How would you describe the journey of the industry in 2023?
In India, the industry has seen a strong grassroots adoption and continues to expand, even on a global level. Although the environment has been difficult, with the introduction of taxation in India and the global occurrence of FTX, trading volumes have dropped and much of it has shifted to offshore exchanges. This has presented a challenge for domestic exchanges, leaving them with a smaller market share.
How has the regulatory landscape changed this year?
The Indian government has been vocal in their support of Web3 technologies, and have been engaging in conversations to gain a better understanding of the sector. Action is expected to be taken to address India’s shift of trading volumes to offshore exchanges, as the industry would like to see more support and traction towards the growth of Web3 and AI technologies. Additionally, the government is expected to be lenient on taxation to give domestic exchanges a fair chance in the market.
Has the interest of global players to tap into India increased?
India is a very attractive market for global players, being one of their focus regions. With its young population and access to technology, India is a key market, with high metrics for on-chain activity. Global players are welcomed, as long as they abide by the laws and regulations of India. Indian companies, however, have an advantage as they understand the region’s diversity.
How do you see the growth momentum of new Web3 projects shaping up?
The quality of Web3 projects has increased, as most projects entering the industry are driven by long-term goals, rather than being caught up in hype cycles. Furthermore, the focus has shifted from financial to non-financial use cases such as tokenization. With the global regulations in place, there is a lot of activity to be expected in terms of scalability and usability of the technology.
