India Leads 2024 Crypto Adoption Index Despite High Tax Rate

India has again ranked as the leading country with local investors adopting crypto. The latest metric comes despite the government’s continuous efforts to discourage digital asset adoption.

According to Chainalysis’ latest research, seen by CryptoPotato, India also led last year’s Crypto Adoption Index.

India Leads Crypto Adoption

The study ranked global countries based on their engagements with centralized services, retail centralized services, decentralized finance (DeFi) services, and retail DeFi services. Unlike the 2023 metrics, this year’s record excluded the Peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange volume, citing “a substantial decrease in activity” in various regions. LocalBitcoins.com, a notable P2P exchange, halted operations last year, triggering the performance drop.

India saw the most interaction with centralized crypto entities. However, it ranked second and third in retail DeFi operations and DeFi services. The latter metric is a decrease from the country’s leading position in the past year.

By maintaining its leading position, investors in the Asian country demonstrate their commitment to boosting crypto adoption despite the government’s stringent stance on crypto assets. A recent report confirmed that the Indian finance minister upholds a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) rate on crypto trades and a 30% income taxation on crypto profits.

Looking forward, it remains uncertain if the Indian crypto market will maintain its leading position from next year due to the severity of a recent $230 million hack of a local crypto exchange, WazirX. Public data shows that 4.2 million Indians incurred substantial losses from the exchange’s breach.

CSAO Captures $750B in Crypto Inflow

Chainalysis research revealed that seven of the top 20 countries belong to Central and Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO), a slight increase from last year’s record. These countries include India, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Pakistan.

Between July 2023 and June 2024, CSAO locked in $750 billion in crypto assets inflow, representing 16.6% of the market share. This Index cements CSAO’s third position among leading regions adopting crypto.