India has maintained its position as the global leader in cryptocurrency adoption for the second straight year, according to a report released by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis on Wednesday. Despite stringent regulations and high trading taxes, Indian investors continue to embrace digital assets at a remarkable pace.
The report, which analyzed crypto adoption in 151 countries between June 2023 and July 2024, highlighted India’s strong usage of both centralized exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) assets. This comes even as the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has taken a hardline approach against cryptocurrencies since 2018, with show-cause notices issued to nine offshore crypto exchanges in December 2023 for failing to comply with local regulations.
“India’s wide-ranging adoption across various crypto assets, despite restrictions, suggests that new participants are engaging through services that are not explicitly banned,” said Eric Jardine, research lead at Chainalysis. He also noted that the easing of some restrictions, such as with Binance, could further accelerate crypto adoption in India.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, was fined 188.2 million rupees ($2.25 million) in June 2024, just a month after registering with the FIU to resume operations in India. Similarly, KuCoin, another crypto exchange, registered with the FIU in March but faced a smaller fine of 3.45 million rupees.
The Chainalysis report also revealed that seven of the top 20 countries in its global adoption index were from Central and South Asia, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Notably, Indonesia saw robust trading activity, despite banning the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method. The country recorded $157.1 billion in digital asset inflows over the 12-month period, underscoring strong investor interest in crypto as an investment vehicle.
The report also pointed out that decentralized transactions, particularly those under $10,000, were most common in countries with lower purchasing power, suggesting retail-sized transfers play a significant role in driving crypto adoption in emerging markets.
Related Topics:
