#IndiaWantsCrypto | India to cryptocurrency; A thousand-day long campaign

WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty launches a campaign on Twitter called #IndiaWantsCrypto. Under this campaign, Nishal started posting a tweet every day ranging from interesting facts to unique insights about cryptocurrency. This was done to create awareness about the industry and impress the policymakers to control the industry, creating thousands of jobs without mentioning the huge monetary value.

Day One Shetty tagged the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the Prime Minister’s Office on Twitter, asking the government to bring in pro-cryptocurrency regulation. “Young people in India have found a new way to earn, which is very important when not everyone has enough jobs.” Shetty also urged his Twitter followers to tag ministers, media professionals, crypto investors, and anyone else who can help. “We have to keep tweeting until we get a response,” he wrote.

Day 100: The hashtag #IndiaWantsCrypto has garnered 1.5 million impressions. “This is the 100th day. We should tweet to the minister every day until we get a reply. The more we tweet, the more likely we are to hear that cryptocurrencies will get a good grip on India,” Shetty wrote.

Day 200: As the campaign intensifies, there is no word from the government on whether it plans to formulate a policy stance. “We have not heard anything from our ministers so far,” Shetty wrote on May 20, 2019, the 200th day since the NDA government returned to power. It was soon the 300th day and no response has been received from the government so far.

Day 303: Rajiv Chandrasekhar, who later became the Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneur and now the Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, asked Shetty to approach him in a direct message.

Day 365: November 1, 2019, this campaign received over 1 lakh retweets and likes. “We have seen a few entrepreneurs, but we have not yet received a response from our Prime Minister and Finance Minister,” Shetty tweeted. Meanwhile, a case had reached the Supreme Court regarding the legality of the RBI’s effective ban on cryptocurrencies in India.

Day 489: On March 4, 2020, the Supreme Court of India (SC) rejected the Reserve Bank Circular 2018 and allowed cryptocurrency transactions in India. The court ruling was based on the fact that there is no law on cryptocurrencies in India. The Supreme Court also asked the government to bring in a law on cryptocurrencies, which would help those concerned to clarify more on how to deal with it. Shekar Parashar, a crypto investor, posed in front of the Reserve Bank office with the hashtag #IndiaWantsCrypto and a poster with the caption ‘We won’.

Day 822: February 1, 2021 – Budget Day. The government has introduced a bill called ‘The Cryptocurrency and Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021’, which seeks to introduce the central bank’s digital currency and “ban all private cryptocurrencies in India” except for a few exceptions to promote the basic technology of cryptocurrency. Its uses ”. Supporters of the hashtag #IndiaWantsCrypto have been trending, but the announcement has caused concern in the crypto space.

Day 856, March 5, 2021: The campaign, which began with a positive response from lawmakers, became its biggest success. At the CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Award, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that she would take a very positive stance on cryptocurrencies. “The world is moving so fast with technology that we can’t pretend it doesn’t exist. We want to make sure that a window is available for all kinds of experiments in the crypto world, ”FM said.

Day 995: Reserve Bank Deputy Governor T Rabi Shankar announces the Central Bank’s plans to phase out the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the wholesale and retail segments. While the Reserve Bank recognizes the benefits of digital currency, it gives legal space to “private cryptocurrencies”. However, Shetty, who has always tweeted in favor of CBDC, tweeted that the decision would help spread awareness and understanding about cryptocurrencies in India.