Hi Everyone,

We are from the EvoPix Studios that has created our own NFTs collection Santa Approved Reindeer Club (SARC) and also create an independent minting website to mint the NFTs. (Link).

Now we are also assisting other NFTs developers with creating their own NFT collection that has a own storefront. While OpenSea and other NFT marketplaces are coming up with their own minting features, it has to be noted that these storefronts are not independent ones. These are part of the OpenSea storefront and creators don't have full access. Hence we are providing these services to new NFT developers to have their own storefronts of NFTs. Plus these storefronts will also enable NFT creators to create drops of the NFTs to their followers.

In this regard, our fees for establishing your storefronts and deploying the smart contracts will be NIL. We will even bear the initial gas cost of deploying the NFT smart contract and setting up your storefronts. You can set up the NFTs with claimable options, delayed reveal of your NFTs after minting, royalties of any percentage that you want (and not restricted to 10% as in OpenSea). What we will charge is 1% of the revenue from primary sales at the time of actual sales and 1% royalty on secondary sales at the time of those sales. Therefore, you don't have any upfront costs and you pay us only after you have sales. Plus we will be taking a minor portion of your sales, as this incentivizes us to promote your project as well.

We have limited slots for availing these services as we are also developing utility into our own NFTs. Hence, we will be prioritizing the requests on FIFO basis (with higher priority to our NFT holders). Reach out to us by replying to this announcement and then we can have a call to discuss your project, feasibility of the project and how we can deploy them and then we can work on the same together.

Happy Creating!

Hi Everyone,

We are from the EvoPix Studios that has created our own NFTs collection Santa Approved Reindeer Club (SARC) and also create an independent minting website to mint the NFTs. (Link).

Now we are also assisting other NFTs developers with creating their own NFT collection that has a own storefront. While OpenSea and other NFT marketplaces are coming up with their own minting features, it has to be noted that these storefronts are not independent ones. These are part of the OpenSea storefront and creators don't have full access. Hence we are providing these services to new NFT developers to have their own storefronts of NFTs. Plus these storefronts will also enable NFT creators to create drops of the NFTs to their followers.

In this regard, our fees for establishing your storefronts and deploying the smart contracts will be NIL. We will even bear the initial gas cost of deploying the NFT smart contract and setting up your storefronts. You can set up the NFTs with claimable options, delayed reveal of your NFTs after minting, royalties of any percentage that you want (and not restricted to 10% as in OpenSea). What we will charge is 1% of the revenue from primary sales at the time of actual sales and 1% royalty on secondary sales at the time of those sales. Therefore, you don't have any upfront costs and you pay us only after you have sales. Plus we will be taking a minor portion of your sales, as this incentivizes us to promote your project as well.

We have limited slots for availing these services as we are also developing utility into our own NFTs. Hence, we will be prioritizing the requests on FIFO basis (with higher priority to our NFT holders). Reach out to us by replying to this announcement and then we can have a call to discuss your project, feasibility of the project and how we can deploy them and then we can work on the same together.

Happy Creating!

While US has been imposing sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and has been mentioning that it supports Ukraine, it is also profiting from the war behind the curtains. Since the invasion started US has asked all other nations to stop imports from Russia, especially it wanted Egypt and India to stop the oil imports from Russia. However, recent reports from the The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) suggest that US has made more imports than Egypt and India since the invasion. It totally baffles one to know how US government led by Biden has been playing a hypocrite all this time and lecturing other countries while doing it all by itself.

Having said this the EU remains to be the largest importer of fossil fuels from Russia while EU countries are imposing sanctions on Russia.

(Source) 

[Santa Approved Reindeer Club (SARC)]

Santa Approved Reindeer Club (SARC)

We are pleased to announce that the the Santa Approved Reindeer Club (SARC) is available for free minting starting from April 16, 2022 at 12 PM IST (GMT +5:30).
SARC is a collection of 10,000 unique reindeer that are living on the Polygon blockchain.

The NFT provides various benefits/features such as:
- Full rights to the NFT holder to commercially use the NFT images
- Access to 3D gallery of our artwork
- Share of profits from merch sales
- Place free custom art orders with the artists
- Early Access to future NFT projects
- Access to art community
- Contribution to wildlife conservation

This is the first phase of minting which will allow up to 100 users/wallets to mint 1 NFT each for free.
There is no whitelisting of wallets and this minting phase is open for all.
The users only need to pay the gas fees on Polygon blockchain which is very minimal.

Happy minting!

[Santa Approved Reindeer Club (SARC)Bounty Campaign]

Santa Approved Reindeer Club (SARC)
Bounty Campaign

This campaign has ended and the latest update from the project is here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5393747.msg60249243#msg60249243

Santa Approved Reindeer Club (SARC) is dropping on April 16, 2022!!
SARC is a collection of 10,000 unique reindeer that are living on the Polygon blockchain.




The NFT provides various benefits/features such as:
- Full rights to the NFT holder to commercially use the NFT images
- Access to 3D gallery of our artwork
- Share of profits from merch sales
- Place free custom art orders with the artists
- Early Access to future NFT projects
- Access to art community
- Contribution to wildlife conservation

The team behind the NFTs is
EvoPix Studios and The Candid Artist.
Website: www.evopix.in

Bounty Allocation
We have allocated 1,000 NFTs towards the reward pool for bounty participants in the following ratio:
i) Instagram campaign: 40%
ii) Twitter campaign: 40%
iii) Youtube campaign: 20%

The NFT minting phases will be as below:
i) Phase 1-Free Mint begins on April 16, 2022 at 12 PM (IST i.e. GMT+5:30): Supply of 100 : Any wallet will be able to mint maximum of 1 NFT for free.
ii) Phase 2-Early Bird Sales begins on April 23, 2022 at 12 PM (IST i.e. GMT+5:30): Supply of 900 : Any wallet will be able to mint up to 10 NFTs for 1 MATIC each. However, each wallet can mint only once.
iii) Phase 3-Early Public Sale begins on April 30, 2022 at 12 PM (IST i.e. GMT+5:30): Supply of 4,000 : Any wallet can mint NFTs for 10 MATIC each without restrictions.
iv) Phase 4-Open Public Sale begins on May 7, 2022 at 12 PM (IST i.e. GMT+5:30): Supply of 4,000 : Any wallet can mint NFTs for 20 MATIC each without restrictions.
Remaining 1000 NFTs will be reserved for the bounty campaign participants here.

Rules
i) All participants need to register themselves as a reply to this post with the following post:

Code:

#PROOF OF REGISTRATION
Forum Username:
Forum Profile Link:
Participated Campaigns:
Polygon Wallet Address:

ii) Participants need to register themselves on this FORM as well.

iii) The campaign will be run for 4 weeks starting from the time this bounty is posted to May 7, 2022 12 PM forum time. The participants will be awarded the NFTs (random order) within 1 month of the end of the campaign. The NFTs will be awarded on the basis of the total stakes the participants earn at the end of the campaign.

iv) The participants should not behave or post in any manner that is derogatory or can harm the reputation of the project. Further, the participants should not promise any sort of high returns or benefits more than what is mentioned in our website as the project cannot guarantee such benefits, over and above what has been mentioned.

v) Participants must follow the rules relevant to each campaign.

vi) Participants can find brand material in this Link for all of the campaigns.

Instagram Campaign

Rules
i) Participants must follow the creators on Instagram: EvoPix Studios and The Candid Artist.
ii) Participants must post minimum of 3 posts/reels and maximum of 14 posts/reels in a week about the project and tag both the creators @evopixstudios and @_thecandidartist_.
iii) Participants must have at least 500 followers.
iv) Participants must post their weekly report of posts as per the format below

Reporting format

Code:

Instagram Campaign Report
Bitcointalk.org Username:
Instagram Username:
Instagram Profile link:
Post Links:
1.
2.
3.

Rewards
500 to 1000 followers: 1 stake per post
1001 to 10000 followers: 2 stakes per post
10001 and above: 3 stakes per post
10% increase in stakes of Instagram for adding our website: https://www.evopix.in/ in your bio / linktree / withkoji or similar link displaying sites.

Twitter Campaign

i) Participants must follow the creators on Twitter: EvoPix Studios and The Candid Artist.
ii) Participants must post minimum of 3 tweets and maximum of 14 tweets in a week about the project, tag both the creators (@EvopixStudios & @thecandidart) and include the website link (https://www.evopix.in/) in each tweet. Further, retweets of the tweets of the creators on this will also be considered as valid tweets.
iii) Participants must have at least 500 followers.
iv) Participants must post their weekly report of tweets as per the format below

Reporting format

Code:

Twitter Campaign Report
Bitcointalk.org Username:
Twitter Username:
Twitter Profile link:
Tweet/Retweet Links:
1.
2.
3.

Rewards
500 to 1000 followers: 1 stake per tweet
1001 to 10000 followers: 2 stakes per tweet
10001 and above: 3 stakes per tweet

Youtube Campaign

i) Participants must follow one of the creators on Youtube: The Candid Artist.
ii) Participants must have at least 300 subscribers.
iii) Participants can post up to 3 videos in a week. Each videos should have a link to our website https://www.evopix.in/ and link to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1P_oEOPIUuGZfc0u704lDA?sub_confirmation=1
iv) The rewards will be based on number of subscribers multiplied with Rewards Multiplier for quality of video. Quality of the video will be based on the presentation, aesthetics, attractiveness etc. of the video.
v) Participants must post their weekly report of videos posted as per the format below

Reporting format

Code:

Video Campaign
Bitcointalk.org Username:
Channel URL link:
Video Links:
1.
2.
3.

Rewards
300 to 1000 subscribers: 1 stake per video
1001 to 5000 subscribers: 2 stakes per video
5001 and subscribers: 3 stakes per video

Rewards Multiplier:
Low quality: 1x
Medium quality: 2x
High quality: 3x

Bonus
i) Get 10% increase in your total stakes by joining our Discord Server
ii) At the end of the campaign, if the project is successful in raising the funds, we will award bounty campaign participants (selected few or all of them) with Matic

Queries and others
For any sort of queries, you can DM me here on bitcointalk.org or DM us on our Instagram accounts: EvoPix Studios and The Candid Artist

Weekly updates
Week 1: April 8 to April 16, 12 PM (forum time) - Completed - Stakes will be updated shortly
Week 2: April 16, 12 PM (forum time) to April 23, 12 PM (forum time) - Completed - Stakes will be updated shortly
Week 3: April 23, 12 PM (forum time) to April 30, 12 PM (forum time) - Completed - Stakes will be updated shortly
Week 4: April 30, 12 PM (forum time) to May 7, 12 PM (forum time) - Completed - Stakes will be updated shortly

Dear All,

Glad to announce our Santa Approved Reindeer Club (SARC) will be launching on April 16, 2022. Below is the preview of our images:




The NFT provides various benefits/features such as:

• Full rights to the NFT holder to commercially use the NFT images
• Access to 3D gallery of our artwork
• Share of profits from merch sales
• Place free custom art orders with the artists
• Early Access to future NFT projects
• Access to art community
• Contribution to wildlife conservation

Currently the testnet NFTs are listed on our Website for NFT enthusiasts. The minting of the mainnet NFTs will commence on April 16, 2022

The team behind the NFTs is EvoPix Studios and The Candid Artist.

Do visit our website for more details: Website

After a long time of confusion around crypto in India, today the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitaraman, at the Union Budget presentation has announced that all the crypto gains would be taxed at 30% and only the cost of acquisition would allowed as deduction from sale consideration. However, losses will not be allowed to be set of with other incomes. Further, there is an intention to introduce withholding taxes at 1% on transfers. We would need to wait until the Finance Bill is released to analyze further on specifics and how this would work in practice.

However, the above cannot be construed to be completely legalizing crypto space in India, but rather just a move towards doing the same.

Further, from FY 2022-23 the RBI would be introducing the Digital Rupee which would be a centralized cryptocurrency controlled by the RBI. We would need to read through the Budget memorandum to understand the specifics of this introduction.

I will be reading through the Finance Bill and Budget memorandum and provide more details as the same is released. Stay tuned.

Sources: https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/crypto/budget-2021-digital-rupee-to-be-issued-gain-from-digital-assets-to-be-taxed-at-30-7751029/

https://www.hindustantimes.com/budget/union-budget-2022-live-updates-nirmala-sitharaman-covid-vaccine-income-tax-pf-whats-costly-whats-cheaper-announcements-101643672370886.html

After a long time of confusion around crypto in India, today the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitaraman, has announced that all the crypto gains would be taxed at 30% and only the cost of acquisition would allowed as deduction from sale consideration. However, losses will not be allowed to be set of with other incomes. We would need to wait until the Finance Bill is released to analyze further on how this would work in practice.

However, the above cannot be construed to be completely legalizing crypto space in India, but rather just a move towards the same.

Further, from FY 2022-23 the RBI would be introducing the Digital Rupee which would be a centralized cryptocurrency controlled by the RBI. We would need to read through the Budget memorandum to understand the specifics of this introduction.

I will be reading through the Finance Bill and Budget memorandum and provide more details as the same is released. Stay tuned.

Hi Everyone!

I'm glad to announce that I have been able to successfully launch the NFT collection Cryptopunks into the Multiverse wherein we explore Cryptopunks as they enter the era of multiverse. These cryptopunks have an amusing backstory which is as follows:

In the year 2037, a team of scientists from Cosmic Research Labs, inspired by the superhero pop culture, discovered that the universe that we live in, isn't the only universe. They invented the multiverse goggles that let people look into three other universes. The idea was conceptualized by a scientist who originally intended to find herself the right man, since she believed that the right man was not created in her universe.

The three universes apart from the one we live in are the:
1. Mirror world - a mirror copy of our universe
2. Noir world - a universe devoid of all colors
3. Radioactive world - a universe where someone got very creative with plutonium.

Cryptopunks into the Multiverse is a collection of 10,000 punks that live on the Polygon blockchain and explores the concept of this multiverse.

Do check out the collection on Opensea and grab a NFT for just 0.001 ETH.
The prices of these NFT are as follows:
Male: 0.001 ETH
Female: 0.003 ETH
Ape: 0.12 ETH
Alien: 0.4 ETH
Zombie: 0.03ETH
Those who wear multiverse goggles: 1 ETH

Note: This collection is NOT affiliated with Larva Labs who are the original creators of Cryptopunks.

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excelpixelstudio/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcelPixelStud1
Discord: https://discord.gg/r5GbWxWpnV

[What's the process?]

Dear All,

If you are interested in creating a NFT out of your own image or painting or any sort of art, I will create the pixel art for you for just 0.001 ETH (~$3) and mint it as a NFT on Ethereum or Polygon blockchain which would be automatically listed on OpenSea. You pay only at the time of collecting the NFT.

What's the process? - DM me your image, your Ethereum address and the blockchain (Ethereum/Polygon) where you wanted this minted on my Instagram or DM me here or respond to this thread - Or you can do all of these. Also, let me know the kind of pixel art that you want i.e. 16x16 or 32x32 or 64x64 or 128x128 etc. (I can do higher too). You can also customize the length of the pixel i.e. you can keep it 1 pixel of photo equal to 1 pixel or as 16 pixel (i would definitely recommend 16). Just be sure that you have the rights to use the image.

What will be done with the image - I will create a pixel image as per your requirement and mint it on the Ethereum or Polygon blockchain using OpenSea.io. Once this is minted, I will place a private offering to your Ethereum address. Then I will inform you of creating this in Instagram or here responding to your message.

How to claim the NFT - Once you receive my message, log in to OpenSea using your Ethereum wallet, and check my collection on OpenSea. You will find your NFT waiting to be claimed. You can pay the agreed price i.e. 0.001 ETH and claim the NFT. In case you want it minted on Ethereum, at the time of claiming the NFT, your wallet would also require you to pay the gas fees for the minting process. On Polygon, it is completely free on OpenSea and hence this is the recommended option.

Wondering why the price is so low? - Well, this is more of a promotional act in order to get attention for the rest of my art work and my collaborator The Candid Artist. Please do check out our collections and drop a like if you like any of the artwork. We also create other customizable pixel art or paintings and would be happy to take up commissions, if you are interested in it. Let us know on this.

Thank you.

Dear forum members,

If you have been following my posts, you would be aware that I am working on a project to create 10,000 pieces of automated pixel art on Giraffes. I had started creating and coding on the same in the last month, and have currently minted on OpenSea the first 1,000 pixel artworks generated on excel through automation software. Out of these around 250 of them have been listed as well at a price of ETH 0.01. Do check out my collection on this OpenSea link and show your support by liking the artwork.

Thank you!

I have posted few sample images below for your quick reference.

Hi Everyone,

To begin with, I am blessed to have joined this forum where I have been interacting with a lot of members and have been able to learn and explore all sorts of possibilities in the crypto space. One such thing was preparing and launching my own automated artwork project as NFT on OpenSea.io. I had minted the NFTs yesterday and to be honest I thought it would take some time before NFTs are sold. To my surprise and delight, I have been able to sell my first NFT within 1 day!! Needless to say I am thankful to Error_404_NotFound who has purchased the first issued NFT and has supported me with this project in my humble beginnings.

This NFT is the first of the 10,000 NFTs that will be minted in the collection Excel Pixel Giraffes. The first 9990 of these Giraffes are created by using automation software on excel and the last 10 would be handmade. Do visit my collection and drop in a like if you do like any of the artwork. I would highly appreciate your feedback. Thank you.

NFT sold:
#1 - Damari Cross

Dear forum members,

I have minted the first 100 out of my collection of 10,000 pixel artworks generated on excel through automation software on OpenSea. Do check this out on this OpenSea link and show your support by liking the artwork.

Thank you!

I have posted few sample images below for your quick reference.

[Which blockchain on OpenSea should I mint on:]

Dear forum members,

I have created an art collection of Giraffes containing 10,000 unique pieces of art on Microsoft Excel using an automation software. This project is obviously inspired by Cryptopunks. In this regard, while there have been many who use Excel autoshape/freeform to draw pictures, very few people use Excel for drawing pixel art. Out of those, this might be the only project that plans on generating 10,000 pieces of art using automation in Excel. This is my first project and I want to sell these as NFTs on OpenSea.io. I am about to create a collection on Opensea.io, but have a few questions that I would need your suggestions on. I have put in my preliminary thoughts and would request you to drop in your suggestions (especially members who often deal on OpenSea).

• Which blockchain on OpenSea should I mint on: OpenSea provides the option to mint on Ethereum or Polygon. Now, while the Polygon's minting and transaction fees are far lower than those on Ethereum, I do not really see a lot of traction in the sale of NFTs on Polygon network. Is this some kind of bias that people have towards Polygon and would rather prefer Ethereum (or do I have a bias while checking this?). Of course, minting on polygon would drastically reduce fees for the time being, I wonder if this would be the right choice. Please do let me know.
  
  
• What is the maximum price that I can set for my art? Open question, you can let me know your thoughts. You can be frank.
  
  
• What should be the name of the collection? I would be really pleased if you can suggest some creative names for the collection of these giraffes
  
  
• Do you have any other suggestions, comments or ideas that i should use in this project? This would help me improve upon this project and future projects too.
  
  

I have posted few sample images below for your quick reference.


You can visit my Instagram to see my page where I am currently trying to build a follower base from ground up. Do show your support by following my Instagram page. I would be blessed to have members from this forum on my page.

[2013 to 2017]

Hi everyone,

We all have been reading a lot of news on crypto ban in India recently and some of us have observed a lot of fear mongering in these articles. Therefore, I am writing this article with all the facts backed with press releases by government official website (pib.gov.in, dea.gov.in, etc.), Supreme court orders and the RBI notifications from RBI's official website (rbi.org.in). I am completely focusing on the facts and trying to refrain from expressing my personal opinion in this article. I trust you will find this article useful from a factual perspective.

2013 to 2017
RBI issues 3 notification in December 2013, February 2017 and December 05, 2017 cautioning Indians from using crypto/virtual currencies due to the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks associated with these. These are merely cautions and does not call for any ban. Further the Ministry of Finance also makes a press release stating that virtual/crypto currencies are like Ponzi schemes which can be used to cheat people and also used for various illegal activities.
You can read these RBI Official Press releases in https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=30247 , https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=39435 and https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=42462 and the Press release by Ministry of Finance on https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1514568

November 2017
The Government constitutes an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on 2.11.2017 under the Chairmanship of Secy (Economic Affairs), with Secy (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), Chairman (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and Dy. Governor, Reserve Bank of India as Members, to study the issues related to virtual currencies and propose specific action to be taken in this matter. I was not able to find any press release in 2017 on this, but this was later revealed in press release by government in July 2019, provided below (https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1579759).

April 2018
RBI issues the notification no. RBI/2017-18/154 wherein entities that are registered with RBI, such as Banks, Forex traders, etc. are not permitted to deal with any person/ company/ firm dealing in crypto/virtual currencies. By virtue of this notification, all activities of the RBI registered entities in respect of crypto currencies is prohibited, thereby the entire ecosystem for crypto currencies such as banking channels were cut off. However, this notification in itself did not ban cryptocurrencies.
You can read the notification no. RBI/2017-18/154 (DBR.No.BP.BC.104 /08.13.102/2017-18) in this link: https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11243

February 2019 to July 2019
In July 2017, the Ministry of Finance makes a press release that the Inter-Ministerial committee has submitted its report on Virtual currencies along with the draft bill titled 'Banning of Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019' in February 2019 and the same was placed on the website of Department of Economic Affairs. The report contains the following:

• the positive aspect of distributed-ledger technology (DLT) and suggested various applications, especially in financial services, for use of DLT in India for processes such as loan-issuance tracking, collateral management, fraud detection and claims management in insurance, and reconciliation systems in the securities market.
• given the risks associated with private cryptocurrencies and volatility in their prices, the Group has recommended banning of the cryptocurrencies in India and imposing fines and penalties for carrying on of any activities connected with cryptocurrencies in India.
• recommends exploring into official Central Bank Digital Currencies ('CBDC')
• recommends Government may establish a Standing Committee to revisit the issues addressed in the Report

 
Further, the draft bill contains the legal regulations for extensive ban of cryptocurrencies and punishment for each contravention. Further, it lays down a foundation for implementation of official Central Bank Digital Currencies ('CBDC')
You view the press release in https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1579759 and view the report and draft bill on https://dea.gov.in/sites/default/files/Approved%20and%20Signed%20Report%20and%20Bill%20of%20IMC%20on%20VCs%2028%20Feb%202019.pdf
Further during this time a Rajya Sabha member also raised a query whether cryptocurrency was banned in India and several other questions. In response Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance, replied that it was not banned and that government had received the Inter-Ministerial Committee's report. This can be read here: https://pqars.nic.in/annex/249/Au2591.pdf

February 2020
RBI issues a bulletin wherein it acknowledges that Distributed ledger system can be used in various industries and financial institution. Further, the bulletin also talks about Central Bank Digital Currencies ('CBDC') being implemented by various countries.  
You can read this article on https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_ViewBulletin.aspx?Id=18766

March 2020
In response to the Writ petition filed by Internet and Mobile Association of India (which included a lot of petitioners) the Supreme Court of India ruled that RBI could not restrict regulated entities from dealing with companies engaged in dealing with cryptocurrencies. It states that when the consistent stand of RBI is that they have not banned virtual/crypto currencies and when the Government of India was unable to take a call to ban the same, RBI could not restrict its regulated entities either.
You can read the full judgement in this link: https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2018/19230/19230_2018_4_1501_21151_Judgement_04-Mar-2020.pdf

January 2021
In the Lok Sabha Bulletin released on January 29, 2021 lists the Cryptocurrency bill under the new bills to be introduced in the Lok Sabha. You can find the same in the this link: http://loksabhadocs.nic.in/bull2mk/2021/29012021.pdf (Go to Page no. 26 and Item no. 12 under the New bills Section). This bill is titled "The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021" with the description "To create a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The Bill also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses." However, the text of the bill is yet to be presented.

February 2021
In a Q&A session in the Rajya Sabha questions are raised on the ban of cryptocurrency and how government plans to implement it, in spite of Supreme Court quashing RBI's restrictions. The Finance ministry responded that the Government does not consider crypto-currencies legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate use of these crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system. However, The Government will explore use of block chain technology proactively for ushering in digital economy. Further, response quoted that the Government would take a decision on the recommendations of the IMC regarding banning of cryptocurrencies and the draft bill after consideration would be introduced in the Parliament.
You can read the Rajya Sabha Q&A here: https://pqars.nic.in/annex/253/AS79.pdf

March & April 2021 - Only presented in News
Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance, says that government welcomes blockchain as an emerging technology and that new ideas must be evaluated, explored and encouraged with an open mind at an event arranged by Entrepreneurs' Organization.
Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/government-open-to-evaluate-explore-cryptocurrencies-says-anurag-thakur/articleshow/81367065.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Further he said the Government of India is open to adopt state digital currency and they want to promote digital adoption across sectors under the Digital India Initiative. He also mentioned Reserve Bank of India is working towards India to have its own digital currency.
Read more at: https://bfsi.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/fintech/approaching-the-cryptocurrency-regulation-with-an-open-outlook-investor-protection-anurag-thakur/82027897

May 2021
RBI issues a notification on May 31, 2021 wherein it states that it has found certain banks quoting the circular issued by RBI in 2018 to caution customers from using crypto/virtual currencies. In this regard, RBI states that such circular was set aside by the Supreme Court's order in March 2020 and the circular is no longer valid. However, it continues to state that banks/regulated entities can carry out customer due diligence processes as per KYC, anti-money laundering laws, laws against terrorism financing and foreign exchange regulations for overseas remittances.
Read more at: https://rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Mode=0&Id=12103

February 2022
The Finance Minister in the budget released on February 1, 2022 announced that gains from sale of Virtual Digital Assets which includes cryptocurrencies and NFTs would be taxed at 30% and only the cost of acquisition would be considered as a deduction. Also the Government directed the central bank i.e. RBI to start working on Central Bank Digital Currency ('CBDC') by FY 2022-23.
Further, during a parliamentary session, the Finance Minister mentioned that the government is yet to take a decision on regulating of cryptocurrencies or that of banning these altogether.
Read more at: https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/ and https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/cryptocurrencies-to-be-banned-india-fm-nirmala-sitharaman-replies-1911713-2022-02-11

I hope this collection of press releases, notifications and bulletin is useful. Would be happy to have your thoughts and corrections, if any.

Last updated on: April 16, 2022 at UTC 8 PM

[Step 1:]

Hi Everyone,

Recently we have seen a trend of central bank such as RBI in India imposing restrictions on Banks from dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges. While this restriction in itself does not ban cryptocurrencies, it stops the free flow of crypto by users and exchanges. On a separate note, I have been facing issues in depositing Rupees into my WazirX account from a week. Since WazirX has tweeted that this issue is arising due to some issue with their Bank, it makes me wonder if this is due to RBI being a bit strict with banks in order to cut ties with crypto exchanges. In this regard, it is likely that this action would be challenged in the courts similar to 2019. But until then you may not be able to transfer or receive funds from crypto exchanges in fiat currency. While this is my hypothesis, I was keen to explore an alternative to deposit to/withdraw from my exchange if RBI completely bans any bank from dealing with crypto exchanges. Accordingly, I have jotted down a simple 3 step process (which is currently legal) that you could use to route your deposit to crypto exchanges.

• Step 1: Sign up on OctaFx and deposit money into OctaFX account through bank transfer or UPI payment.
• Step 2: In the withdraw option of OctaFx use the option - withdraw in Bitcoin and use your exchange's Bitcoin deposit address.
• Step 3: Using Bitcoin deposited into your exchange, transact as per your requirement.
  
  

Similarly a 4-step process for withdrawals is as follows:

• Step 1: Once you have signed up on OctaFx, find your deposit Bitcoin/Ethereum address for your account.
• Step 2: Convert all your exchange holdings to Bitcoin or Ethereum. I would prefer Bitcoin since it has highest currency pairs.
• Step 3: Choose the option to withdraw Bitcoin/Ethereum and input your OctaFX Bitcoin/Ethereum address.
• Step 4: The Bitcoin/Ethereum deposited into your OctaFx will be automatically converted to Fiat (USD) and you can then withdraw into your local bank account.

Further do consider the following notes:

• Currently the above option is legal i.e. it is not banned. However, ensure your transactions are from legal source of funds, appropriately taxes and follows other legal requirements
• While you are using OctaFx, kindly note that trading in foreign exchange is banned in many countries including India (Yes, this is something of a legal grey area). Therefore, as long as you use the funds only for depositing/withdrawing crypto to/from crypto exchanges, it should be alright.
• If cryptocurrencies are banned by your country even the above method would be illegal, and hence do not follow this in such case. I have separately discussed on legal grounds to challenge the ban on cryptocurrencies in this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5334398.0
• The exchanges and OctaFx will likely charge a small portion of deposit/withdrawals as fees. Please consider this before undertaking any transaction.

Trust you will find this post useful. Please feel free to share any other ideas that you have, which I can incorporate into the post, so that this can serve as a comprehensive guide for everyone.

[Description:]

Hi everyone, this is in relation to sale of NFT of a digital art which was derived out of 2 physical paintings, with the permission and full consent of the original painter who is a budding artist. This has been listed on AtomicHub.io and can be found with this link: https://wax.atomichub.io/market/auction/212974

I have provided other details of the NFT and the auction below.

Description: This painting signifies the message of peace that Buddha had delivered, resonating through the space. This is a digitized combination of the other 2 paintings in this collection. This is 1 out of 10 NFTs of this digitized art piece.
Starting bid: 50 WAX tokens (Currently $13)
Buy it now: 150 WAX tokens (Currently $39) subject to not receiving bids higher than this amount and receiving offer by May 8, 2021,  5 PM UTC.
End date and time: May 13, 2021 at 12 PM UTC
Payment methods accepted: WAX tokens on AtomicHub marketplace only. This would provide safety of funds and NFT for me as a seller and you as a buyer.

In case you would want to hold this as a unique NFT with no copies, we can discuss the terms of this arrangement and I could either burn remaining copies of this NFT or sell you all of the copies of this art for a fixed price.

In case you need any additional information, please feel free to reply to this thread or send me a message.

ICICI has instructed payment gateways (intermediaries between a bank and exchange) to shut off net banking for merchants/exchange who are involved in buying or selling of cryptocurrencies directly or indirectly. With this, ICICI Bank’s online services cannot be used to deal with any cryptocurrency exchange. Sources say that this may be an implication of RBI's notification banning use of cryptocurrencies in financial and other institutions, back in 2018.

Few questions to ponder upon are as follows:

• Could other banks follow similar approach? - ICICI is one of the leading private sector bank which is one of the market leaders. It is likely that other bank may follow similar approach.
• Why is ICICI bank reacting to the notification now? or does it have anything to with the current discussion of ban on cryptocurrencies? - ICICI bank's reaction to RBI notification that came 2 years back does sound very funny. However, it is more likely that the current discussion in the parliament on ban on cryptocurrencies is leading to this reaction
• What is the way out for ICICI account holders currently who want to buy/sell crypto? - Currently these account holders will have to route this through other bank accounts.
• What if all banks follow suit with ICICI? - This is a very complicated situation. In such case, one of the options to withdraw money is to find a financial service provider/forex broker (Eg. OctaFX) outside India that accepts cryptocurrency as payments and then withdraw from such service provider/broker into a bank account. For deposit of funds into an exchange, one can use paypal, stripe, etc if supported, or use a financial service provider (like OctaFx) to route the money. Also, one can consider the option of carrying out the crypto activities through payoneer. An extreme option is to liquidate all of the crypto holdings at the earliest as soon as 4-5 banks follow suit and withdraw all of the money to a bank that hasn't banned such transactions yet, before that bank follows suit too.
• Is there a likelihood of ICICI reversing this decision? - Yes, if the government comes up with favorable regulations for crypto rather than banning all crypto, it is likely that ICICI would reverse its decision. Further, even in a scenario that the exchange owners are able to convince the banks, it could still help in resolving this issues earlier.

You can read the full news on: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/lack-of-clarity-icici-shuts-out-crypto-trades/articleshow/82337734.cms

PS: Kindly do not treat the above advice as legal/financial advice and please undertake your own diligence before following any of the above steps.

[Legal ground to be taken:]

Hi everyone! This is my post on how crypto users can challenge a ban on crypto imposed by their government and obtain a favorable result against the same. I have kept this post to cover maximum number of jurisdictions, so that it helps crypto communities across the globe should their government impose an outright ban on crypto. Further, I kept legal jargons to the minimum, for ease of reading.

Legal ground to be taken:

• The substance of this legal ground relies on the "Right to constitutional remedies" and "Freedom to carry out trade or practice a profession" being provided in the constitution. Hence, kindly verify if your country provides these rights. Most democratic countries provide these rights.
• Under the freedom to carry out trade or profession, any person can carry a trade/profession if it does not pose a threat to the government or other people. If the trade/profession has the potential to earn revenue, carrying out such trade should be allowed with full freedom. Now when it comes to trade/profession, the crypto economy has been supporting a number of lives that are solely/largely dependent upon crypto income. In addition to the core crypto participants such as miners, traders, etc., crypto is widely used by digital artists selling NFT, bloggers, musicians, etc. Hence, ban on crypto is equivalent of restricting the freedom to carry out trade and profession.
• Once it is established that use of crypto is one of the basic fundamental rights, the next step would be to invoke right to constitutional remedies whereby a person can file a petition before a court either as a writ petition or public interest litigation/petition (as applicable in your country) for violation of their fundamental rights by the government through such ban on crypto. In such cases, if the person petitioning is able to prove before the court that ban on crypto is essentially violating the constitutional rights, then the court would order a rollback of such ban

Fact specific ground to be taken:

• India: The Indian inter-ministerial committee in its report on cryptocurrencies has failed to identify various use cases and functions of crypto such as NFTs on which digital art thrives, charity such as the www.cryptorelief.in which is working towards oxygen supply during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis etc. Hence, it would be essential to highlight the ignorance of the legislature while passing the law, which would provide the court with a valid reason to provide relief in this regard.

Possible arguments by government and how to counter those:

• Threat to domestic currency and economics: Governments have always worried about crypto replacing their sovereign currency. Further, another area of concern for the governments is that if crypto is used as legal tender, it will face a difficulty in regulating the flow of currency, interest rates etc. In such cases, the governments are welcome to ban the 'use of crypto as legal tender', but not outright ban the crypto. In logical terms this can be explained as 'killing with a knife' has to be made illegal and merely 'using a knife' cannot be made illegal since it can be used for a lot of productive purposes. Thereafter, the government can look into classifying crypto as an asset and regulate exchange of assets.
• Threat to foreign exchange reserves: Most governments would perceive a risk of loosing their foreign exchange reserves due to investments flowing into crypto and thereby creating decrease in value of their own currency. However, this can be countered by providing details of how people stand to gain by carrying out their trade and profession through crypto and how it would in reality be a source of earning foreign exchange reserves
• Used for illegal activities: Another concern raised by governments, is that crypto is used for illegal activities such as extortion, kidnapping, ransomwares, etc. However, the argument to be taken here is that use of crypto for such activities can continue even if cryptocurrencies are banned in a country and a ban is likely not able to stop it, since there are various means of carrying out such activities. Further, similar to the logic explained above, "use of crypto in illegal activities" needs to be banned and not mere "use of crypto".
• Can be used for money laundering: One more concern of the government is that it can be used easily for money laundering, it must be noted that flow of currencies from one wallet to another can be traced easily in most blockchains. Hence, the flow of money can be traced in most cases at one point or another. Irrespective of this, where a person is found to be laundering money using cryptocurrencies, they need to be tried under the Money Laundering Act, rather than banning cryptocurrencies. The governments have a wrong notion that banning cryptocurrencies would stop money laundering through cryptocurrencies. For someone who is rogue enough to launder money, would a simple ban on cryptocurrencies stop them? Hence, banning crypto currencies is not the solution.
  

I hope this is useful. Do let me know in case you come across any other additional legal grounds that can be taken. I will be happy to incorporate the same in this post so that this can be used as a single reference point by everyone.

Further, do let me know the fact specific grounds that can be taken for your country and I would be pleased to incorporate it into my post. Thank you.

[1. Decreasing Mempool congestion:]

The price of Bitcoin is hovering around USD 52K at the time of writing this article. In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin hit a bottom of USD 47K and has recovered since. Now you might be wondering if it is the right time to invest in Bitcoin. Here are the 6 reasons why you should:

1. Decreasing Mempool congestion: The current mempool congestion is said to be one of the reasons for the current fall in Bitcoin prices. While this might sound ridiculous, you can check and compare the charts of Bitcoin prices (https://www.coindesk.com/price/bitcoin) vs. the chart of Mempool Transaction count chart (https://www.blockchain.com/charts/mempool-count). While this congestion was at its peak between Apr 18 to Apr 24, it has since reduced considerably and we are already seeing Bitcoin price recover. When the mempool congestion is minimum we are likely to see the Bitcoin price rise.

2. Support price: The support price of Bitcoin has been set to around USD 48K-USD 50K by multiple exchanges and researchers (Refer: https://www.barchart.com/crypto/quotes/%5EBTCUSD/cheat-sheet and https://www.newsbtc.com/analysis/btc/bitcoin-makes-comeback-53-5k/). What this means is that when Bitcoin hits these price levels, people will be resistant to sell and large scale buying is expected. What largescale buying means is that the price of Bitcoin will shoot back up again.

3. Acceptance of Bitcoins by Corporations: Given that several large organizations are coming forward to accept Bitcoins as valid mode of payment, it is likely that Bitcoin adoption increases many folds. This is due to the reason that once these large corporation earn in bitcoin, to pay their suppliers, vendors or employees, they would naturally have to use Bitcoins. This increase in usage by itself would drive the demand for Bitcoin high. Further, on seeing large corporations accepting bitcoins, smaller organizations are likely to follow suit and same cycle would be followed by them.

4. Scarcity: While it is needless to say that bitcoin has always had the concept that it would remain scarce and that issue of new blocks would reduce over time, in the recent times, the amount of people engaging in Bitcoin mining has increased to such levels that miners get a very small portion of the mined Bitcoin. In this regard, one major pattern that I have observed is that every time that block rewards get halved the Bitcoin price slingshots to an all time high. This is is clearly visible with the Bitcoin price rising to an all time high in 2017 (1 year after halving in 2016) and now in 2021 (1 year after halving in 2020). Considering the above, I believe that bitcoin is likely to explode by the end of 2021 and break the current all time high again.

5. Increased HODLing: One more reason that I would consider is that there is an increased number of people who get attracted to the technology and concept of Bitcoin and therefore end up HODLing Bitcoin (like me) and would love to see their Bitcoin rise in value over the years rather than selling and making a quick buck. This would propel Bitcoin to higher prices without crashing.

6. Lost wallets: Around 20% of the Bitcoins that have been mined are locked in wallets (Refer: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/technology/bitcoin-passwords-wallets-fortunes.html). As time passes we could see a lot of people actually forgetting where they have kept the private key or seed phrase for their wallets (But ensure you keep them safe ). This is eventually going to cause decreased supply in Bitcoin over the years and help maintain the increase in Bitcoin prices.

While the above is my analysis of why Bitcoin should be purchased, please carry out your own analysis before you invest in Bitcoin. Further, while I have highlighted the reasons as to why Bitcoin needs to be purchased now, you should also consider various risks, legal/tax issues, etc. before you invest in Bitcoin.

Would be happy to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you.