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India, July 28, 2021: Marking a milestone, the #IndiaWantsCrypto campaign started by Nischal Shetty, Founder & CEO, WazirX on November 1, 2018, has completed 1000 days!
Nischal started the campaign after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) banned Indian banks from doing business with crypto exchanges. Even though the exchange – as a part of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) – was fighting the court case against the RBI in the Supreme Court, Shetty realized that the bigger reason behind the banking ban was the lack of awareness about crypto amongst the masses and regulators. This led him to start the campaign with the objective of spreading the right information about crypto and channelizing the crypto community of India to discuss the right regulations.
Each day, Nischal tweeted to lawmakers and urged them to introduce positive regulation for India using the #IndiaWantsCrypto. In no time, a simple yet striking statement – India Wants Crypto – became a rallying cry for millions and united the Indian crypto community.
What started as a one-person movement has now grown into a massive revolution with participation from fellow Indian crypto exchange founders, blockchain startup founders, and influencers.
Speaking on the 1000th day of the campaign, Nischal Shetty, CEO of WazirX said, "From then till now, the journey has been very overwhelming. One of the major challenges has been creating awareness. Due to the uncertainty and lack of communication, most people were under the belief that crypto is illegal in India. Over time, many people joined this campaign, and it's been picked up by journalists and influencers globally. Our mission has been to make crypto
accessible to the masses in India including the creation of an environment where crypto and blockchain entrepreneurs can thrive. The aim is to create a safe environment for investors and traders that will allow positive regulation in the country."
In the post-pandemic era, several Indians – especially from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities – have found solace in crypto to make ends meet. Several crypto investors have also taken to #IndiaWantsCrypto to share heartfelt stories about how crypto has transformed their lives:
As a testament to this fact, WazirX has witnessed over 3500% growth in signups from smaller cities like Lucknow, Patna, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Guwahati, and more, compared to the first half of 2020.
