India’s Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Businesses Moving Abroad Amidst RBI Harsh Policies

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is bent on stifling the growth of the nation’s digital currency ecosystem with its draconian policies. Now, crypto-powered businesses are leaving the country en masse to more digital currency-friendly regions.

Forbidden Fruits

On April 7, 2018, reports emerged that India’s Apex bank had given financial institutions in the nation an ultimatum to stop facilitating financial transactions for crypto-related businesses and individuals dealing in virtual currencies, as the bank had ambitions to create own national crypto.

Amidst this backdrop, various blockchain and cryptocurrency startups, individuals and ICO projects have been migrating to nations with more vibrant digital assets space.

Estonia Slowly Becoming a Global Crypto Hub

According to Factor Daily, Estonia, the relatively small Eastern European nation with a population of roughly 1.316 million people, is the new home for Indian crypto investors and businesses.

Amenable Regulations

One of the significant points of attraction in Estonia is the e-residency programme which makes it quite easy for firms to settle down and become part of the nation quickly. Also, tax rates in the country are quite flexible, coupled with crypto and blockchain friendly laws.

One of the beneficiaries of the e-residency scheme, Nilesh Trivedi who runs a blockchain startup called Indium, reiterated that he would “ideally like to diversify from India given the way things are moving here in regard to cryptocurrency and the blockchain space. It’s too uncertain.” He also hinted that the application process for the e-residency is non-cumbersome and it “will just cost me 100 Euros ($119.52) for three years, and I can renew it again after that. The tax regime there is good.”

It’s a good thing that many nation-states in Europe are at the forefront of the blockchain movement. One of the most significant blockchain and cryptocurrency friendly zones on the continent is Malta, a sparsely populated island nation of fewer than one million people.

Quite many bitcoin-related businesses and cryptocurrency exchanges have opened offices in the area in recent times, due to its vibrant and innovation-friendly government. Germany, Switzerland, and Bermuda are also fast becoming blockchain and digital currency hotspots.

Back in March, BTCManager reported that Germany had officially made bitcoin a legal tender in its tourism industry. “We want to be a global innovation driver in the tourism industry. In the course of our digitization strategy, we are constantly reviewing the latest technology and trends their applicability in our company,” said the CEO of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) in March 2018.

Trouble Looming

With the rate at which blockchain experts are leaving India to nations with amenable blockchain regulation, the country might have itself to blame in the near future as Distributed Ledger Technology, and digital currencies are the future of finance.