This article explores Chainalysis' findings related to India's grassroots crypto adoption, as well as a potential solution to addressing some of the nation's most important financial challenges.
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India has become the world leader in grassroots crypto adoption in Chainalysis' 2023 Geography of Cryptocurrency report. In addition to the overall ranking, the CSAO (Central & Southern Asia and Oceania) nation was ranked first in nearly all categories.
The study measured on-chain activity and volume in numerous nations. To highlight the countries where everyday people are embracing cryptocurrencies the most instead of the largest economies with the most advanced markets, researchers have weighted this figure by purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita and other relevant metrics.
India: The World Leader in Grassroots Digital Asset Adoption
Based on Chainalysis' data, India is now the world leader in grassroots digital asset adoption. Besides the overall ranking, the CSAO country was also ranked first in four other categories: the value received via centralized services, retail centralized services, as well as decentralized finance (DeFi) and retail DeFi protocols. The only group India didn't score the top spot in was peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange trade volume, where it achieved the fifth rank.
While India has become the leader in Chainalysis' index, worldwide grassroots crypto adoption has decreased in both Q1 2023 and Q2 2023 compared to the same quarters of 2022. Of course, there has been some recovery this year, but only from late 2022, when FTX's bankruptcy and the drama around the cryptocurrency exchange led to a sharp decline in investor trust. But even with this upward movement, the current level of grassroots digital asset adoption doesn't even come close to Q2 2021's all-time high.
However, there is a category of nations that have managed to defy this trend and keep the level of total grassroots adoption above Q3 2020's. These are lower-middle-income (LMI) countries, one of the four designations the World Bank utilizes to classify economies by wealth level based on the gross national income (GNI) per capita. India falls into this group, where many nations have undergone substantial economic development in the past decades. Moreover, LMI countries often feature dynamic, growing populations and industries. In addition to that, lower-middle-income nations account for approximately 40% of the world's population. With this in mind, Chainalysis considers the rising adoption in the LMI category "extremely promising" for cryptocurrencies' future prospects.
Another exciting finding of the report is that India scored the top spot in grassroots adoption even after the implementation of a 30% tax on digital asset gains and a 1% TDS (tax deducted at source), with the latter charged on all cryptocurrency transactions since July 2022. Based on researchers' analysis, the new rules didn't decrease the country's citizens' massive demand for crypto.
A Solution to Address India's Economic Challenges
Despite its prominent rank as the leader in grassroots crypto adoption, India's financial landscape faces many crucial challenges.
One of them is the countries' high poverty rates, with the World Bank forecasting the percentage of the population in extreme poverty (earning $2.15 or less a day) at 11.9% in the 2021/22 period. At the same time, nearly half of the nation's citizens (46.5%) fall under the $3.65 poverty line. Also, the majority of the population (83%) lives at or below the $6.85 level. Moreover, India is also the 24th country with the largest unbanked population, with 20% of the nation's citizens remaining without access to essential financial services.
According to Islamic Coin Co-Founder Mohammed Al Kaff Al Hashmi, the imbalances in the economic systems of India and other countries are a major concern that must be addressed. In fact, it is among the primary reasons why he started his project.
"Behind Islamic Coin is a deep concern for global issues, including poverty and many people's lack of access to basic necessities. This is what inspired me to found the project and start working on a solution that addresses traditional finance's caveats through promoting ethics, transparency, and philanthropy. I don't think it makes any sense to accumulate wealth in an unethical way, especially considering the ample abundance of resources on Earth," said Al Hashmi.
Islamic Coin is an ethics-first, Sharia-compliant financial ecosystem that provides users access to seamless transactions and a financial instrument of the Digital Age. Powered by the HAQQ Chain, $ISLM is the project's native digital asset, which has a finite supply, meets all the criteria of a halal instrument, as well as supports both philanthropy and innovation. Regarding the prior, 10% of each coin issuance is automatically moved to the Evergreen DAO to fund Muslim charity donations, Islam-related venture investments, and direct economic value creation for the community.
While Islamic Coin aims to empower Muslim communities worldwide, it also has a universal appeal.
"Islamic Coin has an expansive reach. Besides serving the global Muslim community, its ethical and transparent framework makes it appealing to anyone interested in a financial system that emphasizes charity, ethics, and transparency. Our goal is to both advance Islamic financial principles and implement them in practical and ethical solutions to address modern economic challenges. No matter the religion, financial status, gender, or race, we invite everyone to participate in the Islamic Coin ecosystem," Al Hashmi stated.
Finance Powered by Ethics
Taking advantage of India's top position in grassroots crypto adoption, Islamic Coin addresses crucial economic challenges in the nation and beyond by transforming finance into a landscape where ethics and the community's well-being are prioritized.
Recently, Islamic Coin has completed multiple major milestones that have brought the project closer to fulfilling its ambitious mission. Besides defying the bear market to raise $200 million in July, $ISLM was listed on KuCoin in October. In the future, the project seeks to expand its ecosystem with new products and features. These include $ISLM's integration as a payment method with up to 20 major partners in the MENA region, the launch of a Swiss payment card backed by $ISLM, the implementation of the Evergreen DAO, and the introduction of a gold-pegged stablecoin in collaboration with top UAE-based banks.
“Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.”
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