Altcoin News: Crypto Companies Began to Leave India

September 17, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE

The bill on the prohibition of cryptocurrencies, which is being approved by the Government of India, has already led to the fact that some cryptocurrency companies are changing jurisdiction.

The local publication Economic Times conducted a study of sentiment in the cryptocurrency industry of India and it turned out that some companies are already changing their country of registration.

The problem is that the bill offers a complete ban on the use and extraction of cryptocurrencies, as well as imprisonment for breaking the law. Citizens and owners of companies mining, generating, storing, selling, transferring, issuing or otherwise dealing with cryptocurrencies can be sentenced to up to 10 years.

“As a startup from India, we always wanted to serve from India, but this recent complication has made it difficult for domestic crypto exchanges to operate their businesses in India. So, we are now an Estonia-based company, and any Indian law to criminalize crypto will not impact us.”

According to the founder and CEO of the popular Indian exchange WazirX, Nischal Shetty, with this bill, the government destroys the life and fortune of more than five million citizens who own cryptocurrencies. He emphasized that such a law would destabilize existing companies, and would also make India “the first large democratic country to ban innovative technology.”

Note that the bill does not provide any exemptions for people who worked with cryptocurrencies before the adoption of the law. Of course, it is unlikely it will have a retroactive effect, but what about people who have crypto assets on their wallets?

It is interesting that after the appearance of the bill to ban cryptocurrency in India, venture capitalist Tim Draper delivered sharp criticism of the government. He called the authorities of India miserable and corrupt.

Author: Marko Vidrih