On the wake of India’s proposed cryptocurrency ban, it has been estimated that the country will lose an almost $13 billion market if it follows through with the ban.
A crypto research expert has just given a pretty grim forecast of what could happen to India if the country completely bans cryptocurrency. Sidharth Sogani, the current CEO of crypto and blockchain research and analysis firm, Crebaco Global Inc, has said that India will lose at least 84,000 crore INR or $12.9 billion worth of market if the ban is completed.
How was It Calculated?
According to Sogani, Crebaco Global Inc. arrived at this figure by calculating the approximate revenue the Indian crypto scene sees or could see through different crypto firms and projects if it was fully legal. This list of companies under consideration also included those companies that have already relocated away from the country due to the unfavorable stance of the Reserve Bank of India regarding crypto.
Crebaco estimated that crypto white papers and all related business plans on their own already account for $4.9 billion and $1.27 billion comes from content writers. A further $2.1 billion comes from about 3500 expert Blockchain coders who work tirelessly round the clock on various blockchain projects.
There is also something to be said for different miscellaneous job opportunities, even temporary, that come up from time to time. They make up for about $4.5 billion and include bloggers, other blockchain professionals, legal representatives and advisers, rents and leases, event managers and also media houses.
India is Anti-Crypto
A while back, there were rumors floating through the grapevine that the Indian government was making plans to pass an outright ban on cryptocurrencies. But on the 22nd of July, the inter-ministerial committee responsible for creating a cryptocurrency structure released an official report and a draft bill proposing a blanket ban. This was just a day before a hearing for crypto was scheduled at the Supreme Court.
As expected, the bill was opposed by members of the crypto community in India who have been trying to show the importance of the technology and what it can do for the Indian economy. Regardless, the draft bill labelled “Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019” specifically allows for the use of blockchain and distributed ledger technology, but proposes that all kinds of cryptocurrency and crypto-related activity be outlawed.
The Secretary at the Department of Economic Affairs of India’s Ministry of Finance, publicly described cryptocurrency as worthless, supported the ban but also suggested an official government virtual currency.
https://twitter.com/SecretaryDEA/status/1153302518815834119
Sogani has, however, expressed shock at the bill because he was part of a team that tried to convince the government about the positive use cases of cryptocurrency.
“We have submitted several reports to the Indian governments as well and have consulted [the] Ministry of Finance (MoF) through presentations and reports. In spite of all that, it was surprising to know the draft bill news,” noted he.
Regardless of the bill, Sogani is of the opinion that it would be almost impossible to implement a cryptocurrency ban in a nation of 1.3 billion people.
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