IPL team owners and media rights holder Star & Disney India should abstain from signing any sponsorship deals with cryptocurrency exchanges, the BCCI has ordered in a directive, the Economic Times has reported. This comes after the Prime Minister raised concerns about misleading crypto ads in a meeting with key stakeholders. According to ET, the franchisees were upset with the BCCI's order: “It’s a major opportunity loss. The kind of money they were offering for the main sponsorship was 1.5 times of what the current sponsor is paying,” one executive said. “They wanted to build their brand with our association and were ready to pay for that." — ET source The BCCI directive on crypto sponsorships might serve as a precursor to a larger ban on ads by crypto exchanges. Government sources have recently indicated that active solicitation by exchanges might be altogether banned in the crypto bill. Crypto exchanges agree to curb ads after meeting with PM In a recent meeting with crypto exchanges and other stakeholders, the Prime Minister raised concerns regarding misleading crypto ads. "It was strongly felt that attempts to mislead the youth through over-promising and non-transparent advertising be stopped," a source told Moneycontrol. After the meeting, prominent crypto exchanges including WazirX, BitBns, and Coinswitch Kuber decided to halt advertisements. India's approach to regulating cryptocurrencies: A timeline of events Here’s a timeline of everything that’s happened till now around crypto regulation in India: April 2018: The Reserve Bank of India banned regulated entities including banks from providing services to…
