dismantled Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) last week in a surprise move, bringing to an end an affiliation in which both sides were increasing taking divergent stances on key issues.
Industry insiders said preliminary talks are on between key stakeholders, but a new association will take time to form as key stakeholders are still to find a common ground.
The differences between the two camps (IAMAI and BACC) had been simmering for many months, with crypto players feeling that IAMAI wasn’t doing enough to push their cause, while the industry body felt that the crypto players needed to do more in terms of compliance with government regulations.
The crypto exchanges were informed about the closing down of BACC only after IAMAI had taken the decision, a crypto exchange executive claimed.
“We feel that IAMAI is trying to distance themselves from crypto as they feel the government is not in favour of private digital currencies,” a BACC member said.
An IAMAI release said it has decided to dissolve BACC since BACC’s advocacy does not align with IAMAI’s long-term objectives. IAMAI will, however, continue to support CBDC initiatives, it said.
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Even within BACC, there was a particular group that wanted to aggressively pursue legal recourse against the government, while others wanted to settle issues more diplomatically.
The top 4-5 crypto companies in India provided most of the funding to BACC, and some felt they weren’t deriving any benefit from the association. “It was a costly association and there wasn’t any ROI for an industry which is under severe cost pressure,” said a crypto exchange CEO who requested not to be identified.
BuyUcoin, a homegrown cryptocurrency exchange, said, “It is completely IAMAI’s prerogative to take their internal decisions. As an industry player, we will continue our efforts toward building a world-class blockchain ecosystem and collaborate with various stakeholders in the government to propel the crypto industry in India.”
Industry players said there is a dire need for a new body that can work closely with the government in policy formulation and also highlight the industry’s issues with relevant stakeholders.
“Indian web3 ecosystem is in dire need of a representative body that consists of the right mix of industry players, academia, and research scholars. This body should be influential enough to get global experts like Vitalik Buterin, Charles Hoskinson, etc. to talk to the Indian government about the benefits of web3 from India’s point of view,” said Khaleelulla Baig, cofounder and CEO of Koinbasket.
This development happens at a time when Indian crypto exchanges are battling 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, questioning by the Enforfement Directorate (ED).
After IAMAI’s decision was announced, cochairs of BACC, Ashish Singhal and Sumit Gupta, said, “Our stated belief as an industry has always been to have sustainable dialogue with regulators and stakeholders and address concerns for progressive regulations. Notwithstanding the current situation, as an industry we will continue to positively engage with all stakeholders and continue to build an Atmanirbhar Bharat for emerging tech, including web 3.0.”
