Tag Archives: cryptos

Cryptos crumble but VCs remain gung-ho on future prospects

Cryptos crumble but VCs remain gung-ho on future prospects

Venture capitalists (VCs) have poured billions into crypto and blockchain startups this year, especially into the Web3 and Ethereum layer-2 scaling solutions space, despite apparent overall bearish sentiments.

According to a report compiled by financial services and investment management firm Galaxy Digital, Venture Capitalists (VCs) have invested over $10 billion in crypto startups in the first quarter of this year.

Just earlier this week, VC giant Andreessen Horowitz announced the close of a $4.5bn crypto fund that focuses on Web3 startups.

Also, a group of former executives from Binance, one of the largest global cryptocurrency exchanges, announced a $100-million venture fund called Old Fashion Research earlier this week, to bring greater crypto adoption to growing markets like Latin America and Africa.

Singapore-based VC firm NGC Ventures also launched a $100-million fund dedicated to high potential Web3 projects and metaverse economies.

Experts say VCs bet on blockchain tech

According to experts, blockchain and not crypto, is the underlying reason for these investments, with crypto being one of the use cases of the blockchain. The possibilities of new use cases, Web 3.0, and accelerated adoption of blockchain technology – all add to the uptick in investments with scale, growth, and returns all on the horizon.

Roderik van der Graaf, Founder of Lemniscap, says the high degree of market volatility that crypto markets are currently experiencing can elicit fear among some investor categories and undercut overall ecosystem sentiment in the short run. However, VCs generally view the market landscape with a wider aperture and execute a consistent, measured approach to building their portfolios. Usually, a foundational market thesis guides their investment rationale.

van der Graaf, the founder of the investment firm specializing in crypto and blockchain technology, added that market downturns do not undermine this thesis in the short term, and in fact, can actually serve as a long-term cleansing force, recalibrating the market equation with fundamentals rather than unfounded collective psychology.

Some of the best projects will emerge during these testing times, and Lemniscap will continue to back high-potential startups as they evolve into high-performance protocols and platforms, said van der Graaf.

Jenny Zheng, Business Development Lead for Bybit NFT Marketplace and co-founder of Blockcast Ventures, said VCs invest more during a down market and grow them in the bull market because in an upward market everything is overpriced, especially, in the crypto world.

“When it goes up, it is like 100 times, when it goes down, it could be down by 99 percent, so the entry point is much more important compared to the traditional finance world,” he says.

Zheng further says that in crypto, there are always new things coming out, from ICO IEO IDO INO to Gamefi, Defi, and NFT. “Following the new trends and getting involved at an early stage is the key. VCs are following the trends too. Defi, Gamefi, and NFTs are the top choices and they are here to stay for many years to come,” according to him.

Sam Kim, CEO of Sukuma Ventures and founder of Gochapaa, a crypto wallet based in Kenya, says the main reason for VCs pouring investments into blockchain companies is because of investors’ enthusiasm to search and deploy fresh capital into innovative technologies and frontier markets where the innovation adoption is still at its infant stage.

“Despite the growing concerns in capital markets from the hawkish sentiment of the US Fed and ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the search for growth is never-ending,” Kim says.

Anndy Lian, Chief Digital Advisor to Mongolian Productivity Organisation, says other asset classes are also not doing well and some of them might take a much longer time for recovery. Crypto, on the other hand, has been proven to recover relatively faster.

“Secondly, blockchain and crypto are still the talking points in the tech industry. The future growth is very promising. I see with my own eyes that traditional fintech companies are rebranding themselves into crypto, jumping onto the bandwagon,” he says.

Lian says the number of projects will surely increase given the huge influx of new money with NFTs and Game-fi continuing to be their favorite options.

“We are not only talking about investors putting their money into companies in the big old economies. Investors are heavily pouring into Cambodia and Kenya too for instance. We are seeing good innovation at work in the crypto space,” Lian says.

Raj Kapoor, the chief advisor of crypto advisory firm Acryptoverse, says those enjoying the party are blockchain technology upstarts, trading platforms, Web3, and even the metaverse.

“Founders are now in a position to pick and choose investors because so much capital is looking to invest in these companies. As a result, founders can take advantage of investors that offer more than just money,” Kapoor says.

Jawad Nayyar, co-founder of Pakistani fintech firm PropTech, says over the last five years, NFTs and cryptocurrencies have gone from a Ponzi scheme to a gambling tool and a highly volatile asset to now finally being recognized as a legitimate virtual assets of value.

“In times of monetary expansion, high inflation, and a huge currency devaluation, the private sector now considers cryptos as a hedge against such economic adversaries,” Nayyar says.

As seen in the early stages of Web3, not all experiences make sense or will work with brand longevity, said Michael Gaizutis, founder and CXO of design agency RNO1. However, by taking that next step and investing in great design partners, investors will feel more confident and users will feel more central to the concepts they take part in, he added.

 

Original Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world/cryptos-crumble-but-vcs-remain-gung-ho-on-future-prospects-8600621.html

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
j j j

‘Backtracking Never A Good Policy,’ Experts Comment As India’s Finance Minister Hints At Banning Cryptos

‘Backtracking Never A Good Policy,’ Experts Comment As India’s Finance Minister Hints At Banning Cryptos

My additional comments:

Stating this upfront is a good strategy. I believe FM Sitaraman is giving a warning to all that if cryptocurrencies become too out of hand, there is a chance to revise the regulations. I do not see this as bad backtracking. If you looked at it from FM’s perspective, if crypto becomes very successfully and they felt that the market is receptive, open and ready for this new digital currency, there might also be other possible incentives that can be introduced. Reducing from 30% to 10% is not backtracking right?

In my opinion, the revision is reasonable and it is an act to protect the India market.  The digital rupee is not an easy task for India. India is a big economy and may need to exercise more control over its currency before adopting it to its fullest scale. Potential security issues can be a problem at the start and I urge experts to look deeper into the direct and indirect costs potentially linked to the implementation so as to allow them to drive innovation to the peak.

 

‘Backtracking Never A Good Policy,’ Experts Comment As India’s Finance Minister Hints At Banning Cryptos

KEY POINTS

  • India might ban cryptos even after taxation
  • India to tax cryptos at 30%
  • Industry seeks clarity on new announcements
  • ‘Backtracking never a good policy’ says expert

Conflicting signals from the Indian government on the legitimacy of cryptocurrency has not gone down well with the industry. International Business Times spoke to several experts to gauge the sunrise sector’s mood and all of them asked for just one thing – clear directions from the top.

The federal budget for the year beginning April seemed to chart out a path when it imposed a 30% tax on cryptocurrencies. A few days later, however, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she could still ban the cryptos later. Industry insiders believe that backtracking is not a good policy especially for a big economy like India.

In a recent interview to The Economic Times, Sitharaman said, “Banning or not banning will come subsequently when the consultations give me inputs. But would you say till then I do not even tax the huge profits being transacted? I will. Legitimate or not legitimate is a different question, taxing is completely my prerogative.”

Raj Kapoor, founder of India Blockchain Alliance and Chief Growth Officer at Chainsense, said, “Backtracking is never a good policy and I feel the statement should be viewed as a statement where we have taken a baby step forward but the steps and strides seem miles away.” Kapoor believes that the announcements made in the federal budget about cryptos have a lot of grey areas that needs to be addressed.

“When we say ‘ban’ crypto currencies what exactly do we ban? What are the permissible exemptions? Do we permit crypto currencies to make in platform payments the largest exemption issue? What is the manner you permit purchase of exempted cryptocurrencies for exempted use by sovereign currencies? Questions galore, solutions in the grey,” he told International Business Times.

Shivam Thakral, chief executive officer of Indian exchange BuyUcoin, believes that the finance minister might be referring to a “worst-case scenario like when most (Financial Action Task Force) member-countries decide to ban crypto.”

“There’s also a burgeoning concern among global regulatory watchdogs that crypto can have an adverse impact on economic stability in countries like India. We’re really optimistic that the government of India will address these concerns and bring in a strong regulatory framework to tackle all these issues to become global leaders in crypto & blockchain industry,” Thakral told International Business Times.

On the other hand, Anndy Lian, chairman of BigONE Exchange, believes that stating upfront that the government might ban cryptos later is a “good strategy.”

“I believe FM Sitaraman is giving a warning to all that if cryptocurrencies become too out of hand, there is a chance to revise the regulations. In my opinion, the revision is reasonable and it is an act to protect the Indian market,” Lian told International Business Times.

India has decided to introduce a 30% tax on cryptos and plans to work on a digital rupee backed by blockchain beginning the financial year starting April.

Sumit Gupta, co-founder and CEO of CoinDCX, said “it’s two steps forward and one step back.”

“The quantum of taxation is something that is discouraging.  Also, specific sections regarding TDS are still confusing. This might act as a dampener for greater adoption,” Gupta told International Business Times.

“We must remember this is just the beginning of the larger process of adoption, multiple discussions are needed to come up with better systems or processes. But we are very hopeful that right actions will be taken,” he said.

 

 

Original Source: https://www.ibtimes.com/backtracking-never-good-policy-experts-comment-indias-finance-minister-hints-banning-3391556

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
j j j

Cryptocurrency ban in India: Government is continuing efforts to prohibit all private cryptos

Cryptocurrency ban in India: Government is continuing efforts to prohibit all private cryptos

The Indian government’s ban on private cryptocurrencies through a draft bill entitled the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency 2021 has sent shockwaves around the world.

Will this lead to a blanket ban? Could the government soften its stance amid a public backlash? Those are just two of the questions after a government bulletin surfaced indicating upcoming legislation that could prohibit people from holding, selling, mining or transferring “private cryptocurrencies” in India.

The proposed legislation aims to create a framework that would facilitate the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The bill does leave room for interpretation. It states that the government will seek to prohibit all “private cryptocurrencies” in India, but allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses.

Since the draft bill does not specify what’s meant by “private cryptocurrencies”, it’s unclear whether the proposed ban will apply to heavily traded coins like bitcoin or ether, which are not controlled or managed by any private entities.

Indian cryptocurrency ban explained: What really happened?

In terms of cryptocurrency legality in India, the government has been sitting on a crypto regulation bill for nearly three years. In February 2019, the country’s Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) released a report advocating for a law to ban cryptocurrencies in India, recommending that those caught carrying out any activity connected with crypto could be fined or face imprisonment for up to ten years.

The IMC cited heavy price fluctuations and pseudonymity within the crypto market as reasons for why they do not consider cryptocurrency to be legal tender. This initial draft bill, which was not passed in 2019, set the groundwork for the 2021 bill, with clear parallels between the two.

In April 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred banks and financial institutions from dealing with cryptocurrencies, citing concerns over consumer protection, market integrity and money laundering. However, this caused a national uproar and on 4 March 2020, the ban was set aside by the Indian Supreme Court.

India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, hinted at crypto regulation in India during his inaugural speech at the Sydney Dialogue last week.

The politician stated that cryptocurrencies could “spoil” Indian youth because they pose serious concerns for macroeconomic and financial stability.

Will India’s cryptocurrency ban ripple overseas?

Unperturbed by both the IMC and RBI’s efforts to enact a national crypto clampdown, 32% of Indians aged between 18-24 and 29% of those aged 35-44 have invested in crypto in 2021, according to a report by Finder.

India ranks second in the Global Crypto Adoption Index, behind Vietnam but ahead of countries such as the U.S, UK and China, while large institutional sized-transfers amounting to over $10m represent 42% of crypto transactions sent from India-based addresses. The country is also seeing increased development and usage of innovative decentralised finance (DeFi) projects.

The financial landscape and cryptocurrency regulation in India could change if the draft bill comes into effect during this year’s parliamentary Winter Session, commencing on 29 November.

Its impact on investors, crypto exchanges and policymakers, as well as the wider markets, won’t be fully known until the government releases more of the bill’s details, but crypto adoption and usage could be affected in the wake of any ban.

India is the second most populous country in the world behind China, which has already issued a ban prohibiting domestic financial institutions from dealing in or using cryptocurrency. If the draft bill passes, 2.8bn people (over a third of the global population) will have no access to crypto.

Anndy Lian, chairman of BigONE Exchange and chief digital advisor for Mongolia’s national productivity agenda, believes that if India bans crypto, it could create an outflow of investments.

“Those who want to invest in crypto would still find ways to do it outside of India. The ripple effects of this will be huge,” Lian told Capital.com.
“When the news of the bill first came out, reporters were predicting that stablecoin’s like USDT could drop by 25% to nearly 60 (INR) rupees and numerous Indian exchanges have been facing withdrawal issues due to high volumes of selling.
“But during the panic, we are missing the point that many investors are also buying USDT due to the price differences, as well as moving their assets to other global exchanges. India should take inspiration from Singapore and Switzerland’s pragmatic approaches to crypto in order to remain competitive globally.”

At the moment, the draft bill only includes one short paragraph discussing the proposed cryptocurrency rules in India. The possible impact won’t be any clearer until 23 December, when the parliamentary Winter Session concludes.

But, when news of the draft bill first broke out on 24 November 2021, WazirX, the most well-known crypto exchange in India, crashed when it experienced trading delays in the app – an issue that can result from high user activity.

A looming blanket ban? The implications for crypto traders in India

There are over 13,000 cryptocurrencies, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency 2021 draft bill does not specify what is meant by “private cryptocurrencies”.

If the Indian government classifies cryptocurrencies on the basis of their ownership, then all cryptocurrencies not issued by the government could be banned under the bill.

One issue is that with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin anyone can see the balance and transactions of any address because all bitcoin transactions are public, traceable and permanently stored on the network.

The blockchain – a shared immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets – is permissionless and decentralised in nature, allowing anyone to join.

This does suggest that the term “private cryptocurrency” could be void because cryptocurrencies are public, insofar as their transactions are transparent.

The ambiguity surrounding the possibility of a blanket Indian crypto ban is further intensified by the fact that the IMC draft bill proposed in 2019 states that distributed ledgers can be categorised as public or private depending on whether the ledgers can be accessed by anyone or only the participating entities in the network.

In this case, any implications of the proposed ban on crypto trading in India will only become apparent when the government explains what is meant by “private cryptocurrencies”, and whether it’s defined on the basis of ownership.

“It is unclear at this point whether the Indian government will impose a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies, it is more likely that they will seek to regulate digital currencies through several restrictions,” said Anirudh Rastogi, the Founder of Ikigai Law, a company specialising in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
“Some of the murmurs are that the government will ban the use of cryptocurrencies for payments, though that begs the question as to how gas payments will be made,” Rastogi told Capital.com.

A government ban prohibiting all “private cryptocurrencies” could have a dramatic impact on the wider crypto community and serve as a stumbling block to crypto’s advancement as an economic force in India.

 

Original Source: https://capital.com/cryptocurrency-ban-in-india

 

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
j j j