John McAfee urges crypto community to boycott financial institutions dealing with RBI

While cryptocurrency exchanges in India are looking for ways to survive the virtual currency ban by the Reserve Bank of India, a call for retaliation has come from John McAfee, the computer anti-virus pioneer. Known for avidly supporting cryptocurrencies, McAfee has called for a complete boycott of all financial institutions that have any professional dealings with the Indian apex bank.

Back in April, the RBI instructed all entities it regulates to stop dealing with cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, in three months. This prevented investors from buying crypto currencies in exchange of rupee. The RBI ban came into effect from July 5.

In a tweet, McAfee termed the RBI decision an 'atrocity', and called the community to join forces and act. "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) initiated this atrocity out of fear and won through the existing centralized power structure. I'm calling for a boycott of any financial institution that does business with RBI. We must stand together and act," he said in a tweet on the day the crptocurrency ban came into effect.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) initiated this atrocity out of fear and won through the existing centralized power structure. I'm calling for a boycott of any financial institution that does business with RBI. We must stand together and act.https://t.co/jNLXKfDeeJ

- John McAfee (@officialmcafee) July 5, 2018

McAfee is the founder of the anti-virus software company named after him, McAfee Inc. He has time and again expressed his confidence in cryptocurrencies despite the downward trend shown by even the popular ones - Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin - on the back of regulatory restrictions. Towards the end of last year, McAfee predicted that Bitcoin will attain the value of $1 million per coin by 2020. He has reportedly spoken in favour of several cryptocurreny firms with dubious backgrounds.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of India heard a plea challenging the RBI decision prohibiting all banks from dealing in virtual currencies, before it came into effect. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled to take place on July 20. The plaintiff, Internet and Mobile Association of India, had also asked for a stay on the RBI ban against cryptocurrencies, but the apex court turned it down.

Meanwhile, some cryptocurrency exchanges have found a way around the RBI ban. Exchanges like WazirX, Koinex Loop initiated peer-to-peer transactions, allowing users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly from one another.