Kumar Gaurav (entrepreneur)
Kumar Gaurav (born 16 March 1990) is an Indian computer programmer and entrepreneur. He is best known as the developer of the peer-to-peer money transfer platform that later evolved into "neobank" Cashaa.[1][2]
Kumar Gaurav | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | Polytechnic University of Milan |
Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Known for | Cashaa |
Website | Official website |
Career
Kumar was born on March 16, 1990 in the Nalanda district of Bihar, India.
In 2012, he graduated from Amity University with a degree in computer science, and In 2015, he received a Master's degree in engineering from Polytechnic University of Milan.[3]
In 2014, he founded an Indian IT company that became the Auxesis Group.[4]
In 2017, Kumar published a white paper to create a banking and payment platform Cashaa for the crypto industry. After that he raised $33 million[5] in November 2017.[6]
In April 2018, the Reserve Bank of India, through a circular, banned banks from providing cryptocurrency exchange services. As a result of this ban, several cryptocurrency companies were forced to shut down their operations. Kumar announced a non-profit initiative to educate Indian citizens about the merging blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors, which then received support from the government.[7][8][9] In 2020, the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban and invited central companies to partner with cryptocurrency companies.[10] In 2020, Kumar opened a cryptocurrency neobank in India[11][12], however due to regulatory issues and following Coinbase's exit from India, it stopped providing banking services in India in April 2022.[13][14][15]
On July 11, 2020, CertiK Skynet, a blockchain security technology company founded by computer science professors from Yale and Columbia Universities and created to validate the security and correctness of smart contracts and blockchain protocols, detected anomalous transactions associated with Cashaa bitcoin wallets on blocks 638606 and 638692.[16][17] CertiK security researchers launched an investigation to look into the attack. Researchers reported that there may have been two internal operational errors or the victim's computer may have been compromised by a malicious backdoor program.[17] In July, its own CAS token rapidly collapsed by nearly 40% after information surfaced that one of the company's bitcoin wallets had been hacked.[18][19][20]
In September 2020, Kumar raised $5 million from Dubai-based O1ex to expand into the Indian market and fix users' losses from the July 2020 hack of their OTC.[21][22][23]
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kumar took patronage of 5,000 families to send them food and essentials through his company Cashaa's infrastructure in India. He also reached out to other cryptocurrency companies with the hashtag #CryptoAgainstCovid to support underprivileged families.[24][25][26]
In 2022, according to Bloomberg, he denied a loan to Luna Foundation.[27]
References
- Theodore, Pemo (12 May 2017). "Kumar Gaurav, Founder Cashaa #blockchaindisruption - FinTech Silicon Valley". Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "Прогресс банков Великобритании по работе с криптой пошел на десятки лет вперед. Возможно ли это в Украине — Forbes.ua". forbes.ua (in Russian). 8 November 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- "Entrepreneur 2023". www.entrepreneurindia.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- "India yet to see disruptive blockchain innovation, says Auxesis CEO Akash Gaurav". VCCircle. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- "Cashaa Raises $5m to Cover Hack | Cashaa No FCA License". www.coinlauncher.io. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- Anupam, Suprita (5 March 2020). "Cryptocurrency Vs RBI: The Supreme Court Judgement And The Aftermath". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- Helms, Kevin (7 March 2020). "Crypto Bulls Roadshow Coming to Over 15 Indian Cities — With Government Participation". Bitcoin News. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "Crypto Bulls Roadshow Coming to Over 15 Indian Cities — With Government Participation". Bitcoin Insider. 7 March 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- Godbole, Omkar (4 March 2020). "After Court Victory, Indian Exchanges Gear Up for Crypto Trading Surge". www.coindesk.com. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "UNICAS Crypto Bank Opens in India - Express Computer". www.expresscomputer.in. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- "What Tiger Global's Bet On CoinSwitch Kuber Means To India's Crypto Startup Story". Forbes India. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- Sarkar, Gargi (20 May 2022). "Crypto-Friendly Neobanking Startup Cashaa Exits Unicas; Eyes India Expansion On Its Own". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- Network, The Mobile Indian (19 May 2022). "Cashaa to part ways from Unicas and expand in India". The Mobile Indian. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- Mittal, Apoorva (11 September 2023). "Coinbase is stopping 'all services' for Indian users". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- "Биткоин-биржу Cashaa взломали на 336 BTC". ForkLog. 12 July 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "An Analysis of How Attackers Stole 337 BTC From Cashaa's Bitcoin Wallets - Blog - Web3 Security Leaderboard". certik.com. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "Hacker Stole 336 BTC from Crypto Exchange Cashaa". Cointelegraph. 11 July 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "The Cashaa Hack: Investigators Stay Silent as Inside Job Rumors Emerge". Cointelegraph. 19 July 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- Gogo, Jeffrey (13 July 2020). "Crypto Exchange Cashaa Loses 336 Bitcoin Worth $3 Million to Hackers – Exchanges Bitcoin News". Bitcoin News. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- Malviya, Sagar (2 September 2020). "Cashaa raises $5 million from Dubai based O1ex, a blockchain investment firm". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "London neo-bank Cashaa raises funding to power up India expansion". VCCircle. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- www.ETBFSI.com. "Cashaa raises $5 Million from O1ex, set to launch its neo-bank for India - ET BFSI". ETBFSI.com. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "Cashaa Gears Up To Fight Starvation During Pandemic". BW Defence. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "'Crypto for COVID': Indian neobank aims to feed those affected by pandemic". Cointelegraph. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- Robins, Derek (26 May 2021). "Feed The Underprivileged - No One Sleeps Hungry Initiative By Unicas". Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "TerraUSD Backers Seek $1.5 Billion Rescue, Cashaa CEO Says". Bloomberg.com. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2023.