India Crypto News: Will Teng’s Push Make India the Next APAC Crypto King?
India Crypto News Today: Can It Lead APAC’s Next Big Blockchain Shift?
The global digital asset market is witnessing an era of structural transformation, and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has emerged as a vital engine powering this transition. In recent months, India’s crypto momentum has gained exceptional attention, sparking debate over whether the nation could become the strongest blockchain hub across APAC. The latest India crypto news, on-chain statistics, and economic developments indicate that this shift is not only taking shape — it is accelerating significantly faster than earlier projections suggested.
This discussion intensified after Binance CEO Richard Teng publicly stated that India has the potential to lead cryptocurrency adoption across Asia-Pacific due to its massive economy, technology-forward population, and increasing openness toward blockchain experimentation. As adoption curves continue to tilt upward, the question now becomes: Can India genuinely position itself as APAC’s next crypto capital, and what factors will determine that future?
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| Source: Xpost |
Recent research from Chainalysis offers compelling support for this possibility. The data reveals that the APAC region’s monthly on-chain activity soared from $81 billion in July 2022 to over $244 billion in December 2024 — nearly a threefold increase. India stands at the epicenter of this growth, contributing the largest share of transactional volume and user participation among all APAC players.
APAC Crypto Growth Surges With India at the Forefront
From 2022 to 2025, APAC markets witnessed intense adoption spikes across both retail and institutional sectors. For the first time in 2023, the region surpassed $100 billion in monthly chain activity, later hitting an all-time high of $244 billion by late 2024. Analysts attribute this momentum to broader global optimism following the U.S. election cycle and renewed investor confidence in Bitcoin-led market recovery.
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| Source: Chainalysis |
Despite macro pullbacks, APAC sustained impressive trading strength through mid-2025, maintaining volumes above $185 billion. India emerged as the region’s strongest performer with over $338 billion worth of on-chain movement, driven by four key growth pillars:
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Rapid grassroots crypto adoption across cities and small towns
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High remittance demand supported by global Indian diaspora
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Retail investors treating crypto as a secondary income stream
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A fintech-powered ecosystem fueled by UPI, eRupi, and instant micro-payments
This culminated in India ranking number one in the Global Crypto Adoption Index 2025, surpassing other APAC nations and at several points even outperforming North America in active user participation. Analysts believe this is only the beginning of a wider web3 acceleration.
Crypto Adoption Is No Longer Just Trading — Real Blockchain Integration Has Begun
One of the most transformative shifts in India is the movement from speculative crypto trading into real-world blockchain deployment. Clear evidence of this came when MJP Rohilkhand University uploaded more than 7 million student records, certificates, degrees, and diplomas to the Polygon blockchain, marking one of the largest state-led on-chain verification rollouts worldwide. Industry experts call this a landmark case for web3 adoption in public infrastructure.
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| Source: Xpost |
Platforms such as Polygon, CoinDCX, CoinSwitch, Delta Exchange, and ZebPay have contributed heavily to liquidity access, developer tooling, onboarding simplicity, and retail trading infrastructure. Their presence strengthens domestic credibility and establishes India as a visible player on the global blockchain map.
Investor behavior supports this narrative. Analyst Kasif Raza highlighted that:
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Over 572,000 SIP-style crypto investment accounts were opened in 2025
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Representing 7x growth compared to 2024
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Annual trading volume jumped 37% to ₹51,333 crore ($6.15B)
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India now hosts over 20 million active crypto investors, 40% from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities
What began as a metropolitan phenomenon has transformed into widespread national participation. Crypto no longer belongs only to the urban elite — it is becoming a mainstream digital asset class for the emerging middle class.
Yet Growth Faces a Hidden Challenge — India Needs More Builders
Despite impressive retail participation, analysts warn that rapid adoption alone is not enough to secure APAC dominance. The country now faces its most critical challenge: a shortage of blockchain builders and domestic venture capital support.
Crypto influencer Zia ul Haque emphasized that India’s Web3 funding pipeline has nearly stagnated. Startups are struggling to raise capital from local VC firms due to regulatory uncertainty and tax implications, resulting in heavy reliance on foreign funding networks.
Key regulatory barriers highlighted in the Chainalysis study include:
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30% tax on crypto profits
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1% TDS deduction on every transaction
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Inconsistent rule enforcement affecting Indian exchanges
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Lack of forward-looking policy frameworks
These constraints discourage long-term innovation. When taxes are high and compliance remains unclear, developers move abroad, investors slow activity, and startups struggle to scale. As a result, Indian blockchain infrastructure is progressing strongly at user level but lagging in domestic innovation leadership.
A robust local builder ecosystem requires:
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Tax restructuring aligned with global crypto markets
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Clear regulatory definitions for digital assets
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Lower TDS to encourage liquidity flow
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Sandbox frameworks for Web3 development
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State-supported blockchain R&D
India’s future depends not only on how many users buy tokens, but how many engineers build protocols within the country.
What’s Next for India’s Crypto Market?
India stands at a defining turning point today. Never in history has the nation experienced stronger user adoption, deeper on-chain engagement, or more significant blockchain deployments at scale. Government-led experiments, education-record digitization, and fintech integration have already laid the foundation for institutional growth.
The next phase will determine whether India becomes a global blockchain leader or remains a volume-driven market without innovation leadership. For India to lead APAC’s crypto revolution, three milestones must be met:
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Regulatory clarity that encourages domestic investment
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Stronger funding for builders, startups, and Web3 research
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Tax reform that transforms crypto from a risk asset to a growth asset
If these conditions align, analysts predict India could become the most influential crypto hub in the world by 2028, surpassing Singapore, South Korea, and even challenging the U.S. in adoption scale.
Conclusion
India's crypto journey is transitioning from retail enthusiasm into structured blockchain evolution. On-chain adoption highs, APAC leadership, and real-world use cases underline the nation’s immense progress. Yet the industry’s next chapter hinges on the willingness to support innovators, simplify taxation, and establish regulatory confidence for investors.
If India resolves these constraints, it could become not only APAC’s leading blockchain powerhouse but also a defining global force shaping crypto’s future. The world is watching closely — and the momentum suggests this story is only getting started.
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