India: Infosys’ Nilekani denies launching crypto project, calls social media post 'fake news'

India’s top IT whiz-kid Nandan Nilekani has denied launching a crypto project. The co-founder of the top infotech major Infosys, Nilekani had recently said that there was a role for crypto assets and it would be worth considering them.

On Tuesday, Nilekani clarified by tweeting: “You may have encountered a post on various social media platforms claiming that I have launched a crypto project. This is #fakenews! Please avoid clicking on it and report it as misleading/false information on the platform where you see it.”

In another tweet, Nilekani said that he only uses essential apps. “No WhatsApp. No notification badges. Only essential apps. As mentioned in #TheArtOfBitfulness (@bitfulness), while my co-author @tanujb chooses to control his digital life using software, I prefer to do it through multiple devices.”

At an event in December, Nilekani had reiterated: “There is a role for crypto as assets but they obviously will have to follow all the laws and make sure that it doesn't become a backdoor for money laundering. “They have to use that as an entry point to get a lot of young people into financial markets.”

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Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das had earlier asserted that cryptocurrencies were a major threat to India’s macroeconomic and financial stability. He cautioned investors “who are investing in cryptocurrency should keep in mind that they are doing it at their own risk,”

• India