Crypto players are planning a new industry body when IAMAI dismantles the lobby group
Industry insiders said that preliminary talks are underway between key stakeholders, but it will take time to form a new association as key stakeholders will still find a common ground.
The differences between the two camps (IAMAI and BACC) had simmered for many months, with crypto players feeling that IAMAI was not doing enough to push their case, while the industry body believed that the crypto actors had to do more in terms of compliance with government regulations.
The crypto exchanges were informed of the closure of BACC only after the IAMAI had made the decision, a crypto exchange manager claimed.
“We feel that IAMAI is trying to distance itself from crypto because they feel that the government is not for private digital currencies,” said a BACC member.
An IAMAI publication said it has decided to dissolve the BACC since the BACC’s spokesman does not agree with the IAMAI’s long-term goals. However, the IAMAI will continue to support CBDC initiatives, it says.
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Even within the BACC, there was a special group that aggressively wanted to seek legal redress against the government, while others wanted to resolve issues more diplomatically.
The 4-5 best crypto companies in India gave most of the funding to BACC, and some felt that they had no benefit from the association. “It was a costly association, and there was no return for an industry that is under severe cost pressure,” said a crypto-exchange CEO who asked not to be identified.
BuyUcoin, a home-made cryptocurrency exchange, said: “It is the complete privilege of IAMAI to make their internal decisions. As an industry player, we will continue our efforts to build a world-class blockchain ecosystem and work with various government stakeholders to drive the crypto industry in India.
Industry actors said that there is a great need for a new body that can work closely with the government in policy formulation and also highlight the industry’s problems with relevant stakeholders.
The Indian web3 ecosystem desperately needs a representative body made up of the right mix of industry actors, academia and researchers. This body should be influential enough to get global experts like Vitalik Buterin, Charles Hoskinson, etc. to speak to the Indian government about the benefits of web3 from India’s point of view, ”said Khaleelulla Baig, co-founder and CEO of Koinbasket.
This development comes at a time when Indian crypto exchanges are struggling with low volumes due to high taxes and cryptocurrency crashes, negative investor sentiment due to high inflation, global headwinds, an increasingly complex compliance regime, and in some cases interrogations by the Enforfement Directorate (ED).
Following the announcement of the IAMAI decision, BACC cochairs Ashish Singhal and Sumit Gupta said, “Our stated belief as an industry has always been to have a sustainable dialogue with regulators and stakeholders and address concerns about progressive regulation. Despite the current situation, we as an industry continue to engage positively with all stakeholders and continue to build an Atmanirbhar Bharat for emerging technology, including web 3.0. ”
