India's Blockchain Boom: 450 Web3 Startups, $1.5B Of Investments In 2 Years

Blockchain technology is quickly gaining traction in emerging economies as a means to establish trust-based systems. India stands out as an example, with both local and state governments launching various initiatives embracing blockchain. The technology is being utilized for services such as data management and issuing verifiable certificates.

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What Happened: Notably, India has seen a rapid influx of various global Web3 players. As per a 2022 NASSCOM Indian Web3 Landscape Analysis report, the country is currently boasting of more than 450 Web3 startups, and it has received over $1.5 billion in investments between 2021 and 2022. The report further adds that 11% of global Web3 talent is in India, ranking it third globally.

The Indian market is booming with active developers and startup communities in the blockchain space. Airchains is a Web3 startup focused on a middleware software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. Co-founder and CEO, Ankur Rakhi Sinha spoke to CoinTelegraph and indicated that enterprises and institutions are both impressed with the benefits of blockchain. Almost 56% of Indian businesses reflect an inclination towards adopting blockchain technology.

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Providing an example, Sinha highlighted a recent collab with the New Town Kolkata Development Authority, where they used NFTs to officially update property ownership records during sales or transfers. Also, organizations like the National Payments Corporation of India and the Unified Payments Interface are exploring blockchain technology's potential and conducting tests. Additionally, public sector banks are looking to experiment with blockchain.

India Ranks Second In Crypto Transactions

A new report from Chainalysis as reported by The Block, shows that India has become the second-largest crypto market in the world based on raw transaction volume. Despite a difficult regulatory and tax environment, volumes totaled almost $269 billion from July 2022 to June 2023.

Although India ranks above countries like the U.K., Turkey, and Russia, the U.S. is the world's largest crypto market with Central & Southern Asia and Oceania accounting for 20% of the world's cryptocurrency market.

Currently, India taxes crypto at higher rates than most countries, with a 30% cut taken on gains and a 1% tax on all transactions. The uneven application of the transaction tax is likely to pose a threat to homegrown exchanges.

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