Jetking Infotrain, a 77-year-old Indian IT training company, has become the first publicly listed business in India to adopt Bitcoin as part of its corporate treasury strategy.
The company announced the purchase of 12 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at approximately $1.2 million, signaling a shift in how Indian companies approach digital assets.
Jetking, with a $5 million market cap and $2 million in annual sales, has designated Bitcoin as its Primary Treasury Reserve Asset. Companies worldwide have started adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets to diversify their assets and hedge against inflation.
Jetking Infotrain Becomes First Indian Public Company To Hold Bitcoin As Treasury Reserve
Jetking Infotrain became India’s first publicly traded company to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a reserve asset for its treasury after purchasing 12 BTC on Dec. 9, according to the firm’s CEO Avinash Bharwani.
The company’s Bitcoin reserve is worth roughly $1.2 million, at $97,986.35 per BTC as of press time. According to Google Finance data, Jetking Infotrain’s market cap is nearly $4.5 million, which means the firm’s BTC stash represents over 26% of its size.
In an interview with Bitcoin proponent Max Keiser at the Bitcoin Conference MENA in Abu Dabhi, Bharwani stated that Jetking Infotrain’s treasury would mix equities and BTC to boost the company’s price in the long term.
He added:
“We are the first ones to do it, and we are kind of talking to the regulators to see how we can formalize it and make sure everything is within that spectrum.”
Jetking Infotrain was created in 1947 under the name of Jetking Electronics and offered trading of electronic goods in India, performing its initial public offering in 1986 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Livemint data reveals that the company’s profit for the first quarter was $366,520, followed by an operating income increase of nearly 39% over quarters and 36% yearly.
The first publicly traded Indian company adding a Bitcoin reserve news comes on the same day MicroStrategy added more 21,550 BTC to its stash and Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms unveiled a plan to raise $500 million to buy BTC.
Building Blocks
Prominent crypto lawyer Suril Desai is reportedly leading the Indian company’s discussions with regulators.
Desai was also involved with India-based exchange Unocoin and represented the firm when it filed a right-to-information request with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2020, asking if banks could provide accounts to crypto firms.
His efforts culminated in the country’s Supreme Court ordering the central bank to lift a nearly 2-year ban on banks facilitating crypto transactions after the RBI told the court there were no official restrictions on providing such services. Bharwani weighted on the decision:
“I think it was really important because that started putting the building blocks for Bitcoin and blockchain, and they also fought the RBI in terms of getting the whole regulator ban lifted. So, now, people can hold Bitcoin on their balance sheet legally.”
He also highlighted that tax reporting is still a work in progress, as the tax for Bitcoin gains in India is 30%.
Bitcoin As A Company Strategic Reserve
Jetking’s approach aligns with trends seen at firms like MicroStrategy, which are using Bitcoin to enhance their treasury diversification in response to changing economic conditions.
In the announcement, Jetking emphasized its intention for Bitcoin to serve as the company’s primary reserve asset.
Jetking’s decision could pave the way for other companies in India. Unlike some global firms such as MicroStrategy, Tesla, and Coinbase that have embraced Bitcoin treasury strategies, Indian businesses have approached this area with more caution.
In November, the Reserve Bank of India issued a caution regarding the rollout of its central bank digital currency, emphasizing the need to fully understand its potential impacts.
Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar acknowledged the technology’s promise to enhance cross-border payments and remittances but clarified that no specific timeline has been established for its implementation.
