India Has the Potential to Lead Web3 Revolution: Industry Leaders

Experts believe that India is in a unique position to benefit from Web3, given its large pool of Web3 developers and retail crypto customers, a report in The Times of India said. A quick rollout of 5G, for which contracts have already been awarded to telcos, can further boost India’s chances of leading the Web3 revolution. 

India has played a vital role in the development of Web2. Now, it’s well-positioned to play an equally important role in the Web3, metaverse, and blockchain, say industry leaders.

A recent Kucoin report said that 80% of the Web3 developers in India are below 30 years and careers in the crypto, metaverse, and NFT is more popular here than elsewhere in the world. 

“The immense growth opportunities also attract other enablers to service India-centric needs in this space. Earlier, there were no protocol companies out of India operating in the Web3 space,” the report quotes Rajesh Dhuddu, Global Head, Blockchain & Metaverse Practice, Tech Mahindra, as saying.

Now, there are blockchain companies like Polygon that develop their protocols in India, he adds. The startup activity in the Indian Web3 space is very high. They are developing identity solutions, NFTs, and virtual assets, Dhuddu notes.

He further mentions that Indians can see emerging technologies aside from the hype it typically carries. They can see the prospects of commercial applications of blockchains such as digital identities, password-less identification, and zero-knowledge proofs. And Indian startups are working in these areas.

What’s driving the Web3 surge and crypto adoption in India? The media coverage quotes the co-founder of CoinDCX Neeraj Khandelwal, for the answer. “When it comes to the developer base, India is in the top three globally. And the quality of developers is also very high,” Khandelwal says. Like Dhuddu, Khandelwal also believes that the startup ecosystem in India is robust and a big enabler. He also notes that Indian crypto and Web3 space have seen significant investments despite regulatory hurdles. 

However, these industry leaders also believe that the regulatory environment is challenging, and the government should be proactive in policy-making for Web3 and blockchain technologies.

Khaleelulla Baig, founder, KoinBasket says that the government’s hawkish stance is pushing high-quality developers and entrepreneurs out of the country. He believes India has the potential to become a global leader in Web3 and blockchain.

Gaurav Mehta, the co-founder of crypto accounting startup Catax, says metaverse is another development that can push Web3 and crypto adoption, and the 5G rollout should expedite the process.