Disclaimer: Since December 04, 2018, Oxybit app is no longer available on Playstore and the website is inaccessible. Coin Crunch India has tried to reach the founders for clarification but haven’t received a response. It appears the exchange was shut down.
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune – Jim Rohn
“So, you’re a Doctor who created a mobile app for trading cryptocurrencies?“, I asked Anuj Tenani, co-founder of Oxybit, the newest cryptocurrency exchange in India.
“Zero fees exchange is our way of giving back to the community”, Tenani replied.
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Meet the Doctor Turned Developer
Anuj Tenani is an M.D. Dermatologist by education, but a full stack developer by profession. He does do the occasional Skin consultation on Whatsapp, he told me after I joked about helping me with a skin problem. A quick google search on his name will lead you to apps like Hide it pro created by Anuj Tenani.
“My apps in PlayStore and App Store have cumulative 50 million downloads and 1.4 million daily active users”, Tenani’s email reply to our detailed questionnaire read.
Tenani and his partner Akshay Kapoor started a Cryptocurrency Exchange called Oxybit. Oxybit has about 30 cryptocurrencies to trade with INR. Ranging from the usual suspects Bitcoin, Ether, Ripple to a more complex bouquet including NANO (Formerly XRB), Request Network (REQ), Stellar Lumens (XLM), and so on.
No Trade Fees Forever
“We are a zero fees exchange and plan on keeping it that way”, Tenani says, “we have enough bankroll to keep the exchange going to another 5 years without need for external funding or charging user fees“, he continues.
But what about when the user base grows, the number of request grows, it will cost a lot of money, won’t it? It will eventually become unaffordable. This is when Tenani reveals his grand plans for Oxybit.
Offering Blockchain Services
“We are planning to offer Blockchain as a Service platform built on top of Oxybit”, he replied to our follow up on Telegram. The abbreviation should be BAAS I suppose?
This will help keep the revenue stream flowing, essentially keeping trade on Oxybit free for users. The services can include anything from building a blockchain based solution for a financial company like Yes Bank’s blockchain enterprise solution, or even a Crypto-to-fiat payment solution for merchants.
“The work is already in place. We will be opening our API this Friday to let others build on top of our platform” he said.
Automation to Cut Expenses
Oxybit has automated processes for KYC, Deposits and Withdrawals. Even the INR deposits are handled automatically by the banking partner. Currently the exchange offers deposits by IMPS/NEFT and UPI.
UPI is fast. To test it out we deposited money and the moment we entered the transaction ID, it was credited. Yes, transaction ID needs to be entered.
As the days go by, automation will be the key to provide faster and better user experience. Many exchanges are currently developing in house tools to handle the services on their platform.
Also a Crypto Trader
Tenani and partner Akshay Kapoor are Crypto traders themselves. Pretty much like every other exchange founder. But some rarely talk about their gains.
“Crypto currency exchange is our new project and it comes straight from the heart as we both are early crypto investors and have gained our fair share in the recent Bitcoin boom”, he says, implying that the existence of Oxybit is based on the profits from crypto.
“Zero fees exchange is our way of giving back to the community”, he continued.
Both Anuj and Akshay are in their early 30s and doing what they love to do.
Forget the forever free exchange, the founders are non-IITians, that is the most interesting part.
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