A group shot of the India Bitcoin meetup
Bitcoin Twitter is generally abuzz with developments in the West, but a mere glance at cryptocurrency tech industry numbers from India shows how the country is primed for orange-pilling. This is coming from a nation that knows a thing or two about self-custodial hodling, with "households owning more than 25,000 tons of gold.”
The Bitcoin community in India is still nascent, but is as “toxic” as your friendly, neighborhood ones. There was a burning need for a hub thatIndian Bitcoiners could unite around. Enter @Bitcoin4India, a Bitcoin-only Twitter handle, custom-made for this purpose. (Incoming: Bitcoin memes in Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam and more!) Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, witnessed one of the first gatherings of Indian Bitcoiners on February 19, 2022. The meetup was a melange of well-known voices in the Indian Bitcoin ecosystem, devs finding ways to contribute to Bitcoin and long-term Bitcoin explorers.
Bitcoiners socializing at the Bitcoin meetup in India
The session kicked off with @mrugakshee stating (and the gathering chiming in) the three certainties of life: death, taxes and 21 million bitcoin.
Mrugakshee Palwe presenting on the three certainties of life
The three certainties of life: death, taxes, and 21 million bitcoin
Next, @RajarshiMaitra shared his Bitcoin journey. The audience listened with rapt attention as he shared his story of introspection and asking the difficult questions that generally lead one down the rabbit hole. The community shared similar stories throughout the event.
Presentation during the Bitcoin meetup in India
The session closed with excited Bitcoiners exchanging notes on Bitcoin Core development, Lightning Network, Canada, the International Monetary Fund and everything in between. Bonhomie and passions ran high, as was expected!
@anant_tap from @hexawallet mentioned that this wouldn’t be a one-off event. He said, “Seeds have been sown to conduct similar sessions across the country, with the next ones planned to be held in Chennai, Bangalore and Goa. All the meetups would be volunteer and Bitcoin-community driven.”
This is a guest post by Abhilash Nair. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.