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Bitcoin Billionaire Tim Draper Might Not Invest in India Ever Again Due to Controversial Citizenship Law

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Mark Emem
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  • Tim Draper has suggested he will not tolerate religious discrimination.
  • The Draper Venture Network is currently invested in India.
  • The venture capitalist earlier this year criticized a proposed cryptocurrency ban in the world’s biggest democracy.

Bitcoin billionaire Tim Draper is not one to shy away from controversy.

As protests escalate over India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Draper has warned that the new law could harm the subcontinent’s power to attract investors such as him. Per Draper, the actions of “India choosing one religion over another” could make him reconsider investing in the world’s second-most populous country.

The bitcoin billionaire tweeted:

India choosing one religion over another makes me seriously concerned about my plans to fund businesses there.

Tim Draper
Source: Twitter 

Venturing into a controversial topic

Among other things, the CAA has been accused of offering a path to citizenship to only Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Parsis and Sikhs  fleeing religious persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, leaving out Muslims.

While Draper did not reveal the exact steps he will take, his Draper Venture Network counts India’s early-stage VC fund Blume Ventures  under its umbrella.

India
India’s Blume Ventures is under the Draper Venture Network. | Source: Screenshot

Tim Draper owns a part of India’s Unocoin crypto exchange

Among the cryptocurrency startups that Blume Ventures has backed includes crypto exchange Unocoin.

The bitcoin billionaire was also previously invested in India through his other VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson. The VC firm, however, divested from its stakes  in nearly ten Indian companies in 2016.

This is not the first time this year that Draper is criticizing policies of the Indian government. In July, he attacked a proposal by the Modi administration to ban bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. At the time Draper argued that the proposed ban would set India back by four decades while insinuating that the move was driven by “pathetic and corrupt leaders”.

In late October, Draper repeated his criticism of India’s proposed bitcoin ban. Then he argued that the ban would lead to increased corruption .

Draper expects Bitcoin price explode 33X six months from now

Draper’s criticism of the CAA is coming days after the venture capitalist predicted that bitcoin’s price would hit $250,000 after May 2020. This would be an appreciation of over 3,200% from the current levels.

Bitcoin
Source: Twitter 

Draper says the boost will be triggered by bitcoin’s third halving event . The billionaire venture capitalist had initially set the $250,000 bitcoin price target for 2022.

While there are numerous predictions in the cryptocurrency space that have been proven wrong, Draper stands out over his track record. In 2014 when bitcoin was hovering under $1,000, the crypto bull predicted that the price would exceed $10,000 in three years. The cryptocurrency went on to surpass nearly double Draper’s price target by the end of 2017.