The billionaire investor known as India’s Warren Buffet, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, has voiced his support for India’s impending cryptocurrency ban, warning that the hangover from Bitcoin (BTC) mania will be worse than the party itself. Jhunjhunwala, speaking on CNBC’s Street Signs Asia segment on Tuesday, said the Bitcoin party was one he’d rather not attend: “I think it’s speculation of the highest order. I don’t want to join every party in town. I think the hangover is much worse.” The headache from that hangover was felt to some extent on Tuesday as almost $400 billion departed the global cryptocurrency market capitalization. …

The State Bank of India, or SBI — a major Indian government-owned bank — is looking to improve cross-border payments with a blockchain solution by United States investment bank JPMorgan Chase. According to a Tuesday report by The Economic Times, the SBI has joined Liink, a new blockchain-based interbank data network developed by JPMorgan. By integrating the technology, the bank expects to reduce transaction costs and improve cross-border payments for its customers. SBI deputy managing director Venkat Nageswar said that the bank has already gone live on Liink. “We are excited to be the first bank in India to go …

In what seems to be another anti-crypto move by regulators in India, initial public offering promoters may soon be forced to sell their crypto holdings before being allowed to participate in raising funds. According to a report by the Economic Times, the Securities Board of India may disqualify IPO promoters from raising funds if they hold cryptocurrencies. This move is reportedly an extension of SEBI’s instructions to securities lawyers, merchant banks and other stakeholders in the IPO ecosystem regarding cryptocurrencies. According to a securities lawyer quoted by the Economic Times, “There could be a direction from the government in this …

Former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan thinks India’s impending cryptocurrency ban would be akin to banning the internet and could cost the country trillions of dollars in potential profits. Speaking in an interview with The CapTable, Srinivasan said a blanket ban on Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies would simply redirect trade revenue to nearby Asian markets, amounting to a “trillion-dollar” mistake for India: “It’s really important that the ban (India’s plan to ban owning, trading, mining or investing in cryptocurrency) should not go through. It would be a trillion-dollar mistake for India, without exaggeration.” On Thursday, an anonymous senior …

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has announced the creation of a blind Bitcoin (BTC) development trust worth 500 BTC ($23.7 million), along with rapper Jay-Z, for teams working on the project in India and Africa. Dorsey revealed the creation of the trust on Feb. 12 while sending out a call for three board members to oversee the blind trust initially. JAY-Z/@S_C_ and I are giving 500 BTC to a new endowment named ₿trust to fund #Bitcoin development, initially focused on teams in Africa & India. It‘ll be set up as a blind irrevocable trust, taking zero direction from us. We need …

An anonymous source claiming to be a senior Indian Finance Ministry official has claimed that the use of crypto assets will soon be completely banned in the world’s second most populated country. Speaking to Bloomberg, the source claimed that the use of cryptocurrency in all its forms will be banned under a new law expected to soon be introduced in the parliament. Transacting with crypto via foreign exchanges will also be prohibited. Crypto investors are expected to be given a three-to-six month transition period to liquidate their holdings after the new law comes into effect, the source said. The official …

The Indian Crypto community has been involved in discussions with the government about how it should perceive cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology before finding ways to regulate the industry ever since the government placed a now-defunct blanket ban on banks servicing crypto firms in April 2018. In the latest update, on Jan. 29, the government revealed its plans to introduce The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 to the lower house of the parliament (The Lok Sabha) in the upcoming session. As mentioned in the Lok Sabha’s release, the bill would have a two-fold agenda. The first is …

The Indian government may be taking a legislative shortcut to pass a bill recently proposed to regulate digital currencies in the country. According to a report from news outlet CNBC-TV18, the Indian government may take the “ordinance route” to ban the use of private cryptocurrencies in the country as well as create a regulatory framework for a digital rupee issued by the Reserve Bank of India. Passing the measures within the proposed crypto bill using this method would require the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, to issue an ordinance when Parliament is not in session. The news outlet said …

India has more than 65% of its population below the age of 35, with the average age nationwide being 29 years old. Additionally, out of India’s 1.3 billion people, only half currently use mobile phones, and less than half of this number are smartphones. Even though India is one of the world’s most populated countries, internet usage remains at 41%, with 700 million Indians currently connected to the internet. This leaves incredible room for growth in India, which lags behind other emerging economies when it comes to both internet access and smartphone ownership. This large, underserved population has long been …

Kumar Gaurav, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Cashaa, believes the Indian government’s latest efforts to regulate digital currencies are more of an attempt to prevent illicit activities in the industry rather than outright ban crypto. According to a bulletin released by the Parliament of India on Friday, the governing body will be considering a bill intended to "prohibit all private cryptocurrencies" while also creating a regulatory framework for a digital rupee issued by the Reserve Bank of India, or RBI. The central bank announced last week that it would be "exploring the possibility" of a digital currency. However, the …

Less than a year after the Indian supreme court overturned the Reserve Bank of India’s ban on crypto businesses, the bank’s position on digital assets is looking slightly more bullish. According to a booklet on payments released today by the RBI, the bank is “exploring the possibility as to whether there is a need for a digital version of fiat currency.” The bank added that if it found a need, it would look into ways to put digital currency into use. The RBI booklet acknowledged the popularity surrounding cryptocurrencies worldwide but claimed that Indian regulators and local government bodies are …

Trials of blockchain-aided voting in India that would enable voters to post ballots from outside their home provinces are to begin soon. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said that research using the cutting-edge technology had already started and that mock trials were to be launched in the very near future, as reported by The Wire. India’s Election Commission worked alongside researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in creating a secure way to verify identities and enable voting from far-flung regions of the country, and beyond. On the same day, Arora confirmed a proposal that would give Indians living …