Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce company by sales, has said it will accept Bitcoin payments in what many suspect is an April Fool’s Day prank.
In a Twitter ad today at 11:30 p.m. India Standard Time, Flipkart said it would accept Bitcoin (BTC) “as a convenient method of payment” for its online marketplace. However, many users have refused to accept the e-commerce company’s seemingly pro-crypto stance given the timing – at the time of publication, it’s already April Fool’s Day in India.
The future is here. We now accept Bitcoin as a convenient method of payment. Update your app now. pic.twitter.com/l3MlY2qwRd
– Flipkart (@Flipkart) March 31, 2021
Bangalore-based Flipkart claimed it had over 200 million users as of July, which means crypto payments on the platform might look bullish for the Indian market. However, reports have circulated about the introduction by the Indian government of a possible ban on private cryptocurrencies in the country. Many Flipkart users have apparently doubted the veracity of the company’s claims.
“A large company like Flipkart wouldn’t take such a risk given the regulatory uncertainties here,” said Twitter user Shrikar Parashar.
Many Crypto Twitter users said that while they thought the ad was an April Fool’s joke, the post summer still a bullish indicator for the ‘good for bitcoin awareness’ space. Others have speculated that if Flipkart doesn’t delay its end on Bitcoin payments, the alleged joke could drive users away:
The crypto space is plagued with fake news reports around April 1 every year that sometimes go viral before the majority of readers find the fine print revealing that they were jokes. For a few years now, CoinMarketCap has listed Toilet Paper Token (TPT) as the number “0” digital asset in its list of cryptocurrencies by market cap. Bitfinex crypto exchange last year joke his more than 600,000 Twitter followers claiming he would be posting an energy drink similar to Monster.
UKTN has reached out to Flipkart for comment, but has not received a response at time of publication.
