Unocoin, Shapeshift tie-up to enable users to convert blockchain assets into Bitcoin

Bitcoin company Unocoin on Thursday announced its partnership with Shapeshift to allow users to convert blockchain assets into bitcoin.

The partnership, which uses Shapeshift's API, will enable Unocoin users to convert popular blockchain assets such as Ethereum, Monero, Zcash and Dash directly into Bitcoin and then if desired, into INR.

Prominent bitcoin evangelist and ShapeShift Founder, Erik Voorhees shared, "when I first got involved with Bitcoin in 2011, it was mostly a Western community. It's been tremendously exciting to see Unocoin help bring this technology into India. ShapeShift is very proud to partner with them for digital asset exchange."

There's an emerging range of blockchain based digital assets that serve different purposes; i.e. enabling smart contracts, enhancing financial privacy, etc. What is common among all of these blockchain assets is that they all run on open mining algorithms. In India, there has been very little interest in alternative blockchain assets due to it being difficult to convert digital assets into bitcoin and INR. Unocoin is taking the the first step towards solving this problem.

"Many view bitcoin as digital gold and we're always looking for ways to make it easier for people to get into bitcoin. Many people learn about bitcoin through other crypto currencies and once they do, we'd like to give them an easy way to convert their blockchain assets into bitcoin. In the meantime, we're keeping a close eye on the open blockchain ecosystem and may or may not introduce deeper integrations in the future." shares, Sunny Ray, Co-founder and President of Unocoin.

This integration now enables users to trigger immediate conversion of their altcoin holdings such as Ether, Monero or Zcash right into bitcoin directly from within the Unocoin platform. Converted bitcoin may then easily be withdrawn to the user's bank account. By enabling users to convert popular crypto currencies into bitcoin and INR, this integration both supports the blockchain community and serves Unocoin's mission: "Make Money Simple By Bringing Bitcoin to Billions".

Harish B V, Co-Founder and COO of Unocoin, shared that "by being an industry leader, we wanted to provide a solution to the long standing challenge of being able to convert crypto-currencies into bitcoin in India. Unocoin's Shapeshift integration will enable users to convert their altcoin into bitcoin and then sell it for INR. We expect this to be yet another popular offering."

Demand for bitcoin is on the rise both globally and across India. Overall, this partnership will drive more interest into the blockchain ecosystem and help drive user adoption for the emerging cryptocurrency space within India. More and more people are becoming interested in bitcoin via blockchain assets and an integration like this will help drive greater bitcoin adoption in India.