Even as India waits for parliamentary discussion to begin on a bill that may ban or limit cryptocurrency, Navi Mutual Fund has applied for approval of a Blockchain Index Fund of Funds (FoF) that does not directly invest in cryptocurrencies or crypto exchanges, according to a report by Bloomberg Livemint.
Fast facts
- Navi Mutual Fund is part of Navi Technologies, led by Sachin Bansal, who founded ecommerce giant Flipkart and sold it to Walmart. Navi Mutual Fund’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Board of India comes weeks after Invesco, which received a greenlight from SEBI for the nation’s first blockchain FoF, indefinitely delayed its November launch amid regulatory uncertainty over crypto.
- Navi’s proposed fund will track the Indxx Blockchain Index, which seeks to track the performance of companies that are either actively using, investing in, developing, or have products that are poised to benefit from blockchain technology. The fund and the index avoid direct investments in crypto or crypto exchanges; its largest holdings are Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Micron Technology.
- India’s crypto bill has yet to be released to the public or discussed in parliament. Therefore, the exact specifics of the bill and what it may entail are unknown. But recent reports suggest that the government is looking to adopt a balanced approach and regulate crypto as assets. The government has been unambiguous that the blockchain technology that cryptocurrencies are built upon will be allowed in the country. The ministry of electronics and information technology even released a National Strategy for Blockchain late last week, which is now available for public consultation and feedback.