Indian crypto users suspect Flipkart's Bitcoin announcement is an April Fools joke

Flipkart, India's largest e-commerce company by sales, has said it will be accepting Bitcoin payments in what many suspect is an April Fools’ Day prank.

In an announcement on Twitter today at 11:30 pm India Standard Time, Flipkart said it would be accepting Bitcoin (BTC) “as a convenient mode 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 is already April Fools’ Day in India.

The future is here. We now accept Bitcoin as a convenient mode of payment. Update your app now. pic.twitter.com/l3MlY2qwRd

— Flipkart (@Flipkart) March 31, 2021

Headquartered in Bangalore, Flipkart has claimed to have more than 200 million users as of July 2020, meaning crypto payments on the platform could look bullish for the Indian market. However, reports have been circulating of the Indian government introducing a possible ban on private cryptocurrencies in the country. Many Flipkart users seemingly doubted the veracity of the company’s claims.

“A massive company like Flipkart would not take such a risk given the uncertainties in the regulations here,” said Twitter user Shrikar Parashar.

Many Crypto Twitter users said that even though they believed the announcement was an April Fools’ Day joke, the message was still a bullish indicator for the space and “good for Bitcoin awareness.” Others speculated that if Flipkart didn’t hold up its end on Bitcoin payments, the alleged joke might drive users away:

The crypto space is annually beset with fake news reports around April 1 that sometimes go viral before the majority of readers find the fine print revealing they were jokes. For a few years, CoinMarketCap has listed Toilet Paper Token (TPT) as the number “0” digital asset in its list of cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Last year, crypto exchange Bitfinex pranked its more than 600,000 Twitter followers by claiming it would release an energy drink similar to Monster.

Cointelegraph reached out to Flipkart for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.