Tim Draper, a Bitcoin entrepreneur and investor, has returned to the Indian market, backing startups through Mumbai-based Blume Ventures.
The Indian early-stage fund joined the Draper Venture Network, a major startup supporter which now has around $1.6 bln worth of assets and has backed over 200 startups since the 1990s, including Skype and Twitch.
Draper told TechCrunch:
“When Prime Minister Modi decided to clean up the Rupee it sent a strong message to investors like me that the Indian history of corruption may be coming to an end.”
Draper’s tone strikes a decidedly different note to many in the Bitcoin industry, who have taken a critical approach to Modi’s currency devaluation despite it producing a surge in Indian Bitcoin trading activity.
Interestingly, the entrepreneur had previously chosen to exit the market, selling off Indian assets of his Draper Fisher Jurvetson venture capital firm in 2007.
His comments on Monday, however, showed little trace of wariness.
“We have had such great experiences with Indian entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley…With a clearer rule of law, India might just take off,” he added.
Draper famously accrued 32,000 Bitcoins through the US government Silk Road auction in 2014, purchasing them for around $18 mln - just over half their current value.