Tim Draper Slams Proposed Bitcoin Ban in India

Bitcoin proponent and Tezos investor Tim Draper hit out at the Indian government on Twitter July 16 after alleged evidence appeared it was preparing to ban cryptocurrency.

In a strongly-worded message, Draper, who recently took Bitcoin advocacy to Argentina's government, called Delhi "Pathetic and corrupt."

"People behaving badly! India's government banned Bitcoin, a currency providing great hope for prosperity in a country that desperately needs it. Shame on India leadership," he wrote.

The billionaire investor is well known for his support of freedom of Bitcoin use, having revealed a distaste for state involvement via overly strict regulation on multiple occasions.

At press time, Draper had not responded to criticism of his initial tweet.

As Cointelegraph reported, earlier, an Indian blockchain lawyer had uploaded what he described as possible evidence of a draft law banning cryptocurrency in India.

The document stresses the new rupee is not considered a cryptocurrency, while actual cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin would be completely illegal.

Prison sentences of up to ten years would be handed to those who hold, transact in, mine or complete any form of operation using such cryptocurrencies.

Decentralized blockchains, especially Bitcoin's, cannot be shut down by one specific party without amassing an inordinate amount of computing support.

The idea of the United States banning Bitcoin meanwhile formed a topic of debate this week after disparaging comments from President Donald Trump.