Special thanks to Denver Dsouza, Mudit Gupta, Sarang Parikh and Yash Saraswat for helping with the feedback and the review. ❤️

TL;DR

  • India leads globally in grassroots crypto adoption for the second consecutive year, fueled by a youth tech-savvy population.

  • Despite a challenging tax regime (30% on crypto gains) and regulatory ambiguity, India’s Ethereum and crypto ecosystem flourishes through pioneering government blockchain pilots, thriving startups like Polygon, powerhouse community builders such as Devfolio, and an unprecedented surge in new crypto developers.

  • Ethereum growth in India is organic and grassroots-driven, emerging from local communities rather than top-down institutional mandates.

  • However, challenges remain in talent onboard and retention, ecosystem fragmentation, and regulatory clarity, requiring actionable policy, improved builder growth plans and others to realize India’s full potential.

Policy Landscape

  • Taxes: India levies 30% tax on gains from “virtual digital assets” and 1% TDS on most trades. As a consequence, many web3 entrepreneurs have moved to Dubai and Singapore to save on taxes.

  • On-Ramp and Off-Ramp: Crypto-to-INR off-ramping is legally allowed following the 2020 Supreme Court ruling, but it remains complicated in practice due to banking and regulatory hurdles. Users must use registered exchanges compliant with PMLA rules for conversions, such as CoinDCX and Binance P2P (WazirX is currently bankrupt). KYC verification is mandatory for all exchange transactions.

  • India maintains a general policy of promoting “blockchain, not crypto” with some states actively exploring blockchain pilots. Crypto is not a legal tender in India. Crypto payment is a gray zone.

  • India's CBDC, the e-Rupee, is in a phased rollout with growing adoption and active pilots, complementing the dominant digital payment ecosystem led by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

  • Finternet: The Finternet is another innovative framework that aims to enable multiple ecosystems (trad-fi and blockchain) to interconnect through low-cost, high-volume, and highly trusted transactions.

Highlighted Real-World Impact Projects

  • Crypto Relief Fund (Now Blockchain For Impact): Founded by Polygon's Sandeep Nailwal, the fund raised over $1 billion in 2021, including a donation of over $1 billion in SHIB and ETH from Vitalik Buterin. The funds were used to supply oxygen and medical equipment during the pandemic, highlighting how blockchains like Ethereum can be used for transparent, borderless, and fast humanitarian aid, despite challenges like market volatility and regulatory hurdles.

  • The Atlantis DAO is a decentralized, peer-to-peer impact network that leverages blockchain to incentivize community participation in managing resources like water, land, and energy, as well as social initiatives. Their pilot Water project with Mercy Corps Ventures, for instance, created a decentralized peer-to-peer water network that not only gives underserved communities access to clean water but also provides them with an opportunity to earn income through incentive schemes.

  • India Stack, ZK, Anon Aadhaar: India Stack is a suite of digital public goods and open APIs enabling large-scale identity, data, and payment services. At its core is Aadhaar, India’s biometric digital ID system covering over 1.4 billion residents, which powers identity verification but does not itself offer open APIs. A promising innovation is zkPDF, which uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify DigiLocker documents’ authenticity without revealing sensitive data. Building on these foundations, Anon Aadhaar enables privacy-preserving identity verification via zero-knowledge proofs, suited for Web3 applications. Devcon Bangkok 2024 saw one of the first major deployments of Aadhaar and zero-knowledge, with attendees using Anon Aadhaar for privacy-respecting nationality proof. In December 2024, ETHIndia hackathon employed the Anon Aadhaar stack to power private Quadratic Voting, allowing all Indian developers to vote privately.

  • NITI Aayog, the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India, has conducted notable proof-of-concept (PoC) projects exploring blockchain’s potential. Some pilots include: 1) a blockchain-based “track and trace” system across the pharmaceutical supply chain, partnered with Oracle, Apollo Hospitals, and Strides Pharma Science, which uses QR/barcode scanning at each step for verification; 2) Maharashtra government’s adoption of blockchain technology for issuing COVID-19 test certificates; 3) CBSE’s use of Hyperledger Fabric integrated with DigiLocker to immutably record academic certificates; and 4) land registration pilots and prototypes launched in several Indian states including West Bengal, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

Startup and Infrastructure Ecosystem

Most blockchain startups in India focus on application-level projects with a general EVM approach, rather than solely on Ethereum. While fewer in number, infrastructure projects like Polygon significantly impact the local ecosystem. Approximately 70-80% of these startups are based in Tier 1 cities, with Bengaluru as a leading tech hub, followed by Hyderabad, Delhi, and Mumbai.

  • Infrastructure & Scaling

    • Polygon Labs: Ethereum scaling protocols (PoS, zkEVM, AggLayer). India-founded as Matic (2017).

    • Avail: Modular blockchain focused on data availability for scalable applications.

    • Stackr labs: Micro-rollup infrastructure for building custom application-specific rollups.

    • Socket: Interoperability protocol for seamless cross-chain communications and asset transfers.

    • Router Protocol: Multichain infrastructure layer for bridging and swapping digital assets.

    • Spheron Network: Web3 cloud hosting and decentralized deployment platform.

    • NodeOps: Automated node management and staking solutions for blockchain networks.

    • Copperx: Makes crypto invoicing and business payments simple and compliant.

    • Reclaim protocol: Verify any data on the internet in seconds with zkTLS.

  • DeFi & Financial Protocols

    • Instadapp: Building a full suite of DeFi products: Lite, 0xFluid and Avowallet.

    • Biconomy: Cross-chain transaction layer offering gasless onboarding and improved user experience.

    • Polynomial: Derivatives protocol offering onchain structured products.

    • Everclear (formally Connext): Cross-chain bridge.

    • LogX: DeFi superapp.

    • Capx: Decentralized infrastructure and tools designed for the development of AI Agents.

    • Stationx Network: A platform enabling members to pool capital and invest together efficiently.

    • Filament Finance: A decentralized perpetuals exchange combining off-chain orderbook with on-chain liquidity pools.

    • Lucidly Finance: A non-custodial DeFi protocol that offers automated on-chain yield strategies

    • Qiro: Onchain Private Credit Marketplace for RWAs & DePINs.

  • Security & Risk

    • Quill Audits: Provider of smart contract audits and security services.

    • Chainrisk: Web3 risk analytics and assessment platform.

  • Data & Analytics

    • Powerloom: Decentralized data infrastructure for scalable analytics and reliable data feeds.

    • Gigabrain: AI-powered analytics and intelligence for blockchain traders.

  • Communication, Social & DAOs

    • Push Chain (formally Push Protocol and EPNS): Started as the messaging and notification infrastructure for dApps but has since evolved into a PoS Layer 1 blockchain.

    • Huddle01: Decentralized audio/video collaboration for Web3 teams.

    • Noice: A tool built on Farcaster's programmable social layer, letting users automate appreciation and tokenize their Farcaster presence.

    • Atlantis: A peer to peer impact network for builders, makers, entrepreneurs & creators working in climate & social impact.

    • Offline Protocol: A censorship-resistant, offline-first infrastructure layer that enables an ecosystem of products and applications to operate without internet.

    • Poster Fun: Memes & info-fi backed with IP Artist owned & created platform + miniapp.

  • Wallets

    • Okto: DeFi wallet and asset management for mobile users.

    • Biconomy: Account abstraction / gasless infra & SDKs.

    • Frontier: Multi-chain wallet; active on Ethereum & L2s.

  • Major exchanges

  • Ecosystem builder

Consumers and Adoption

Source: Hashed Emergent, India Web3 Landscape Report 2024

  • India leads crypto adoption globally for second straight year.

  • Primarily used for investments rather than payments:

    • 66% of crypto traders are below 35 years old, with the largest segment (~37%) aged 26-35. They are tech-savvy and seeking high-risk, high-reward opportunities.

    • India’s UPI is one of the most advanced real-time payment systems globally, instant, free for consumers, and universally accepted across apps and merchants. This reduces the incentive for crypto-based payments. Regulatory uncertainties and taxation on digital assets further limit mainstream adoption.

    • Stablecoins: While India’s inflation is moderate compared to countries like Turkey or Argentina, the Indian rupee has shown long-term depreciation against the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins can also help reduce costs for India’s massive remittance market and provide easier access to global crypto market.

    • Young creators and gamers are engaging with NFTs, though mainstream traction is still limited.

  • Indian enterprises are slowly adopting blockchain technology, examples include: Jio Platforms Ltd. collaborates with Polygon Labs to bring Web3 capabilities to 450+ million Jio users; Flipkart launches 3.6 million wallets for gamified shopping and NFT-based loyalty rewards using Fireblocks.

Developer Surge

  • Web2 talents and AI:

    • India has the fastest growing developer population, which now has over 17 million developers on GitHub, with a 28% increase in 2024. It is projected to be the top developer community on GitHub. India's contributions to generative AI projects grew by 95% YoY.

    • AI has emerged as a more dominant field for Indian graduates compared to crypto due to several factors, such as higher market demand, industry adoption, government and institutional support. We interviewed several CS professors from top IITs, and many shared that most graduates end up working in AI.

      Octoverse 2024

  • Web3

    • India onboarded the most new crypto developers in 2024. It has been the largest country for new crypto developers since 2023. The top three ecosystems adopted by active Indian developers are Solana, Ethereum, and Base.

    • In India, a job is a source of both income and social standing, which influences career choices. The perception of AI as a more stable and respected industry leads more developers to it compared to the crypto. Indian VCs also invest heavily in AI, betting more companies and reinforcing its reliability, while crypto lacks defined career routes and internship offerings.

      Global open source crypto developer share by country

Grassroots Community

India has many active Web3 communities that host events and conferences nationwide, but Ethereum-centric developer communities are limited.

Many of these communities are centered on Layer 2s, led by Base and Polygon, followed by Starknet, Arbitrum and others.

Community meetups are concentrated in major tech hubs, with Bengaluru leading, followed by Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

Highlighted communities for Ethereum and related builders include EthIndia, ZK Bankai, The Phoenix Guild, ETHMumbai, Farcaster Builders India, Zo World, LocalHost India, etc.

Acceleration & Investment

  • Early-Stage Accelerator is hard: ETHIndia hackathons and Fellowship, Protostars by Hashed Emergent, BuidlersTribe (archived).

  • VCs: Hashed Emergent and Coinbase Ventures actively invest India web3 builders. Previously Borderless, Polygon Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, CoinDCX Ventures, Lightspeed Venture India, and IOSG Ventures were also active.

  • In 2024, funding for Indian Web3 founders doubled to $564M, up 109% from $270M in 2023, with capital being allocated to Infrastructure, DeFi, and Entertainment.

  • Polygon's Role: Polygon has been a key player in India’s Web3 ecosystem, hiring top engineers and backing early-stage projects like LayerZero, Gnosis Safe, and EigenLayer. They actively support Indian builders through hackathons, fellowships, and initial investments before 2022. Beyond India, Polygon helped save Ethereum from competitors like Binance Smart Chain by providing low-cost scaling solutions before rollups were widely adopted.

University & Academia

  • Blockchain Courses: A few top IITs offer blockchain courses, such as IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Madras, which usually cover Bitcoin and Ethereum basics, but rarely beyond. IIIT Bangalore, IIT Guwahati and NPTEL offer cryptography courses that cover zk-proofs and peer-to-peer networking. Blockchain course enrollment correlates with crypto market cycles.

  • Research: Research topics range from cryptography to broader blockchain applications. Some professors active in the space include Associate Professor Saravanan Vijayakumaran from IIT Bombay on Applied Cryptography and ZKP; Associate Professor Sandip Chakraborty from IIT Kharagpur on Distributed Systems; Associate Professor Amit Dua from BITS Pilani on blockchain and network security; Assistant Professor Ankit Gangwal from IIIT Hyderabad on Ethereum, wallets, privacy, and address clustering; and Associate Professor Himanshu Tyagi from IISc on blockchain and privacy…

  • University Clubs: Several leading Indian universities have vibrant blockchain clubs, including IIT Roorkee, IIT Delhi, IISc Bangalore, Bennett University, SRM University, NITK and BITS Pilani. These clubs actively explore blockchain technology, community building, and project development.

Challenges and Gaps

There are many challenges, but here are some of what we are aware:

  • The harsh 30% capital gains tax plus 1% TDS pushes entrepreneurs abroad, while regulatory uncertainty discourages venture capital investment in Indian startups, creating a challenging environment for crypto innovation. Additionally, payments remain a gray zone, further complicating adoption and growth.

  • Talent drain, educational gap and risk tolerance:

    • Most Indian CS grads choose AI/Web2 → better job security, salaries, prestige. Better pubic awareness is needed.

    • Web3 gaps: no clear career paths, few internships and full-time jobs.

    • High learning curve: Solidity/EVM ecosystem harder to enter than mainstream AI stack; many stop at basics.

  • Ecosystem and community support: Some builders previously felt there is no direct or easily accessible line of communication to the EF, which can sometimes create a sense of distance in engagement. Devfolio and others are playing an essential role as a bridge. And it’s improving.

  • Layer 2 presence is fragmented.

  • Some open questions: 1) How can we better identify and engage the smartest students and emerging developers in India to provide them with more opportunities to contribute to the Ethereum ecosystem and accelerate their onboarding? 2) How can we communicate the Ethereum story and successful founder/builder stories in India more impactfully and in a way that is easier to understand? 3) What we can learn from Superteam’s success in India?

Highlighted Events

Further Reading

Thanks for reading, and have a nice day! 🌸

Best regards,

Riely and the Geode team.

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