I was in the news yesterday as I was invited by "India Ahead News" for being an early adopter to cryptocurrencies in India. It is an English mainstream news channel with a nationwide presence. I was there along with renowned cyber law expert from India Mr. Pawan Duggal to discuss the "proposed" nonsensical crypto ban bill that's caused some unnecessary panic in the cryptocurrency-blockchain tech sector in the country.
This is somewhat last minute and I had some issues with my mic, as I was doing this over Skype. So you might want to turn up the audio on your devices to hear me clearly. This was a first on TV and I hope I can share more information with a wider audience similarly in the the future.
Btw, if you pay close attention to my jacket you might just spot the Steem pin on me! ;) I couldn't speak about Steem in this one but this is the least I could do for our community here. This is also the first time that anything Steem is on national tv in India.
In the past my meetups and articles have appeared in top media newspapers and online editions when they were somewhat enthusiastic about covering the emerging crypto market in India. I hope that happens again!
If you have any questions about this new confusion in crypto space in India please feel free to ask me in the comments below and please share this around so that people are not unnecessarily worried about a crypto ban in India which is nearly impossible to execute for the government.
If you like my work kindly resteem it to your friends. You may also continue reading my recent posts which might interest you:
- Why You Should Vote For Firepower As Witness—Witness Campaign Post From India!
- Steem.Chat Contest #82
the national banks are the coin-setters and generators of the FIAT coins, these coins are used by the governments of turn as methods of containment, both of the population and of the economy, study the current case of the Venezuelan economy, not all that It is done is bad. but all governments are afraid to openly allow cryptocurrencies, because they would be losing one of the best means of controlling the territory and therefore of sovereignty. Vista this last and without updating from the time of the conquest or invasion of the American continent.
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Quite true. Governments especially protectionist types such as the one here are scared of cryptos. Let's see how the situation unfolds.
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Good to see you cleared the air with that awesome lawyer.
Most of the Indians have a tendency to panic in these kinds of situations without getting into the depth of the things.
You mentioned that it is not certain yet that if it is a public or a private bill - if it is a private bill, there are 99% chances of it not being passed.
Only 14 private bills have been passed since India became independent and the last one to be passed was way back in 1970.
Also, even if the bill is passed (worst case scenario), it won't be easy to implement.
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Thanks
Yes that is correct! :) I'm hopeful our lawmakers will be a bit sensible about this tech. It would be foolish to ban it outright!
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I am sure the law-makers will take a wise decision.
And if they don't, the whole nation will be at loss.
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True that!
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Great job man! We need some positivity in the space and you and that lawyer sure did a good job delivering it :)
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Thanks a lot dude. :)
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I almost expected the 'expert' to be negative. Glad to see positive response.
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Don't keep such low hopes. Plenty of people want to fight this nonsense. It won't be easy for the govt to oppress people here.
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Good work dear, keep sharing such updates .
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Thank you. I will post more as I know more.
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amazing, congrats1
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Thank you so much bro :)
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ehehe all fancy :D awesome job :D
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That's really good yo see brother that the people like you those who know lots of things about the blockchain spreading it all the way to people of India hope so everything gets better and we get everything according to law.
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Cheers dude! I want people of our nation to be aware and not get bogged down due to the nonsense peddled by a section of our media and ruin investment, trade and employment opportunities in this space!
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Nicely done..
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Thank you :)
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Great advocate for crypto in India! I hope you are able to cope with the situation if it intensifies. Will be interesting to hear what steps you are taking to protect yourself against oppressive laws such as these.
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Thank you so much. I'm not sure this will become a law or what my options will be at that point. I'll take it as it comes.
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I am just too relieved to have you as a crypto investor. I look up to you for guiding us in this crypto world. You are truly a role model leading the community wisely.
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Thanks a lot dude! Appreciate your comment. :)
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Super cool to get you on TV there dude...
yeah the beginning failed a bit but you clearly delivered the message
sucks on how the situation is now still dude, but kudos for talking positive about it!
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Thanks :)
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Last two days a few people on Twitter are saying that the news maybe planted by the Government itself to test reaction of people. There is this other news doing the rounds that a new 2.5-5% tax will be introduced for a cumulative withdrawal of Rs 10 lakh or more in cash from your bank account.
Now I don't know how much of it is true but I hope for once that better sense prevails and this don't ban cryptos.
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Well anything is possible in a country ruled by fake news and paid articles. Who knows why BloombergQuint did this.
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Congrats! I still find it odd that India refuses to accept crypto and are instead going the route of digital rupees.
Does it have anything to do with h fear of losing control of money flow or something?
Imma download the video and watch later
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Thank you.
Yes. This is basically one of the biggest fears of any centralised govt and banking system. :)
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Nice work brother. Agreed.
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Thank you very much! :)
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Congratulations once again! It's great to see you shedding some light on this issue where/when most required.
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Thank you so much! :)
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Congratulations man!
Well done! :)
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Thank you so much bro! :)
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Interesting interview. I have been taking a long time break from steem, after I lost~5400 Steem. Now I am back, trying to keep up with the people I follow:) Here in Romania, the Gov just passed a bill saying that all profit from selling cryptocurrencies will be taxed with 10%. I think that the majority of countries are just scared of what Bitcoin can do, and also the transparency it brings. I don't think they are so interested in protecting us. They are scared that if system like Bitcoin is introduced, the corrupt people will be unable to steal that much money out of our pockets. But this is just me... :)
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How did you lose your STEEM if I may ask?
I think 10% tax on profit is fairly reasonable. There shouldn't be any more regulations on speculation in crypto tbh!
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Hi @firepower here is the full story: https://steemit.com/steem/@gabi-dumitriu/open-letter-to-ned-scott-and-dan-larimer-and-steem-community-i-have-lost-all-my-usd900-worth-of-steem-typosquatting-usernames
Since then, many things have changed, now I am blockchain consultant, focusing on training, dev, consultancy here locally in my hometown. Next week in fact I will host another meetup. At the event, I will explain how I found out about Bitcoin in 2012, then I will make a short introduction to Blockchain and will present 5 case studies in the following areas: suply chain, e-health, auto-motive, office & coworking spaces and intellectual property.
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Will check it out. Thanks for sharing.
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So this makes it more unique!
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It does. :D
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ehehe all fancy :D awesome job :D
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Thanks man :D
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First of all Congratulations.
I hope there are positive developments for the Indian Crypto users that will be in best interest of all.
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Thank you! :)
I'm sure the situation will change towards something more balanced eventually. It won't be easy for the govt to take radical steps against cryptos without a backlash from its citizens.
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Awesome! man. Feeling Proud. I will checkout the video post work. Cheers!
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Thanks. :)
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Great job! You along with Pavan Duggal got a good air time to present your views to all the audience of this channel. And you did succeed in it!
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Thank you. I'm glad you think so.
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Proud of you, bro!
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Thank you so much dude. I'm glad you saw this post.
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Why India banned crytpo currency? Great that you represented Steem on the media with a pin!
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Thank you.
India hasn't banned crypto yet. Just some speculative information floating around for now.
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This will enlighten us not just the India community, still keep us posted.
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I sure will. Thanks for stopping by. :)
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Crypto is definitely the money of the future. Rather than banning it, it is smarter to impose regulations to check the illegal activities around it. With banning crypto India will experience nothing but a greater brain drain.
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I agree. A ban is stupid and nearly impossible to implement.
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Awesome interview!
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Thank you so much! :)
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The bourgeoisie wants to keep you poor.
Good luck to you.
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Congratulations @firepower!
Your post was mentioned in the Steem Hit Parade in the following categories:
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I noticed that STEEM pin and glad to see that you're promoting STEEM silently and about the roumour, I am pretty sure that it's a fud news. I don't rely on Indian media for any crytpo news. I will trust it only when any official govt body shares the update.
Thanks for your efforts @firepower appreciate it.
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Thank you so much for your comment Alok :)
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Glade to see you on news channel. However, we are waiting for government decision. Banning the use of cryptocurrency in India will be a large setback for Indians.
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Thank you for your comment. :) I doubt there will be a ban ultimately.
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Great job @firepower for backing up the community. Hope they don't put you behind bars for this. :P For the Steem Pin. ;) Cheers!
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Thank you so much! :) Currently that's not an issue but should there be a ban we will fight it. :) Glad you saw the Pin :D I want to talk about Steem in the media but that seems difficult at the moment.
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Oh should we worry?
Would the jail punishment rule become effective, what are your views?
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No need to worry right now at all. There's nothing official from the government just yet. Even if supposing any of this was true and it gets passed in the parliament it won't be easy to implement and will be challenged in the court. Stay tuned for more updates. :)
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Relaxed to hear that. Would be challenged in the court sounds good.
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Absolutely!
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I love how both of you guys were able to send the right message across. Like Pavan said, banning crypto will indeed set India way behind.
But what I don't understand is the need to ban crypto in the first place. Does the government fear that the national currency will be overruled? I know crypto is used for illegal purposes too, but so are drugs and medicines. The best way to stop illegal activities isn't to ban the thing entirely, but to participate and regulate those activities.
I hope this news doesn't become a reality. Would certainly be a big downfall for our country.
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Thanks Ayush! Mostly INR/Cash is used for illegal transactions. Crypto use is minimal at most. It's just an excuse to prevent more citizens from using decentralised tech over centralised paper nonsense.
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Why exactly? Does using centralized paper currency over decentralized tech benefits them in some way or are they just too conservative to try out a new form of currency? I mean, what good do they think will come out of the ban? I honestly wanna know.
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The simplest explanation is:
Govt prints money
Forces people to use them
Can demonetise anytime and make this paper money worthless
Control money = control people
There's no good that will come out of the ban. People will use privacy coins/conduct OTC trades in cash illegally post ban or leave the country.
But this draft may not be from the government so need to worry too much yet.
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Interesting. Since crypto is decentralized and gives the power back to the people, the government won't be able to control the people if all of us start using crypto more often.
Why don't they teach this stuff in school? Oh right, because they're controlled too.
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Exactly!
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Wow, that's superb bro. You are not only leader here for Indian community, happy to see also became face of crypto on national media. Hope the noise around the bill soon cleared up.
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Thanks dude. I'm sure they won't take such an extreme step, because they will fall flat on their face in implementing a ban.
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Will they ban in india permanently? @firepower
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Unlikely, impossible to enforce it pan-India easily.
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It's refreshing to see a cyber law expert with an open mind on cryptocurrencies. Those in authorities should listen to this guy! If in case this bill ever becomes a law, expect the crypto community in India to go for privacy coins like the zcash, monero, pivx, veil. Thanks for this post by the way.
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True that.
Glad you found this useful.
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Yay! I felt quite happy about that. :D
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