YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — India leads the world in crypto adoption despite a government ban on offshore exchanges, according to Chainalysis’ 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index. With growing participation, India remains the top-ranked country for crypto adoption, showcasing its continued dominance in the global crypto market.
Offshore Exchange Ban Has Limited Impact
In December 2023, India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) identified nine offshore crypto exchanges as non-compliant with anti-money laundering laws. Major platforms, including Binance, KuCoin, Kraken, and Bitfinex, were affected. The FIU asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block these platforms for Indian customers. Despite these actions, users continued to access these exchanges through alternative methods, such as previously downloaded apps, demonstrating the market’s resilience.
Chainalysis data shows that even after the ban, the blocked exchanges still accounted for around 40% of the total value received by centralized exchanges (CEX) in India. This highlights that the offshore exchange ban had minimal impact on actual crypto adoption and usage in the country.
India’s Leading Role in the CSAO Region
India holds second place in the Central, Southern Asia, and Oceania (CSAO) region for total crypto value received. Between July 2023 and June 2024, India received $143 billion in cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, Indonesia took first place with $157 billion. The entire CSAO region brought in $750 billion, which is 16.6% of the global total during this period.
Crypto Value Received by Countries in CSAO Region. Source: Chainalysis
Large transfers, particularly those over $10,000, dominated crypto activity in the region. Professional and institutional traders played a key role in driving this. As a result, India’s impact on the global crypto market remains strong.
India’s Crypto Regulations Loosen as Major Exchanges Return to Market
India’s regulatory landscape is evolving. In May 2024, the FIU re-registered exchanges like Binance and KuCoin after collecting fines, allowing them to resume operations in India. This adjustment shows signs of a potential shift in the government’s approach to regulating crypto. Industry experts, such as Vikram Rangala, Executive Director of ZebPay, have voiced optimism, suggesting that a more favorable regulatory environment could boost innovation in India’s crypto space.
“Now we’re seeing that offshore exchanges will soon be brought into this emerging ecosystem. Earlier, we had a flight of investors away from Indian exchanges to global exchanges because of high taxes. I hope that, with regulatory clarity, we’ll also get a more workable tax arrangement that promotes innovation, and brings all aspects of crypto and Web3 into the economy in a sustainable way. There are a lot of brilliant Indian crypto startups. When they are finally given a healthy environment to work in, I think they’ll unleash magic. Think 100 Polygons and more.”
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