Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Re: Now you can pay highway tolls using Bitcoin
by
enhu
on 24/09/2021, 02:30:10 UTC
Here is really a good news for us .With the new FASTag feature, users can choose among 17 operators and enter the vehicle registration number and FASTag top-up amount, which can be anywhere between Rs 100 to Rs 10,000 worth of Bitcoin.

source @yourstory
While it is fascinating to witness the growing adoption of bitcoin in a country that hasn't yet fully legalized bitcoin, I still see some issues with the news you've provided a link to. After reading the article, it became clear that you have to use unnecessary intermediaries to pay highway tolls. For example, you have to trust Unocoin Wallet with your bitcoins (please note, they stop being yours after you handed them over to a third party) because they will have full control over private keys unlocking bitcoins on your balance. This means you are not using bitcoins here, at least you are not using them directly for payments. Bitcoin was meant to minimize counterparty risk or avoid it completely, but in the case of Unocoin Wallet, the risk still exists. It doesn't matter how reputable this exchange is or how long it is on the market, it will freeze your funds should the Indian government changes their mind and banned bitcoin entirely. Moreover, why spend bitcoin on small payments if you can easily pay your bills with fiat?

I understand your general concern about "Not your keys Not your Coins" but I would think that The National Highway Authority of India would be an Indian Government body in charge of transportation Undecided and from this quote "The National Highway Authority of India operates FASTag as a mandatory payment system to enable contactless toll payment for vehicles." it would seem as though the Indian government has some sort of approval for this operation. However, I would also think, individuals, can only credit the amount of bitcoin they would need at a time for safety. 

Would this mean that the Indian government will likely adopt Bitcoin?

Not everyone in the country has Bitcoin, it will be a good idea to first adopt Bitcoin and fix the laws there and then incentivize users of the fasttag for it to have more users. If this is just adopted in El Salvador, it's going to be an easy job for their government that in matter of days, more than 50% of the vehicles passingby will pay in BTC.