The Central, South Asia and Oceania (CSAO) region has established itself as one of the leading regions in the cryptocurrency space, with seven countries among the top 20 countries for cryptocurrency adoption. According to a report by Chainalysis, the region handled an incredible $750 billion in crypto inflows between July 2023 and July 2024, ranking third in the world outside of North America and Western Europe. It has secured its position as a virtual currency hub.
India is a particularly interesting country, leading the world in grassroots cryptocurrency adoption despite facing regulatory hurdles. The country achieved priority in the world's top rankings for both Centralized Service Value and Retail Centralized Service Received Value in the past year alone. Secondly, the strict regulatory environment that India imposes on capital gains and transaction taxes as well, has led many user activities to move to international exchanges.
Meanwhile, Indonesia has experienced tremendous growth in the crypto market, registering more than $157 billion in crypto value, more than India received during the same period. This translates to an unprecedented growth of almost 200% in the Indonesian market, making it one of the fastest growing crypto markets in the region.
Singapore has also become a major player in the cryptocurrency space, especially when it comes to digital payments. By the second quarter of 2024, the company's digital payments platform had processed over $1 billion in cryptocurrency transactions. This clearly shows that digital assets continue to be integrated into everyday financial activities.
The CSAO region has so far delivered impressive performance, driven by increased participation of centralized exchanges and institutions. Cumulatively, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan, Thailand, and Cambodia accounted for 16.6% of the total cryptocurrency received globally, highlighting the importance of this region in the global cryptocurrency market.
