The blockchain forum aims to open membership to all stakeholders to create the world’s largest Web 3.0 community

Key influencers operating in the Indian Blockchain industry have formally launched the India Blockchain Forum. The forum envisages a collaborative model with governments, regulators, industry, and academia to help build a robust framework for making India a global hub for Blockchain and Web 3.0. To raise awareness of Blockchain and Web 3.0, the forum plans to “create community chapters across the country to increase awareness and access to global best practices”. As part of the process, the forum will now open membership to all stakeholders with a mission to create the world’s largest Web 3.0 community, it said in a press statement.

The current members include experts in the field of policy drafting, emerging frontiers like NFTs, Metaverse, and CBDC, cybersecurity, technology architects, global influencers, and leaders in enterprise adoption of blockchain and Web 3.0.

IBF to Adopt Collaborative Model

The newly-minted Indian blockchain advocacy platform said its vision is to make India the global hub for blockchain and web 3. It will adopt a collaboration model and work with the government, regulators, industry, and research institutes to promote web 3.

IBF has adopted a 10-point agenda that includes building an India Blockchain Stack, accelerating the startup ecosystem, supporting blockchain technology companies, and creating a talent pool for sustainable growth of the Blockchain ecosystem, the coverage said.

The pool of influencers with domain expertise in different blockchain areas will be used to form special interest groups (SIGs) such as on CBDC, Metaverse, and policy framework.

Industries and IT Secretary Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, who launched the forum, appreciated the collective effort of its team in creating an all-inclusive platform for scaling the adoption of blockchain technology in India and supporting the growth of the ecosystem.

He said the Telangana government will launch a Web 3.0 regulatory sandbox soon to allow startups to build solutions around tokenization, NFTs, and similar new frontiers. This sandbox will help create meaningful dialogue amongst all the stakeholders including regulators, startups, and policymakers to arrive at a nuanced approach to evolving an effective Web 3.0 framework.

The release said India Blockchain Forum envisages a collaboration model with governments, regulators, industry, and academia to help build a holistic framework for the right adoption of blockchain and Web 3.0. It will soon launch certificate programs with leading industry and academic partners to build a talent pool in emerging technologies like blockchain, Metaverse, and Web 3.0.

The launch of the India-focused blockchain advocacy forum assumes significance given the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies on the one hand and the stringent approach of the regulators and the governments on the other. Recently, the Indian financial crime investigating agency, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), froze the bank accounts of WazirX and Vaud on money laundering charges. Starting from April 1, India has begun levying a hefty 30% capital gains tax and, from July 1, a 1% tax deduction at source for all crypto transactions. These moves have severely impacted the trading volume.