Crypto industry in India to form new lobby group

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — The Indian cryptocurrency industry will form a new lobby group to work with the Government bodies to draft policies and raise relevant issues. 

According to local media reports, the new body will replace the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), the advocacy group representing the interests of the country’s crypto industry.

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IAMAI dismantles Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council

Talks of a new lobby group for the cryptocurrency industry came after the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) disbanded BACC earlier this month.

Formed in 2017 by the leaders of the cryptocurrency industry in India, the Crypto Assets Council functioned under the auspices of IAMAI. However, due to the growing crackdown on the sector by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the industry body opted to distance itself.

“The association was forced to take the decision in light of the fact that a resolution of the regulatory environment for the industry is still very uncertain and that the association would like to utilize its limited resources for other emerging digital sectors, which make a more immediate and direct contribution to digital India,”

the IAMAI had said in a statement. 

The organization also stated that it would rather work towards deepening financial inclusions in the country through the Digital Rupee. As CoinChapter reported last year, the Indian Government is contemplating releasing a central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC).

Crypto insiders alleged IAMAI failed to discuss the matter with BACC before taking the decision.

The rift between the two organizations has become visible in recent months. In February, the Indian Government announced plans to impose a 30% tax on all crypto income from April 1. It also placed an additional 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on transactions above 10,000 Indian rupees (around $125).

 BACC and IAMAI had failed to find common ground on how they should react to these taxes. While the former wanted to put up strong opposition, the latter believed the crypto industry should follow the Government guidelines. 

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What is next for the crypto industry’s new lobby group?

Key crypto players in India are already in talks to form a new lobby group. However, reports suggest it may take time before they agree on a final structure. 

The members of the now-disbanded BACC included almost every cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain company in India, including WazirX, Unocoin, and Chingari. In addition, international players like Binance, Coinbase, and Chainalysis were also represented. 

“We feel that IAMAI is trying to distance themselves from crypto as they feel the government is not in favor of private digital currencies,” 

the Economic Times quoted an unidentified BACC member saying.

Sumit Gupta, co-founder of CoinDCX, and Ashish Singhal, co-founder CoinSwitch Kuber chaired the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council.

Under the previous arrangement, a handful of crypto companies provided most of the funding. The dissolution also comes as a blessing in disguise as the BACC failed to deliver on its objectives. 

However, despite the drawback, the industry is determined to continue efforts to lobby for a healthy crypto industry in India.

“Our stated belief has always been to have sustainable dialogue with regulators and stakeholders and address concerns for progressive regulations. As an industry, we will continue to positively engage with all stakeholders and continue to build emerging tech including Web 3.0,” 

 Ashis Singhal and Sumit Gupta said in a joint statement.

Meanwhile, taking the fight against the current Government will not be an easy task. The Indian authorities and the country’s Central Bank are notoriously anti-crypto. 

The Reserve Bank of India has called for global collaboration to ban cryptocurrencies.

As the industry tries to develop a new body to lobby the Government, it can expect severe backlash. However, the industry can hope the new liaison group can be more inclusive, also including blockchain and nonfungible token (NFT) companies among its