Arjun Vijay: Bootstrapping India's Crypto Future with Giottus

Arjun Vijay: Bootstrapping India's Crypto Future with Giottus

Arjun Vijay, Co-founder and COO of Giottus, believes crypto isn't just an asset class; it's the foundation of a decentralized financial revolution. His journey, from corporate roles to navigating the volatile world of crypto entrepreneurship, offers an insight into building one of India's leading crypto platforms from the ground up. 

Sri Misra, Founder of aarna protocol recently had the chance to sit down with Arjun for an in-depth conversation on the alpha un# podcast. Hear the full story here: unhashed.co/arjun

The Spark: From IIM Calcutta to the Bitcoin Rabbit Hole

Arjun's path wasn't a straight line to crypto. After completing his MBA at the prestigious IIM Calcutta, where he met his future co-founder Vikram Subburaj, he gained valuable sales and business development experience at established companies like Vodafone and Amplus Energy. However, a deeper calling persisted – the desire to build something transformative from scratch.

In 2017, while exploring startup ideas during his time at Amplus Solar, Arjun stumbled into the "Bitcoin rabbit hole". Curiosity quickly became conviction. He saw the immense potential of crypto but also recognized a critical gap: India lacked the necessary infrastructure, particularly user-friendly and trustworthy exchanges, to support the growing interest in Web3. This realization became the catalyst for Giottus.

"We are here because it's hard to do this. Let's take a use case where crypto was regulated in India. We will not have this opportunity to start an exchange... Because it was unregulated, we had this opportunity." 

Building Giottus: Navigating Crypto Winters and Regulatory Storms

Launching a crypto exchange in India hasn't been easy. Arjun describes the combination of crypto's inherent volatility and the unpredictable nature of entrepreneurship, compounded by regulatory uncertainty, as "excess volatility". Giottus launched on April 14, 2018, right when the RBI introduced banking restrictions for crypto companies. They faced potential draft bills threatening jail time for holding crypto and weathered the brutal 2022 crypto crash that saw giants like FTX collapse.

"The biggest risk that we had was always the government regulations. So we were not sure, especially in 2017 when we started, which direction the government will take. And it was a bet." 

Despite these hurdles, Giottus persevered, entirely bootstrapped from day one. They focused relentlessly on solving customer pain points, particularly the difficulties with INR deposits and withdrawals (on-ramping and off-ramping). Arjun estimates that 30% of their time over the past seven years has been dedicated to resolving banking issues for users. The period following the Supreme Court lifting the RBI ban in March/April 2020 marked a turning point, leading to explosive growth over the next 18 months.

Giottus Today: A Bootstrapped Giant in Indian Crypto

What started as an idea is now India's highest-rated crypto exchange and one of the largest platforms in the country. Giottus serves over 1.3 million customers (mentioned as "more than million customers" in the podcast ).

Key Highlights & Numbers:

• Customer Base: 1.3 Million+ Users

• Funding: Entirely Bootstrapped

• Trading Volume: Grew daily volume from ~₹10-15 Lakhs (2020) to ₹20-30 Crores (2021). Achieved a significant milestone of 500 Crores in total trading volume.

• Services: Instant INR deposits/withdrawals, Crypto withdrawals & Self-Custody support, Spot Trading (Order Book & Direct Purchase), OTC Desk, Crypto Baskets (Themed Investments), SIPs.

• Security: $250 Million insurance coverage via BitGo for cold wallets.

Arjun recalls hitting 10,000 customers as a particularly happy moment, especially when early users began trusting the nascent platform with significant sums like ₹40 lakhs or deposits of 200 Bitcoin. This reinforced their commitment to security and trust.

The Giottus Difference: Security, Trust, and the Long Game

Arjun emphasizes that Giottus sees itself as a finance company first, rather than just a tech company. Learning from failures elsewhere in the industry (like FTX), their core focus is on robust risk management, security, and compliance.

"In finance, if you're able to gain that kind of trust by doing right things, not doing mistakes, I think as a company, you will have a very good future... We value compliance and security and risk management much more than profits." 

Their commitment includes:

• Allowing Self-Custody: Empowering users to control their own crypto, a key tenet of decentralization, even though it increases compliance burdens for the exchange.

• Rigorous Security: Utilizing insured cold storage with partners like BitGo, multi-sig protocols, firewalls, and careful internal processes to mitigate risks.

• Compliance Focus: Actively engaging with regulatory bodies like the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and implementing required compliance measures like KYC, transaction monitoring, and reporting.

• Long-Term Vision: Building Giottus with the aspiration to last for 100 years, focusing on steady growth and enduring trust.

Arjun's Vision: Crypto, India, and the Future of Finance

Arjun remains a staunch advocate for crypto's potential in India. He believes Bitcoin is a foundational technology whose resilience inspires confidence. While acknowledging the speculative "casino" aspect that draws many users in, he sees price volatility as a "Trojan horse" driving mass adoption and awareness for the underlying technology.

He sees crypto leveling the playing field, offering retail investors access to potentially life-changing wealth generation opportunities previously reserved for institutions. Furthermore, he highlights how crypto and tokenization can fundamentally improve traditional finance by enabling instant settlement and reducing costs.

While regulatory clarity is still evolving in India, Arjun is optimistic about the global shift towards clearer frameworks and believes India is on a path to becoming a Web3 leader, provided the right infrastructure and regulations are in place. He sees the current market cycle as potentially different and more extended than previous ones, driven by factors like ETFs and increasing regulatory acceptance globally.

"This decentralized finance and crypto tokens in general. They have definitely given more opportunities to the retail. But after that, it's up to the retail to make use of that opportunity... But inherently the key thing is like that opportunity is there." 

Building the Bridge

Arjun Vijay's journey with Giottus is a testament to conviction, resilience, and a long-term vision. By focusing on trust, security, and navigating the complexities of the Indian market, Giottus has carved out a significant space in the country's rapidly evolving crypto landscape. As India charts its course in the Web3 era, platforms like Giottus, built with a deep understanding of both the technology's potential and the paramount importance of user trust, will be crucial bridges to the future of finance.