Billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper, who is one of the earliest investors in the internet, is once again bullish on India, in part because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's anti-corruption drive.
And the long-time bitcoin fan believes India will benefit a lot from cryptocurrencies and blockchain as it will enable government to become more transparent and efficient.
"If I had a meeting with Modi, I would have let him know he is making a huge mistake. (Bitcoin) should be the national currency," Draper told the Economic Times in an interview on Friday.
India's aversion to virtual currencies was first displayed in December 2013 when the central bank issued a few words of caution.
But on Thursday, the Reserve Bank of India banned all financial firms from dealing with or providing services to any individuals or business entities dealing with or settling virtual currencies.
Officials at the top echelons of the government, including finance minister Arun Jaitley have expressed his strong dislike for virtual currencies.
India's tough stance on cryptocurrencies has taken a toll on bitcoin's popularity in the country.
Ethereum has topped the search for cryptocurrency in India, commanding a share of 34.6 percent in the overall currency searches compared to about 30 percent share garnered by Bitcoin, a new research by free internet provider Jana revealed.
"That's the stupidest thing," said Draper on Indian government's move to declare cryptocurrencies as invalid tender.
"Bitcoin and blockchain are the best things to have happened for business. Wherever countries have accepted these, they have become huge beneficiaries".
Draper bought nearly 30,000 bitcoins in 2014 when the U.S. government auctioned off the virtual currency seized from Silk Road, the online market-place of illegal goods. Since then Draper has made 40 more crypto investments, reported Forbes.
Draper has been a huge supporter of blockchain startups. He invested in Tezos's $232 million token sale in July last year and owns a minority stake in the firm that controls Tezos's code, Distributed Ledger Solutions.
The formidable Silicon Valley investor believes countries should promote entrepreneurship in the cryptocurrency space as that will help attract the world's best engineers and coders, or else they will end up losing their best and brightest to other regions.
He advices blockchain and crypto companies to shift base to countries where initial coin offerings are allowed.
"If the local authorities are banning crypto, then companies in the space should move elsewhere. The government needs to realize that it is stifling innovation and should instead be creating an environment where these ideas can be tested and promoted," Draper told the Economic Times.
