The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes will be withdrawn from circulation as part of its "Clean Note Policy," but they will still be legal tender and can be exchanged until September 30, 2023, with a limit of Rs 20,000 for a single exchange.

Welcome to the latest episode of Equity, the podcast that delves into the world of startups and explores the stories behind the headlines. In this episode, we discuss the latest news in the tech industry, including meme coins, unicorns, and developments in India. The global stock market has started the week on a positive note, while the crypto world is experiencing some minor setbacks due to a new meme coin. We also cover regulatory updates, such as Coinbase's decision to remain in the US, and news from Industry Land, including Qualcomm's shopping spree and Alibaba's logistics IPO. Finally, we take a look at some good and bad news from India and preview some upcoming earnings results. Don't forget to subscribe to Equity on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and all the casts for more insights into the world of startups.

India's Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has stated that the country is not against blockchain technology, but currencies must be monitored by the government or the central bank. The Reserve Bank of India has launched pilot trials for retail and wholesale central bank digital currencies, with the digital rupee aiming to improve cross-border and bulk payments to minimize losses on arbitrage. India is seeking a global consensus in regulating crypto assets and is also introducing cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence topics in certain school curriculums from the next academic year. Last year, the country imposed a 30% flat tax on crypto income and a 1% tax deducted at source on crypto trades above 10,000 Indian rupees. India currently holds the presidency of the Group of 20 and has listed cryptocurrency and its regulation as one of the agendas for discussion.

Shiba Inu is the most popular meme coin in both countries, generating 60.7% of US interest and 55.8% of India's interest in meme coins.

With peer-to-peer and decentralized features that move data control to users and eventually do away with platform / third-party intermediation, Web3 is a new call for industries today. In essence, Web3 leverages blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs to return ownership and authority to the consumers. Read on Web3 and its Current Trends to Watch.

The Indian enforcement directorate has frozen over $11.1 million in an ongoing investigation into money laundering using the cryptocurrency HPZ token. The funds were seized during searches conducted at three banks and payment gateway providers across the country that served entities involved in money laundering. The investigation found that two companies collected funds from investors under the guise of investment in the app-based HPZ token. Bhupesh Arora controlled one of these companies and his associates, according to authorities. Arora and his co-conspirators were using the firm and several other entities to defraud investors by operating various unregistered websites and applications for gaming and loans. The accused individuals promised investors huge returns if they invested in HPZ tokens, generated through investment in mining machines for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In October 2021, the lawsuit was filed, and in February, the authorities seized $3.6 million from bank accounts associated with companies implicated in the case. The total assets frozen in the case now amount to $21.7 million.

India's Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has called for global consensus in regulating crypto while emphasizing that regulation does not equate to government control over distributed ledger technology (DLT). Sitharaman highlighted that a global template may have to be created as no one country, individually, can control technology-driven crypto assets since technology does not have borders. India has been managing digital assets with suspicion, imposing a 30% flat tax on crypto income, a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on crypto trades above 10,000 Indian rupees (US$122), and not allowing crypto traders to offset losses against gains, among other measures. The International Monetary Fund's paper on cryptocurrencies and the Financial Stability Board's report on the financial stability of crypto assets will be discussed at the G20 meeting in July when finance ministers and central bank governors are scheduled to meet.

CoinSwitch, one of the largest exchanges in India, revealed that Shiba Inu was the most traded asset on its platform from April 15 to 20, towering over BTC.

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is establishing a new engineering hub in India, with plans to tap into the country's top tech talent. The exchange's Global CTO, Pravjit Tiwana, will head up the operation, which will be the second-largest engineering hub for Gemini, after the US. Gemini's India arm will focus on developing web and mobile user experiences, contributions to platform compliance, data pipelines, warehousing, security, and payments. It will also develop new feature sets for Gemini's non-fungible token and crypto asset marketplaces. The exchange is actively hiring for 18 roles, 14 of which are engineering positions. Gemini is also expanding its business teams in India and Singapore to focus on growing Asia Pacific-based institutional and individual customers.

Gemini, the U.S.-based crypto exchange founded by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, named a new chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific (APAC) and is set to open its first office in India as part of its "big plans" in the region.