As per a report in the LiveMint, Mukesh Ambani’s elder son Akash Ambani will be leading the JioCoin project.

Jio plans to build a 50-member team of young professionals to work on blockchain technology, which can also be used to develop applications such as smart contracts and supply chain management logistics, the paper said.

The company also plans to use blockchain technology in Internet of Technology (IOT). However, all these are in proposal stage only, and there is no indication of when Reliance will actually come up with their own cryptocurrency.

Zee News tried to reach out to Jio for confirmation but the company spokesperson refused to comment. 

There has been a phenomenal increase in recent times in the price of virtual currencies (VCs) including bitcoin, in India and globally.

The VCs don't have intrinsic value and are not backed by any kind of assets. The price of bitcoin and other VCs therefore is a matter of mere speculation resulting in spurt and volatility.

There is real risk of investment bubble of the type in ponzi schemes which can result in sudden and prolonged crash exposing investors, especially retail consumers losing their hard earned money.

There were reports that people who couldn't convert their money use this channel to launder their illegal money and it could have been one of the reasons for sudden rise in the value of bitcoins.

The Income Tax (IT) department has also carried out enquiries and notices have been given to a number of people who have transacted in bitcoins.