India tops crypto adoption for 2023-2024

India has once again emerged as the global leader in cryptocurrency adoption, according to the latest report by Chainalysis. Despite strict regulatory policies and heavy taxes, Indian investors have been undeterred, continuing to engage in crypto transactions, particularly in centralized and decentralized finance (CeFi and DeFi) activities from June 2023 to July 2024. India’s lead in the crypto space underscores the resilience of its market, even with challenges posed by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which issued compliance notices to multiple offshore exchanges in late 2023.

• India leads the 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index by Chainalysis, dominating in both CeFi and DeFi activities.
• Countries in Central & South Asia and Oceania, such as Indonesia and Vietnam, also feature prominently in the top 20.
• Recent registrations by major exchanges like Binance and KuCoin signal potential regulatory shifts in India.

The report also highlights Indonesia as a rapidly growing crypto market, with a nearly 200% year-on-year increase in transaction volume. The country has banned cryptocurrencies as payment but still allows investment, which has driven high trading volumes, particularly in decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and DeFi activities. Meanwhile, global trends in crypto adoption have been influenced by the launch of Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., attracting both institutional and retail investors.

Despite economic constraints, countries with lower purchasing power, such as Indonesia and Vietnam, have shown significant activity in retail crypto transactions under $10,000, further contributing to the widespread adoption of digital assets.