iWorld
Coinome launches as a crypto currency exchange in India
MUMBAI: With the vision of mainstreaming crypto-currencies, the ‘Coinome’ platform has been launched in India. Headquartered in Mumbai, Coinome is from Hatio Innovations Pvt. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of BillDesk.
Coinome operates a crypto-currency exchange and is the first crypto platform in India to allow users to be on-boarded simply and quickly via Instant e-KYC. The platform provides a seamless on-boarding experience and the e-KYC process means that users can start transacting in crypto-currencies almost immediately on registering. The exchange platform supports instant deposits using payment gateway and instant withdrawals, thereby allowing transactions even on weekends or business holidays. As an open order book Crypto-currency exchange, Coinome facilitates transparency and best price discovery amongst the buyers and sellers.
BillDesk is payment solutions platform handling over USD 50 billion consumer digital payments annually. BillDesk has been the leader in driving electronic payments and digital commerce in India over the last 17 years. Its expertise in secure online payments, along with its market leadership position will support Coinome in promoting crypto-currencies as viable avenues for investments, transactions and building digital assets.
Speaking about the same, Coinome CEO Vivek Steve Francis said, “At Coinome, we are excited to bring crypto-currencies to the masses. India, with a limited number of exchanges supporting multiple crypto-currencies, offers immense opportunities. We would fundamentally like to provide Indian users with a secure and convenient means for buying or selling Bitcoins, and other crypto-currencies. In the next one year, our target is to support up to 20 popular crypto-currencies and promoting the same within Indian masses as commercially viable alternatives for building their digital assets.”
Commenting on this initiative, BillDesk co-founder & director Srinivasu MN said, “Advancements in Blockchain as well as crypto-currency space are happening at a rapid pace. We are making the long-term bet that digital currencies are going to be powering transactions in the future and change the way consumers and organisations interact and transact with one another.”
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
