A Bangalore restaurant’s unsuccessful Bitcoin pilot has cemented views that in India, Bitcoin is not the sensation in real life that it is online.
Local news resource Factor Daily reports that a local restaurant, long recognized for its Misal Pav and Mutton Thali, has yet to attract a single paying customer during its year-long Bitcoin payment trial.
“Not a single person has paid in Bitcoins until now,” owner Suryawanshi told the publication. “We wanted people to know what Bitcoin is. Those days it was just taking off but it’s now mellowed down a bit.”
The story could not be more different to the exploding online Indian Bitcoin market, with exchanges reporting consistent growth and LocalBitcoins setting new records.
Following India’s disastrous currency reforms last November, the pace quickened, with users looking to shore up their savings as cash supplies were squeezed for months on end.
As a practical tool on the ground, however, the situation in the country is reminiscent of that in Japan.
Despite a giant drive to increase Bitcoin’s profile among mainstream consumers, reports have stated that using the virtual currency in brick-and-mortar establishments is still cumbersome.
“Places like these don’t really need bitcoins,” a self-outed Bitcoin millionaire added to Factor Daily, adding that in spite of everything, cash wallets were “enough” for most.
