Cryptocurrency players form lobby group in a bid to stave off a likely ban in India – Economic Times

Anticipating a ban by the Indian government on virtual currencies, crypto entrepreneurs announced the formation of an industry association that will lobby with the government to stave off a likely ban.

The dedicated crypto entrepreneurs association known as ABCE - Association for Blockchain &, Crypto and Digital asset Entrepreneurs, is aimed to try to bring together a fragmented industry and engage in a dialogue with the government.

"This is an opportunity for the Indian entrepreneurs to create global startups early on. The proposed ban may destroy these young startups giving employment to thousands. To engage in a dialogue with the Government, entrepreneurs have joined hands together to form ABCE, said Sidharth Sogani, CEO of CREBACO Global, a research firm.

"Making this association is essential in getting the industry together, to have a dialogue with stakeholders in the Indian government, regulators and policymakers as their knowledge related to this industry is poor and unclear, said Jagdish Pandya, Chairman at BlockOn Group.

The ministry of finance recently announce that it would table, the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital currency Bill, 2021 in the ongoing session of the parliament. The ministry also indicated that it is planning to introduce a ban on trading and investment in private cryptocurrencies and allow the Reserve Bank of India to develop and run its own digital currency, referred to as Central Bank Digital Currency.

Globally, top cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchain-based decentralised assets' are not viewed as private in nature, but rather more as decentralised public assets, traded on public exchanges.

"As an industry, we have been following the global best practices, this has helped us nurture and build a clean crypto ecosystem in India, said Nischal Shetty, CEO of WazirX. When every other country is bringing regulations, India should not be left behind.

The crypto industry believes that banning is not the solution, since most of the developed economies are working towards regulating it so that innovation around this new technology brings maximum fruits to their economies.

As per the research data of CREBACO, the crypto industry in India has a potential to grow to $15 billion with over 10 million active users. The research claims that the industry has the potential to generate tax revenue worth thousands of crores, generate employment opportunities for over 25,000 young and educated professionals, bring foreign direct investments in the country, and provide a livelihood to lakhs of crypto traders, majorly young in age.

"Than many other counties, India is best positioned to take advantage of crypto assets, said Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO of Unocoin. The proposed crypto ban is not balanced in providing opportunities but only looking at how the technology can be misused and India has a lot to lose if it gets through.

"The Indian government and the crypto industry share two sacred values," said ZebPay CEO Rahul Pagidipati. "First, we must protect the people from fraud and harm. Second, we must promote innovation to drive India's global economic leadership.

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Cryptocurrency players form lobby group in a bid to stave off a likely ban in India - Economic Times