IIT Bombay student body kicks off four-day crypto, blockchain summit, Cryptonite

The Finance Club of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) has announced a four-day summit on cryptocurrency and blockchain. Called Cryptonite, the summit seeks to increase understanding and awareness of the cryptocurrency industry and its related technologies in India. 

The IIT-B summit is being partnered by Woodstock Fund, an emerging tech investment firm focusing on Web3 and blockchain ventures, Indian Web3 startup incubator Buidler’s Tribe, decentralised startup fund DAOMaker, and decentralised finance (DeFi) lending platform, Polytrade. 

The four-day summit has begun today, December 7, and will continue until Monday, December 10. According to a media statement from the IIT-B Finance Club, the summit will seek to “bridge the existing knowledge gap between the techno sector and the student community of India.” 

Speakers at the summit will talk about industry applications of blockchain and related Web3 technologies, as well as the future of cryptocurrency under a regulatory climate in India. The summit will also host three hackathons and two cryptocurrency trading competitions, offering cash prizes worth Rs 20 lakh to participants. 

Also read: Total ban on crypto ‘difficult’ to implement in India: Economist Ashima Goyal

The cryptocurrency space is seeing an increasing volume of hackathons and related interests in India. In December 2021, Polygon, arguably the largest Indian blockchain protocol with a listed token in numerous cryptocurrency exchanges, announced winners of its Buidl It 2K21 Web3 hackathon. The latter had a total of 186 finalists and a prize pool of about Rs 75 lakh. 

The interest comes at a time when India awaits its official cryptocurrency regulation law. After numerous reports pointing at a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency and related technologies in India, numerous stakeholders including Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Indian Monetary Policy Committee member Ashima Goyal have spoken about how the sector will likely see regulation -- and not a ban. 

According to Goyal, the upcoming cryptocurrency bill may keep the avenue open for large-volume institutional investors to invest in cryptocurrencies -- suggesting that the government may move to ban individuals from making small volume crypto trades going forward.