Crypto lobbyists unveil Bitcoin policy think tank to mark India's Independence Day

The Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), a think tank focused on the flagship cryptocurrency, has launched in India. The policy group is the first in the country and was launched on India’s Independence Day.

According to its post on X, the institute’s mission is to provide the research and education needed to make India a financially sovereign state using Bitcoin.

It said:

“Our mission: To provide the research & education needed to secure India’s financial sovereignty using #Bitcoin. Why now? Because true sovereignty in the 21st century is financial sovereignty.”

Several of the founding members of the BPI are key individuals in the India Bitcoin scene. These include Bitcoin filmmaker Avi Burra, Bitshala coordinator Shreyan Joshi, software engineer Harsh Jain, and others.

Speaking on the development, Burra noted that the institute’s goal is to provide policymakers with more clarity on the Bitcoin ecosystem to develop a suitable framework for the industry.

Meanwhile, Joshi, a coordinator for the Bitcoin hub Bitshala, believes that having an Indian policy group focused on Bitcoin is a welcome development. He noted that local research on emerging assets will benefit both public and private sectors.

BPI projects production of 150k BTC by 2030

Interestingly, the group plans to focus on issues it identified as the strategic pillars necessary to achieve its goals. One of the BPI Five Pillars is the Sovereign Mining Initiative, which plans to guide state governments in using renewable energy for Bitcoin mining.

Per its economic analysis, India could generate 15,000 BTC through this in the first year, with a focus on the Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh regions. However, its long-term goal over the next five years is for BTC production to reach 150,000 BTC and for all regions with excess renewable energy in the country to actively mine BTC.

It noted that this would create 200,000 jobs directly and indirectly and utilize around 25 – 30 terawatt-hours of electricity throughout the country for BTC production.

Meanwhile, other core pillars include Political Advocacy and Research, Education, Strategic Reserve Initiative, and Enabling Commerce and Payments through Bitcoin. The think tank believes that doing all these will help ensure the country saves money on remittance and reduce reliance on SWIFT.

India’s crypto scene is struggling despite massive adoption

The establishment of BPI could mark the start of a turnaround for the Indian crypto sector, which has been struggling in recent years. Despite ranking first in crypto adoption for 2024 according to the Chainalysis Adoption Index, reality tells a different story.

Several challenges have dogged the Indian crypto sector, with the lack of regulatory clarity, the controversies surrounding popular exchanges such as WazirX, and the high tax rate on crypto trading and gains, all limiting activity.

The country’s regulatory environment has already forced several investors to use offshore exchanges, but that has not stopped the tax drive by the authorities. The Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, recently disclosed that over 44,000 crypto investors got emails and text messages to pay their taxes.

Nevertheless, efforts to boost adoption have also increased with the national spokesperson for the country’s ruling party, Pradeep Bhandari, also calling for India to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve. However, many people are still waiting for regulatory clarity on the crypto sector.

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