Crypto exchange Zebpay has launched a campaign with ads featuring Bitcoin during the Indian Premier League cricket games.
As reported by Twitter user Mohit Rai Sharma, ads for Zebpay appeared on Indian streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar during a series of cricket matches starting Sept. 19. “Learn about simple, secure Bitcoin,” the ads stated, directing viewers to pay just over $1 to start using the exchange.
Sharma stated that the ads represented a “historic moment for crypto in India.” More than 462 million people watched the Indian Premier League games in 2019, with roughly 300 million tuning in using the Hotstar platform.
Zebpay reopened in the country in January, shortly before the Reserve Bank of India lifted a two-year ban that had prevented financial institutions from providing banking services to crypto firms. The exchange’s current campaign follows a Sept. 15 report from Bloomberg stating the Indian federal cabinet is now considering legislative action to once again ban crypto.
According to a Sept. 22 report from the Press Trust of India, the country’s parliament — originally scheduled to be in session until Oct. 1 — will likely adjourn eight days early, on Sept. 23. This is apparently due to several members testing positive for COVID-19. India recently passed Brazil to become the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus cases; roughly 5.6 million as of press time.
Tanvi Ratna, CEO of blockchain advisory firm Policy 4.0, stated that no crypto ban legislation has appeared in the list of bills to address while the government body is in session.
The exchange has continued expanding in the face of regulatory uncertainty. In May, Zebpay announced it had commissioned blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis to monitor transactions executed across its platforms in India.