Reliance Jio sets to start its own cryptocurrency 'JioCoin'

Reliance Jio seems to be in a mood not to leave any exciting new age business opportunity. The Mukesh Ambani-led group is planning to enter cryptocurrency market with JioCoin.

The company reportedly is hiring 50 professionals with an average age of 25 for blockchain-centric products including JioCoin, reports Mint.

Besides launching its own virtual currency, Reliance Jio will leverage blockchain in areas of supply chain, logistics amongst others.

Blockchain is the technology behind cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, and Ethereum amongst others.

Reliance Jio also planning to foray into the Internet of Things (IoT). Blockchain will help it to solve security issues to IoT. The technology insulates against data tampering through labelling each block of data.

Blockchain directly connects the customers and suppliers, removing the need for using a trusted third party such as a bank to make a transaction. Every single transaction is recorded to the ledger after verification by the network participants, mainly a chain of computers, called nodes.

Sounding alarm on cryptocurrencies, recently the Indian government had asked consumers to be alert before investing in virtual currency like Bitcoin and compared it with notorious Ponzi schemes.

After surveying nine Bitcoin exchanges, the Income Tax (IT) department sent notices to about 5 lakh high net-worth individuals (HNI’s) across the country who were engaged in trading Bitcoin.

Meanwhile, Reliance Jio recorded operating profit in the first quarter of commercial operations of Jio in December last year. So far, the company has invested $31 billion in its telecom venture, which was launched in September 2016. It’s also gearing for IPO by the end of this year.

This year cryptocurrencies are hogging headline every now and then for its unprecedented growth. In 2017, its price has increased by over a thousand per cent. Last month, the exchange rate for Bitcoin grew more than 25 per cent. Today, Bitcoin slipped down 12% to $12,801, its lowest since three weeks.