Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd may be creating its own cyptocurrency called JioCoin, Mint reported on Friday.
Mukesh Ambani’s older son Akash Ambani will lead the JioCoin project, and a 50-member team of young professionals will work on the blockchain technology required for the currency, the report said.
Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies that use cryptography to secure and verify transactions. Its popularity has grown in the past year and the value of Bitcoin – the most popular cryptocurrency – had surged to over $16,000 apiece in December.
However, the Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India have warned users against virtual currencies. The government even compared them to ponzi schemes and warned traders of the risks, including “permanent loss of money”.
“The company plans to hire 50 young professionals with the average age of 25 years for Akash Ambani to lead,” Mint quoted a person familiar with the development at Reliance Jio as saying. The unidentified official said the team will build the blockchain technology for JioCoin.
Blockchain is a digital ledger that stores data such as financial transactions. As it stores the information on a cloud and not on physical servers, it can be shared and accessed in real time.
While the technology has mostly been used for cryptocurrencies so far, Reliance Jio plans to use it for supply chain management logistics, the official told Mint, adding that the whole project is “in the proposal stage”.
Reliance Jio has not responded to Mint’s email about the development yet.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!