Just $20 million of the $1 billion in cryptocurrency that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated to a COVID-19 relief fund in India has so far been cashed out and distributed to aid recipients. Figuring out why the process is not as frictionless as crypto users would hope is the focus of a recent interview with the fund’s founder, Sandeep Nailwal. Cointelegraph readers will recall that this May, Buterin’s decision to liquidate several of his meme coin positions and donate the proceeds to various charities had prompted panic and admiration in equal helpings. Panic, firstly, set in among those traders who …

Blockchain platform Solana announced an open invitation to Building out Loud, a hackathon venture exclusively for Indian developers and entrepreneurs. According to the official statement, Solana plans to launch the three-week long event in collaboration with Devfolio and YouTube influencer Superpumped. Solana’s announcement consists of a free and open invitation to “students, Web2 & Web3 developers, engineers and anyone looking to get into crypto organized in collaboration.” The move toward involving India’s open-source community in crypto may be surprising to those aware of ongoing resistance against Bitcoin (BTC) from mainstream Indian banks such as ICICI. The last date for applying …

The Government of Maharashtra recently announced a partnership with Indian blockchain startup LegitDoc to implement a credentialing system powered by Ethereum to provide tamper-proof diploma certificates. To counter the rise in document forgery, the Maharashtra State Board of Skill Development (MSBSD) opposes India’s crypto ban narrative of using Ethereum-based public blockchains. In an exclusive statement with Cointelegraph, LegitDoc CEO Neil Martis highlighted that while the certificates are verified using traditional manual methods, MSBSD will start advocating only the digital verification method for all the manual verification requests starting next year. Showcasing interest from other local government authorities, Martis added: “We …

The Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, continues to investigate the issuance of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. T Rabi Sankar, the deputy governor of RBI, said in a speech organized by the Vidhi Center for Legal Policy that private digital currencies could be part of what makes CBDCs ultimately necessary. He felt that the RBI’s development of it’s own CBDC could provide the public with many of the same uses as digital currencies such as Bitcoin, while limiting the average user’s exposure to volatility. He stated: “Indeed, this could be the key factor nudging central banks from …

Mumbai-based crypto exchange WazirX has been the target of much of India’s regulatory heat as the company continues to attract local investors. In the latest run-in with the government, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) issued a show-cause notice to WazirX for allegedly violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act in relation to transactions worth 2,790.74 crore rupees (~$372 million). As per The Economic Times, the Binance-owned cryptocurrency exchange came into the spotlight after the ED questioned its capability to allow users to make cross-border payments without direct oversight of the government. An official from the ED highlighted: “These were carried out …

Revolut, a major British banking app featuring cryptocurrency investment, has secured $800 million in a new funding round. The new investment round is led by Japanese financial giant SoftBank and United States hedge fund Tiger Global, which collectively hold around 5% in Revolut, CNBC reported Thursday. The round values Revolut at $33 billion, marking a sixfold increase from the company’s valuation of $5.5 billion in 2020. The newly secured funding will help Revolut continue international expansion as well as further improve marketing and product development, Revolut's chief financial officer, Mikko Salovaara, noted. The company is particularly focused on rolling out …

Amid the ongoing regulatory uncertainty to cryptocurrencies in India, a high court in the country’s capital is taking action to regulate advertising by local crypto exchanges. The Delhi High Court has issued notices to local authorities and crypto firms in an effort to enforce guidelines for crypto exchanges advertising on national television, the New Indian Express reported Wednesday. The court is seeking responses from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, as well as major Indian crypto exchanges CoinDCX and WazirX, and aims to discuss the issue in August. According to the …

India’s stance on crypto adoption has been a gray area ever since the birth of Bitcoin (BTC). In what seems like another blow for the Indian crypto community, one of the biggest financial services, ICICI Bank, has warned users not to use their remittance services for transferring any form of crypto or digital currency. In ICICI’s latest iteration of the Retail Outward Remittance Application form, the bank has clearly stated its intent to stop users from using the service for crypto transfers. Based on the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999, the declaration states: “The above remittance is NOT for …

As mass vaccination programs against COVID-19 become increasingly critical to many governments' strategies for pandemic management, blockchain firms are acting fast to propose ways in which the technology could offer solutions to some of the logistical hurdles involved. Blockchain company StaTwig — a graduate of the UNICEF Innovation Fund — was already trialing its blockchain-based solution VaccineLedger in 2019, in both India and the United States. Fast forward to 2021 and the global vaccination drive against COVI-19, the company has now partnered with Indian IT giant Tech Mahindra to roll out the solution worldwide. VaccineLedger is focused on improving the …

Commercial banks in India are reportedly reluctant to do business with crypto exchanges in the country. According to Reuters on Thursday, crypto trading platforms in India are still finding it difficult to open accounts with financial institutions. While there is no crypto ban in India, banks are reportedly acting on the advice of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to shun cryptocurrency exchanges. Back in May, the RBI clarified its position on the matter, stating that there was no prohibition against banks servicing crypto exchanges. Indeed, India’s Supreme Court overturned a previous RBI rule that prevented banks from offering account …

India’s reserve bank has long since condemned the use of cryptocurrencies, but other than the Supreme Court striking down its 2018 bill last year, the Indian government’s stance on cryptocurrencies has been largely uncertain. On one hand, top sources tracking the government’s stance say it has shifted away from the idea of a complete ban. On the other hand, more banks have started barring cryptocurrency-related businesses from accessing their services, including ICICI Bank, Paytm Payments, Yes Bank and, most recently, IDFC First Bank. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) stance is understandable. As the body responsible for ensuring the country’s …

Despite India’s uncertain regulatory climate regarding crypto assets, nationwide investments in digital assets have increased by roughly 600% over the past year. According to data from blockchain analytics firm Chanalysis that was reported by Bloomberg on June 28, crypto investments increased during mid-2020 before going parabolic as the markets surged into new all-time highs towards the end of the fourth quarter. Chainalysis estimates the total invested in crypto across India grew from roughly $900 million to $6.6 billion over roughly the past year, with the firm estimating 15 million Indians are exposed to cryptocurrency. The data illustrates the positive impact …