Within a span of little more than a year, over 1 lakh users have onboarded India’s first Bitcoin rewards platform – GoSats. The company’s founders are expecting over a million users from India to join the platform by the end of this year. GoSats allows users to gain Bitcoin as rewards while shopping on apps like Flipkart, Swiggy, Myntra, Zomato, Uber, BigBasket, BookMyShow, Nykaa and more.
The founders say the response to their Bitcoin rewards platform has been “overwhelming” till now with consumers finding it as “much superior” than the traditional cashbacks, points, coins or miles offered by shopping platforms. In an email interaction with FE Online, Roshan Aslam, Co-Founder and CEO of GoSats, shares more about the response to the platform, future expectations, tax implications on Bitcoin rewards and more. Edited Excerpts:
How has been the response to GoSats in India till now?
The response has been overwhelming, to say the least. Within a span of a little more than a year of launching GoSats, GoSats has onboarded more than 100,000 users on to the platform – helping Indians stack Bitcoin rewards and taking them on the journey towards financial freedom.
It seems that Indians definitely do understand how saving in Bitcoin is a much superior rewards experience than other options like cashback, points, coins or miles.
What gives us the most joy is that we’ve helped several people stack their first Bitcoin simply for doing their planned shopping. We have had several users reach out to us saying that their parents and children are even avid stackers than they themselves.
We have also seen great interest in the GoSats Bitcoin Rewards Card, which will help users earn Bitcoin even more seamlessly on all transactions.
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How many users have signed up for GoSats rewards program?
We have onboarded more than 1,00,000 users on to the GoSats platform.
Which shopping platforms are available for GoSats users?
Using GoSats is really straightforward. There are two ways users can shop on the platform: One, by purchasing brand vouchers – and then using these vouchers on the respective brand online/offline store and two, by directly shopping within the app as on any ecommerce platform.
There are over 150 brands listed on the platform, including the likes of Flipkart, Swiggy, Myntra, Zomato, Uber, BigBasket, BookMyShow, Nykaa and more. There are brands across categories like Fashion, Electronics, Health & Beauty, Travel and more.
Where is the GoSats office based currenctly?
We are based out of Bangalore, with several members of our team working remotely.
How much Bitcoin one can get for shopping goods worth Rs 10,000 via GoSats?
The exact answer to this question would obviously depend on the brand and the percentage of rewards offered for it. On average, GoSats offers 5% Bitcoin rewards on the brands on the platform. Hence, a purchase of Rs 10,000 would help users earn Rs 500 worth Bitcoin.
There are brands on GoSats that offer more than 20% of rewards too. Also, there are regular offers to help users stack even more Bitcoin.
What are you doing to attract new users in India?
GoSats is currently doing a combination of paid, organic and influencer marketing to reach out to new users. GoSats also has a referral program that helps users earn Bitcoin for every new transacting member that they onboard on to the platform.
Is it just for Indian users or anyone?
GoSats is available to use only in India.
What’s the future of Bitcoin?
In the long-term, we expect Bitcoin to be an undisputable store of value – a better alternative. We also believe Bitcoin becomes a foundation for multiple technologies and will help shape Web3, like a settlement layer on top of which innovative layers will be built upon. Examples of this include the Lightning Network and smart contracts. We believe that innovation has just started, and the potential in this is huge.
Most importantly, as adoption increases, ordinary people will understand how Bitcoin is one of the most superior assets that was ever created – a trustless, censorship resistant, undebasable, and decentralized asset that will have a huge impact on the world.
Is Bitcoin rewards on GoSats taxable?
There will not be any tax deductions on the Bitcoin users earn via GoSats. When users withdraw their stacked sats, 1% TDS will be deducted if the value of the sats they withdraw is over Rs. 10,000 (effective from July 1, 2022). Only when the Bitcoin you’ve stacked is sold and converted, it will be taxed at 30% of the sale value.
What’s your business projections for 2022-23?
GoSats plans to reach the ambitious target of a million users by the end of the year, and positively impact the lives of Indians by introducing them to Bitcoin and helping them on the road to financial freedom. GoSats also hopes to get the Bitcoin Rewards Card to a large audience, so that users can stack Bitcoin even more seamlessly on every transaction.
(Cryptos, including Bitcoin, and other virtual digital assets are unregulated assets in India. Investing in them could lead to losses. Please consult a professional financial advisor before making any investment decision in crypto)
