District police have arrested a 36-year-old man from the Malappuram district of the south Indian state of Kerala on charges of operating a cryptocurrency scam. Nishad has been charged under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act by the district police chief U Abdul Karim. A team led by police inspector P Vishnu seized several documents from Nishad’s house and alleged that he has duped thousands of people from across India of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nishad, who is also the managing director of a Bengaluru-based startup Long Rich Technologies, allegedly lured investors into investing in the …

Crypto exchange Zebpay has launched a campaign with ads featuring Bitcoin during the Indian Premier League cricket games. As reported by Twitter user Mohit Rai Sharma, ads for Zebpay appeared on Indian streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar during a series of cricket matches starting Sept. 19. “Learn about simple, secure Bitcoin,” the ads stated, directing viewers to pay just over $1 to start using the exchange. Sharma stated that the ads represented a “historic moment for crypto in India.” More than 462 million people watched the Indian Premier League games in 2019, with roughly 300 million tuning in using the Hotstar …

The operator of Delhi-based cryptocurrency platform Pluto Exchange is accused of duping 43 investors of more than $272,000. A local news outlet Millennium Post reported that the Economic Offence Wing of the Delhi Police has launched a probe against the operators of the Pluto Exchange after 43 investors filed a complaint with the EOW. Bharat Verma, the founder of Pluto Exchange, and others involved in the investment scheme allegedly lured investors by saying they were running crypto trading and cryptocurrency mining operations under the company “F2poolminin.” Joginder Kumar, one of the 43 investors, claimed that he first met the operators …

The Indian state of Tamil Nadu unveils new technology projects, including a blockchain infrastructure, to create easier government processes. Tamil Nadu chief minister Edapaddi K. Palaniswami announced Tamil Nadu's adoption of an ethical blockchain policy, according to The New Indian Express. Palaniswami also announced that Tamil Nadu intends to launch a project to provide Knowledge Proof Identity-based services delivery, which, according to the minister, will revolutionize the way the government provides its services to citizens. The project will be implemented by establishing and leveraging the State Family Database (SFDB) and Blockchain Backbone infrastructure. The blockchain infrastructure functions as a single …

The draconian bill introduced by the country’s former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg in 2019 to ban cryptocurrencies in India haunts the country’s crypto enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to this day. Reports from Bloomberg and the local news outlet Economic Times about the further development of the bill and the possible introduction of it as law has only caused more panic and anxiety within the crypto community. These reports have always cited “people familiar with the development” as saying that the bill will be discussed shortly by the federal cabinet before being sent to the parliament for consideration. The same statements …

Indian government officials are reportedly planning to discuss a new bill whose legal framework would ban cryptocurrencies on the subcontinent. According to a Sept. 15 report from Bloomberg, the Indian federal cabinet is considering a law banning crypto six months after courts lifted a blanket ban. Anonymous sources claimed that the Indian government would encourage the development of blockchain technology, but not cryptocurrency trading. In response, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the decision “disappointing,” stating that cryptocurrency had the potential to help underserved populations in the country: Disappointing to see India flip flop on crypto, hamstringing a nascent industry which …

When most people hear about buying Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies, they immediately think of the largest exchanges, most of which are located in Asia. Today, countries such as China and South Korea have become epicenters of blockchain innovation. However, in many countries, it’s still unclear whether cryptocurrencies are allowed, and if they are, what their status is. So, here’s how the regulation of the cryptocurrency market in Asia is shaping up and what should be expected from governments in the near future. China goes digital with the yuan Today, China is home to many cryptocurrency projects and exchanges, and …

The Binance-backed Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has launched a new in-app staking feature on Sept. 1 that will allow its users to stake cryptocurrencies to earn interests. Staking is the process of holding cryptocurrencies in a wallet to support the operations of a proof-of-stake blockchain network in return for rewards in the form of new tokens. Kicking off the launch with support for just TRON (TRX), WazirX is gearing up to add one new token for staking every week, according to an announcement. Tezos (XTZ) and Harmony (ONE) are two other tokens scheduled for launch in the next two weeks. …

Despite concerns about possible anti-crypto legislation in the near future, Indian crypto firms are rolling out educational programs and professional training for the crypto-curious. Cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX announced on Sept. 2 that it will be integrating into an online training and blockchain certifications course run by an organization called Blockchain Council. Two specialized courses in cryptocurrency training and expertise will be offered through the new partnership. These will extend CoinDCX’s existing educational platform, “DCX Learn” and will offer trainees practice sessions using the exchange’s interface for simulated trading experience. The new trading and cryptocurrency expertise courses will complement the Blockchain …

Food industry officials in the United Arab Emirates may soon have a blockchain-based supply chain to obtain agricultural products directly from India. According to an Aug. 31 report, officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be using Agriota E-Marketplace, a new platform that employs blockchain technology to bridge the gap between farmers in India and the nation’s food industry. Agriota reportedly provides transparency by verifying the food supply chain from Indian farms to food processing companies, traders and wholesalers in the UAE. Essentially, the platform will allow Indian farmers to connect directly with food industry firms in the UAE …

Even as fears of another blanket ban on India’s digital asset market linger on, peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading within the Asian powerhouse is still surging, hitting all-time highs over the first week of August. This immense growth was initially spurred by the Supreme Court’s unequivocal decision earlier in March 2020 to repeal an unconstitutional circular imposed by the Reserve Bank of India forbidding local banks and various financial institutions from providing services to crypto exchanges and investors. According to data aggregated by peer-to-peer Bitcoin (BTC) marketplaces Paxful and Localbitcoins, weekly trading volumes in India have been gaining ground consistently since April. …

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance is conducting a hackathon in India focused on decentralized finance (DeFi) that will be followed by an accelerator program. Dubbed “Build for Bharat,” the company claimed that this is the first-ever DeFi-focused hackathon and acceleration program being conducted in India. In a blog on Aug. 24, the company said that through the hackathon, they intend to bridge the gap between blockchain and mass adoption in India. Binance plans to shortlist 100 teams for the main event after assessing application forms submitted before Sep. 11. “We’re interested in DeFi products around mini-tokens, micro-financing applications, blockchain datasets, blockchain-AI …