Billionaire Bitcoin Bull Tim Draper Says India’s Anti-Crypto Stance Will ‘Set Them Back 40 Years’

Billionaire venture capitalist and Bitcoin bull Tim Draper says India’s anti-crypto stance will impede progress, according to a new report by media outlet Inc42.

In response to India’s draft bill proposing a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies, Draper reportedly said,

“It is akin to the Luddites. They are in fact saying, ‘we will not tolerate progress.’ It will set them back 40 years. Imagine if they did this with the internet?”

The Indian government’s interministerial committee, which oversees crypto measures, officially published the Banning of Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019 on July 22nd and is an updated version of the draft previously leaked by Varun Sethi, founder of Blockchain Lawyer.

The draft states,

“No person shall mine, generate, hold, sell, deal in, issue, transfer, dispose of or use Cryptocurrency in the territory of India.”

Regulators describe cryptocurrencies as having no intrinsic value.

“Cryptocurrencies have certain characteristics that make regulation necessary. Some of these characteristics are:

• • They lack intrinsic value and are subject to fluctuations.
  • They are decentralised networks with no central authority.
  • The transactions in cryptocurrencies are irreversible.
  • They provide a degree of pseudonymity, although not complete anonymity, to participants in a transaction.”

While proposing to ban cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, the bill supports the possibility of an official digital rupee. The committee has also recommended criminalizing any activities connected with cryptocurrencies in India.

However, the Committee also concludes that it should reassess its position.

“The Committee also recommends the Government may consider establishing a Standing Committee to take into account the technological developments globally and within the country and also the views of global standard setting bodies to revisit the issues addressed in the Report as and when required.”

Draper says an outright crypto ban would cause people to flee India.

“People will want to leave India to get to a country that is less backward. I suspect they will get out so they can live a better life.”

In addition to purchasing 30,000 Bitcoin seized by the US Marshals service and auctioned to the public in 2014, Draper has also made investments in Hotmail, Skype, Baidu, Tesla, Coinbase and Tezos, among other companies.