India continues to top the charts in global cryptocurrency adoption, according to a new report from Chainalysis. This comes despite the Indian government’s ongoing efforts to discourage the use of digital assets.
India Tops Crypto Adoption Index Again
Chainalysis’ latest research reveals that India has maintained its leading position in the Crypto Adoption Index for the second year in a row. The report ranks countries based on their use of centralised services, retail centralised services, decentralised finance (DeFi) services, and retail DeFi services.
One key difference in this year’s rankings is the exclusion of Peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange volumes. Chainalysis noted a sharp decline in P2P activity in several regions. The shutdown of LocalBitcoins, a major P2P exchange, contributed to this drop in performance.
Strong Interaction With Centralised Crypto Services
India has seen the most activity with centralised crypto platforms. However, it ranked second in retail DeFi operations and third in overall DeFi services, a slight drop from its leading position last year.
Despite these shifts, Indian investors are still pushing for broader crypto adoption, even as the government continues to impose strict regulations. A recent report confirmed that the Indian finance minister is holding firm on a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) for crypto trades and a 30% income tax on profits from digital assets.
While India’s crypto market remains strong, its future is uncertain following a massive $230 million hack on the WazirX exchange. Public data shows that around 4.2 million Indians suffered losses from the security breach. With such a significant setback, it’s unclear if India will continue to lead the global crypto adoption rankings next year.
