Bollywood stars nudge Indians to buy BTC instead of gold as Diwali nears

With Diwali around the corner, two renowned Bollywood stars have started campaigns urging Indians to purchase cryptocurrencies to mark the five-day celebration.

A report unveiled this news earlier today, noting that the top-two crypto exchanges in the country secured the services of the actors to promote digital assets. One of these stars is Amitabh Bachchan, who is considered one of India’s most famous actors.

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According to the report, Indians have always purchased gold on Dhanteras as a sign of good luck. This practice is anchored on the myth that a huge pile of shiny gold distracted a snake from biting King Hima’s son.

However, Indians have been diversifying their Diwali investments to include stocks, real estate, and diamonds, among other assets. With this in mind, CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX secured the services of Amitabh Bachchan and Ranveer Singh to sell the idea that digital currencies are superior and easy investments compared to gold.

For instance, Ranveer Singh, who has starred in some of India’s biggest blockbusters, partnered with CoinSwitch Kuber to do a Hindi rap, advertising how simple crypto trading is.

While Ranveer Singh’s fanbase spans millennials and small-town Indians, Bachchan’s fanbase is vast. His involvement with crypto makes the sector look respectable, seeing as he has been the celebrity face for the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) campaign against banking fraud.

Regulatory uncertainty might inhibit crypto adoption

While Amitabh Bachchan and Ranveer Singh are touting the ease of trading cryptos, this might not be the primary concern among Indians looking to dip their toes in the nascent asset class.

RBI had previously banned cryptos before a court ruling ordered it the lift the ban in April 2020. The government has since been trying to create a crypto regulation framework, which could put investors at a disadvantage.

With RBI still having a negative stance on crypto, its officials, allegedly, met with Amitabh Bachchan over the weekend to restate the central bank’s concerns. According to a source familiar with the matter, the actor said he would reconsider his partnership with CoinDCX. However, neither CoinDCX nor Amitabh Bachchan has confirmed these claims.

This news comes as the crypto market continues trading bullishly after recovering from yesterday’s losses. At the time of writing, the entire market’s capitalization is up 5.76% over the past 24 hours to hit $2.40 trillion (£1.75 trillion). BTC is leading this fresh rally after gaining 5.01% to change hands at $57,788.99 (£42,138.29).

On the other hand, the price of an ounce of gold is up 2.01% in 24 hours to trade $1794.70 (£1,308.67). Unlike Bitcoin (BTC/USD), which has gained year-to-date, gold is performing poorly after losing over $150 (£109.38) of its value per ounce.