India

Top blockchain and crypto news: Binance.US undergoes staffing shakeup. Ethereum NFTs at risk. India to take a stand on crypto.

Bitcoin started the week below US$26,000 while Ether dropped to US$1,611. Toncoin and XRP lead losers in the last 24 hours.

As the 2023 G20 Summit is set to kickoff over the weekend, we take a closer look at India’s role in kicking off its crypto regulation agenda.

With nine months under its G20 presidency belt, India’s approach to cryptocurrency governance remains static. Amid regulatory ambiguity, the nation’s crypto industry struggles to cope with stringent tax rules.

Welcome to Forkast IQ, presented by Forkast’s Angie Lau, where we look beyond the headlines to get you insights that power smarter decisions.

Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptos dropped on Friday afternoon in Asia. Toncoin and Tron gained.

Top blockchain and crypto news: U.S. court compels SEC to review Grayscale’s ETF application. SEC zooms in on NFTs. Asia’s richest man eyes blockchain, CBDCs

Bitcoin, Ether and most other top 10 cryptos dropped on Thursday after a Wednesday rally on news of Grayscale receiving a favorable ruling against the SEC.

CoinSwitch, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange backed by Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, has laid off 44 employees from its customer support team due to a drop in customer queries with falling trading volumes.

Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man from India, said on Monday that his Reliance Industries Ltd. is exploring blockchain-based platforms and central bank digital currencies (CBDC).

Amid growing concerns around algorithm biases and their societal impact, India Prime Minister Modi calls for international consensus on ethical AI and crypto governance at the B20 summit. 

CoinDCX, one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said on Wednesday it is laying off 12% of its staff due to the impact of a prolonged bear market and local tax rules. 

Bitcoin rose slightly in the past 24 hours while Ether lost. Dogecoin and Solana were the day’s biggest losers, both dropping by over 1%, although both posted gains on the week.

Indian Web3 firm Airchains has announced a partnership with the New Town Kolkata Development Authority of West Bengal, to release 500,000 NFTs in hopes to enhance registration and transfer of land ownership. 

Kapoor founded the India Blockchain Alliance five years ago and gives an update on how the technology is being used in police reports to real estate transactions, as well as challenges of CBDC adoption and plans for tokenization of assets. He spoke in an interview for Forkast IQ.

Welcome to Forkast IQ, presented by Angie Lau, where we look beyond the headlines to get you insights that power smarter decisions. Coming up on today’s show:

Five countries in South and Southeast Asia now rank in the global top 10 for cryptocurrency adoption, embracing DeFi and defying government attempts to discourage crypto use. Is this a harbinger of larger trends to come?

Bitcoin prices drop 1.04% to US$30,416 in 24 hours, while Ether fell 0.98% to US$1,893.

Xapo Bank, a Gibraltar-based cryptocurrency bank backed by SoftBank, DST Global and Ribbit Capital, has announced its expansion to India, the world’s most populous nation. 

Leaders in Hong Kong’s Web3 industry announced the formation of two new associations, Hong Kong Licensed Virtual Assets Association (HKLVAA) and Web3 Harbour, on Monday.

Hong Kong will allow licensed cryptocurrency trading platforms to offer services to retail investors and will implement a slew of measures to protect individual traders, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said on Tuesday.

India is not against the blockchain technology, but currencies have to be monitored by either the government or the central bank, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday. 

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in commending the potential of distributed ledger technology (DLT), has urged for a global consensus in regulating crypto while emphasizing that regulation did not equate to government control over the technology. 

A common regulatory framework for all countries is underway, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

India is reportedly aiming to have one million users of its CBDC within three months of launch, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by CoinDesk. 

WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume, has blacklisted over 2,431 accounts between October 2022 and March 2023, based on its internal monitoring process as well as under the direction of law enforcement agencies (LEA). 

The Indian central bank and the UAE will jointly run pilot programs on their central bank digital currencies, according to the Reserve Bank of India. 

India’s crime fighting agencies have been investigating crypto exchanges and individuals on money laundering charges and have now put the onus on exchanges to report suspicious transactions.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters after the G20 meeting in India on Saturday that while the U.S. has not indicated any outright bans, it is critical to put in place a strong regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry. 

As India moves forward with its one-year presidency of the Group of 20 (G20), it is discussing cryptocurrency and regulation with the group’s members, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. 

Binance has stopped providing wallet services to Indian crypto exchange WazirX, asking it to withdraw any remaining assets held in Binance wallets by Feb. 3.

India, the current holder of the G20 presidency, has been working with the IMF and the Financial Stability Board FSB to develop a regulatory approach for cryptocurrencies.

Indian retail giant Reliance Retail announced on Thursday that it has started accepting digital rupee payments to become the largest Indian firm to adopt the nation’s CBDC.

India’s position on digital assets remains status quo as the country’s parliamentary budget hearing leads to disappointment in the crypto sector.

Bitcoin traded above US$23,000 throughout Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia, while Ethereum and other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies were mixed. Cardano led gains with 2.03% followed by XRP’s 1.13%. 

Laws to prevent another FTX blowup, crackdowns on crypto tax cheats, and a ruling on Ripple are likely imminent. A bull’s eye is also on DeFi, writes Gergo Varga of SEON.

India announces its full year budget on Feb. 1, the last before general elections in 2024, and the cryptocurrency and digital asset industry is lobbying the government for changes in tax rules, among others.

India-focused accelerator Graviton has announced an initiative to help Indian Web 3.0 start-ups get up to US$50,000 in funding

India’s crypto tax laws have caused local trading volume to plummet and the industry is hoping for better news in the upcoming budget session.

Some 90% of user assets at WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by volume, are held in wallets at Binance while the remaining 10% are stored in hot and warm wallets, revealed WazirX’s proof of reserves that the company released on Wednesday.

Indian cryptocurrency exchanges faced a flurry of taxes on trading last year that saw volumes across most platforms drop as much as 90%, slashing income from trading fees. What’s a crypto exchange to do? Maybe sell mutual funds?

India’s Decimal Point Analytics (DPA), a research and data analytics firm, has received grant funding of up to US$750,000 from The Hashgraph Association, a Switzerland-headquartered non-profit organization, to develop an asset tokenization platform on Hedera’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) network. 

Indian music composer A. R. Rahman, who won Best Original Score at the Oscars for the movie Slumdog Millionaire, has launched the ‘Katraar’ metaverse platform to promote new music creations and other art forms.

WazirX VP Rajagopal Menon sits down with Forkast to provide some insight as survival becomes a huge concern for crypto exchanges in India.

India’s current cryptocurrency tax structure “may lead to a loss of approximately US$1.2 trillion of local exchange trade volume in the next four years,” according to research by Esya Centre, a technology policy think tank in India.

India loves religious festivals, but are its citizens ready to attend such celebrations in virtual reality? An Indian startup reckons they are and launched its first effort this year, saying 20,000 avatars showed up.

A lot of the troubles for India exchanges in 2022 will run into next year as they shed staff and run down reserves to stay afloat, and not all are expected to make it.

Despite the myriad benefits of blockchain and cryptocurrency, institutional interest remains mixed in Asia Pacific. What lessons should the industry learn from 2022 to overcome the barriers to adoption?

India will launch its retail CBDC pilot on Thursday with plans to gradually expand trials, the RBI announced on Tuesday.

The Bank of Japan, the country’s central bank, will conduct experiments with three megabanks and regional banks on a digital yen, according to a report by Nikkei on Wednesday. 

Indian crypto exchange CoinSwitch has launched CoinSwitch Pro, a multi-exchange trading platform that lets users trade crypto assets in Indian Rupees across multiple exchanges with a single login. 

Indian crypto exchange CoinSwitch’s proof of reserves summary, that was shared on Thursday, stated that as of Nov. 4, the exchange’s overall holdings of crypto and fiat balances in Indian Rupees (INR) exceeded those held by the exchange on behalf of its users.

WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, has introduced a profit and loss function for users to analyze and calculate their investments. 

Cryptocurrency exchanges and Web 3.0 companies, including Coinbase and Polygon, have formed the Bharat Web3 Association in India to strengthen regulation and consumer protection for the industry.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged all Group of 20 (G20) nations, as well as international bodies like the International Monetary Fund and Financial Stability Board, to come together to help regulate crypto assets. See related article: India’s finance minister sees 46% growth in blockchain technology use in next few years Fast facts Sitharaman […]

India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), responsible for policy formulation and collection of indirect taxes like the goods and services tax (GST), has asked major cryptocurrency exchanges to provide details on the type of digital coins and tokens being traded and their valuation. 

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will pilot the country’s first digital rupee in the wholesale segment (e₹-W) from Nov. 1 and has identified nine banks for participation in the trial. 

India has witnessed an increase in drug smuggling using cryptocurrencies and the darknet, according to the country’s Home Minister Amit Shah. 

India’s lack of regulatory clarity on crypto and Web 3.0 is a driving force of critical human capital flight, according to a new report by Nasscom.

Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricket legend and former captain of the national cricket team, has partnered with cricket non-fungible token (NFT) platform Rario to launch exclusive digital collectibles. See related article: 55,000 Meta Cricket League NFTs sell out in nine minutes Fast facts Rario has existing partnerships with cricket icons, like Zaheer Khan, Kevin Pietersen, Jonty […]

In a Q&A with Forkast, First Digital Trust Chief Executive Officer Vincent Chok shared his views on Hong Kong getting back into crypto, regulations, and how the crypto pie in Asia is big enough for rivals Singapore and Hong Kong.

India’s crypto sector has been having a tough time – we’re taking a look on what has been happening lately.

As India prepares to begin its one-year presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) beginning Dec. 1, it will look to work toward a global, tech-driven regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. See related article: India’s finance minister calls on G20 to share information on crypto Fast facts “During our engagements, […]

The Indian police unit in Firozabad city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh has launched an online complaint portal powered by Ethereum scaler Polygon. See related article: Blockchain in India got off on wrong foot, says former finance chief  Fast facts The pilot portal, policecomplaintonblockchain.in, leverages blockchain technology’s immutability, which means complaints cannot be […]

One company says it’s bringing solutions for confused investors in digital assets in India who grapple with hours of tax calculations.

About thirty investors in India have been allegedly duped of US$54,653 through a crypto cloud mining app, local media reported.   See related article: India financial crime unit cites ‘Chinese-controlled entities’ in alleged crypto fraud Fast facts Investors from Solapur city in India’s Maharashtra state were allegedly duped by fraudsters who lured them to download the […]

Cryptocurrency exchange WazirX will look to integrate India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) “if all goes well,” vice president Rajagopal Menon told Forkast in a video interview on Monday.  See related article: RBI to begin CBDC pilots, outlines wholesale, retail concepts Fast facts “We would love to onboard the e-rupee and you can buy your […]

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon begin to pilot the digital rupee for specific use cases, it said in a concept note on its central bank digital currency (CBDC). See related article: Sweden’s central bank to test use of retail CBDC for instant payments Fast facts India’s central bank said in the concept […]

Binance in India – potential or problem?

India’s financial crime fighting agency has frozen additional cryptocurrencies worth around US$58,000 as part of an ongoing money laundering probe against mobile gaming application E-Nuggets and its former executive. See related article:  Indian authorities probe alleged $125 mln money laundering cases involving crypto, report says Fast facts The additional cryptocurrencies include WRX, the utility token […]

India’s financial crime fighting agency has frozen US$1.2 million in account balances of various “Chinese-controlled entities” as part of an investigation related to alleged crypto fraud with an app-based token “HPZ” and similar applications.  See related article: Tax authorities recover US$9M from India’s biggest crypto exchanges Fast facts India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), in a press […]

India’s financial crime fighting agency has frozen over US$1.5 million in cryptocurrencies as part of a money laundering investigation against mobile gaming application E-nuggets, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday.   See related article: Indian authorities probe alleged $125 mln money laundering cases involving crypto, report says Fast facts The ED launched a money laundering […]