Bitcoin exchange Belfrics soon to have an ICO for its upcoming Belrium blockchain

A beer sits next to a Bitcoin sign on display at a bar in central Sydney, Australia, September 29, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File photo - RTSKT41

Malaysia-based bitcoin exchange Belfrics is soon to come out with an initial coin offering (ICO).

In an interview with Moneycontrol, Praveen Kumar, Chairman and CEO of the company, said it is coming up with its own blockchain, named Belrium, in the month of September, the token for which will be called BEL.

Kumar said that the blockchain will have an inbuilt KYC system and it will be similar to Ethereum as it will be based on smart contracts.

However, he refrained from sharing the size of the ICO at the moment.

What is an ICO?

It is similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO), where a company sells its equity on an exchange. In an ICO, entrepreneurs looking to raise capital for a cryptocurrency (like bitcoin) project, offer part of their blockchain based tokens in exchange for established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether.

Since last year, especially after demonetisation, there has been a sharp spike in bitcoin trading in India.

Belfrics expanded its operations in the country this January. For its domestic operations, it has seen volume of bitcoin transactions increasing 15-20 times since then.

Regulations surrounding digital currencies are still fuzzy in India. An inter-ministerial committee set up by the government will soon submit its report on how cryptocurrencies and businesses based on it should be regulated in the country.

Kumar expects a boom in bitcoin trading post clarity in regulations. "India is going to have a major part in the cryptocurrency market share," he said.

On the topic of having altcoins on the platform, Kumar said that Belfrics will introduce them once they move from a centralized exchange to a hybrid one.

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