India has once again topped global cryptocurrency adoption despite facing stringent regulations and high trading taxes, according to a report by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. For the second consecutive year, India demonstrated significant use of both centralized exchanges and decentralized finance assets from June 2023 to July 2024.
Since 2018, India has maintained a tough position on cryptocurrencies, with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) issuing notices to nine offshore exchanges for non-compliance in December 2023. Despite these challenges, the country has witnessed wide-ranging adoption across different crypto assets, suggesting new investors are using services that aren’t banned, said Eric Jardine of Chainalysis.
Restrictions are beginning to ease, as seen with Binance—the world’s largest crypto exchange—registering with the FIU and receiving a fine of Rs 18.82 crore ($2.25 million) in June. KuCoin also registered, facing a smaller fine of Rs 34.5 lakh.
Notably, seven of the top 20 countries in Chainalysis’ global adoption index were in Central and South Asia, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These countries exhibited substantial decentralized transaction volumes, particularly in retail-sized transfers under $10,000. Indonesia, although banning cryptocurrencies as a payment method, has seen robust trading activity, with digital asset inflows reaching $157.1 billion in the past year.
Overall, the report highlights that countries with lower purchasing power per capita are leading in decentralized transaction volumes, signifying a growing interest and involvement in cryptocurrency trading despite regulatory hurdles.
Original Story https://www.business-standard.com/technology/tech-news/india-leads-in-crypto-adoption-for-2nd-straight-year-shows-report-124091101357_1.html
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