India
$2.5T crypto market will not wait for nations to onboard: WazirX CEO
Indian entrepreneur and the CEO of crypto exchange WazirX Nischal Shetty envisions a race between countries to launch their local versions of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in the coming year. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Shetty said that the year 2022 would be an extension of the ongoing discussions around crypto regulations, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the emergence of the metaverse: “We’re optimistic that we’ll get regulatory clarity, see institutional participation fuel retail adoption. We also expect to see more metaverse projects making an entrance.” Shetty pointed out that the crypto industry today — directly or indirectly — employs about 50,000 people in India, which according to NASSCOM research, is expected to grow 2X faster with the potential to create over 800,...
Law Decoded: Three regulatory trends of 2021, Dec. 20–27
It is that time of the year: Singular events must be abandoned in favor of end-of-year, big-picture narratives and yearly lessons learned. As many governments across the globe finally had to face the rapidly mainstreaming realm of digital finance, the year is packed with developments in crypto policy and regulation that are impossible to fit into a neat little summary. However, it is possible to try and distill several major trends that have come to the fore during the past 12 months, and that will keep shaping the relationship among societies, state power and the crypto space as we roll into 2022. Below is the concise version of the latest “Law Decoded” newsletter. For the full breakdown of policy developments over the last week, register for the full newsletter below. U.S. Congress notic...
Indian police commissioner issues a public warning against crypto frauds
The Additional Commissioner of Police Shikha Goel warned Indian citizens about the rise in cybercrime in an event hosted by the city police of Hyderabad, India, suggesting not to transfer cryptocurrencies to unauthorized private wallets. Goel highlighted the various methods that are actively being used by fraudsters to dupe investors such as lucrative investment opportunities, illegitimate bank transfers and cryptocurrencies. Acknowledging the growth of Indian crypto users, Goel added: “They [fraudsters] ask you to share your cryptocurrency details. And once you put it in your wallet, then the money is taken away.” After simplifying the elaborate fraud in a sentence, Goel also highlighted that sixteen such cases have been registered involving cryptocurrencies. Do not transfer your cryptocu...
Indian parliament’s agenda for winter session no longer includes crypto bill
The Indian government may still be considering a bill that could ban certain cryptocurrencies in the country, but lawmakers are unlikely to vote on any legislation in the current parliamentary session. According to a Friday publication, India’s lower house of parliament, Lok Sabha, will likely not be looking at a bill proposing the prohibition of “all private cryptocurrencies” before its winter session ends on Thursday. The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill does not appear as one of the seven bills on the government body’s agenda over the last days of its 2021 session. A Nov. 23 bulletin for the Lok Sabha stated that Indian lawmakers could vote on legislation that creates “a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency” issued by ...
Indian state government to accredit Web2 and Web3 blockchain startups
The state government of Telangana announced the launch of the India Blockchain Accelerator program to foster early-stage Web2 and Web3 startups and blockchain developers aimed at solving real-world challenges. The program will be launched in partnership with unicorn crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber and Lumos Labs, a technology innovation management firm. In a dialogue with Cointelegraph, Rama Devi Lanka, Director Emerging Technology and Officer on Special Duty (OSD), ITE&C Department, Government of Telangana, highlighted the state’s intent to adopt blockchain projects across multiple use cases: “Some of the interesting use cases that the state has already piloted in Blockchain include – T-Chits (Chit funds in Blockchain), Supply Chain (Seed Traceability), E-voting (Digital ...
Indian PM calls for cryptocurrencies to ’empower’ democracy at global summit
Cryptocurrency made an appearance at a global online summit for world leaders in a speech from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At Friday’s events for the Summit for Democracy hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden, Modi said India would be willing to offer other countries “innovative digital solutions” to facilitate free and fair elections and governance. In addition, the Prime Minister called for a global standard on cryptocurrencies and major social media platforms, likely referring to the impact some have had on politics in India as well as many other countries: “We must also jointly shape global norms for emerging technologies like social media and cryptocurrencies so that they are used to empower democracy, not to undermine it […] By working together, democracies can meet...
Eight-thousanders: the 14 highest peaks in the world
The eight-thousanders are so ferocious that only 44 people have summited them all. We explain why they bewitch climbers all across the globe Most boys grow out of their fascination with mountains and the great outdoors. Those that do not usually end up on the side of a mountain, asking ‘what the hell am I doing here?’ But, as the saying goes, the best alpinists have the worst memories and so they venture once again into the ether. My fascination with mountains was piqued as a child when I visited the Glen Coe region in the Highlands of Scotland and eyed the gullies of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain. This fascination has only grown through the years. My bookcase continues to expand with mountaineering books, from thrilling first-person accounts of difficult first ascents to thick bio...
Narcotics Control Bureau Raids Drug-Fueled Rave on Indian Cruise Ship
Eight people were arrested on a Goa-bound cruise liner after India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raided the ship and seized an enormous amount of party drugs and cash. Between 800 and 1,000 passengers total were on the drug-fueled Cordelia Cruises ship, 200 of which opted not to continue on the trip after the bust. Several “high-profile” DJs were reportedly invited to perform and the high-profile party also involved a number of Indian celebrities. The NCB arrived around 1PM on the ship’s first day of sailing and seized a total of 13 grams of cocaine, 21 grams of charas (a cannabis concentrate), 22 MDMA pills, and 5 grams of mephedrone, in addition to more than 130,000 Indian rupees, or around $1,742.85 USD in cash. Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh...
Majority of Brazilians support impeaching President Bolsonaro, poll shows
For the first time, a majority of Brazilians support impeaching President Jair Bolsonaro, according to a poll released on Saturday, as serious graft allegations related to vaccine procurement hit the right-wing leader’s already battered image. According to the survey by Datafolha, 54% of Brazilians support a proposed move by the country’s lower house to open impeachment proceedings against Bolsonaro, while 42% oppose it. In the last Datafolha survey on the issue, released in May, supporters and opponents of impeachment were essentially tied. In a separate Datafolha poll, released on Thursday, 51% of Brazilians said they disapproved of Bolsonaro, the highest figure since he took office in January 2019. In recent weeks, Brasilia has been rocked by allegations that federal officials solicited...
The travel that changed me: Vaseem Khan
Award-winning writer Vaseem Khan tells us how India’s ‘city of dreams’ turned him into an author There’s no denying it: Vaseem Khan is an overachiever. Born and raised in Newham (one of the UK’s most deprived areas), Vaseem went on to study at the London School of Economics, one of the best universities in the world. He spent a decade on the subcontinent setting up a chain of high-end hotels before returning to the UK to write The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, the first of a best-selling series of crime novels featuring Ashwin Chopra, a fastidious Mumbai Inspector, and his unlikely sidekick, a one-year-old elephant called Baby Ganesh. In 2020, after five Baby Ganesh novels, Vaseem published Midnight at Malabar House, the first in a new series featuring Persis Wadi...
Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia suspends UAE flights
Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to three countries, including the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, to protect against a coronavirus variant, the interior ministry said Saturday. The move comes seven weeks after the oil-rich kingdom permitted fully immunised citizens to travel abroad, after a ban on foreign trips that lasted more than a year. The UAE, and especially Dubai, is a key leisure destination for Saudis. Flights to and from the UAE, alongside those to Ethiopia and Vietnam, will be suspended from Sunday, an interior ministry official said, quoted by the state news agency SPA. Saudi citizens and residents returning from these countries will be required to quarantine for 14 days, it added. Citizens would be banned “from travelling directly or indirectly, without obtaining prior p...
Nigeria adds South Africa to its coronavirus ‘red list’ for arriving travellers
Nigeria is adding South Africa to its “red list” of countries for which there are stringent restrictions for arriving passengers, officials said during a briefing on Monday. Nigeria is introducing the restrictions due to the spread of the Delta variant in South Africa, Chikwe Ihekweazu, the head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, said. The country joins India, Brazil and Turkey on the list. “In Nigeria, we haven’t found the Delta variant yet,” Ihekweazu said during the briefing. Non-Nigerian passport holders and non-residents who visited the countries on the list within 14 days are barred entry from Nigeria, while passport holders and residents must undergo a seven-day quarantine in a government-approved facility at cost to the passenger. They are also required to take Covid-19 tes...
