11% of the world’s crypto and Web3 talent is in India: NASSCOM
Crypto may not be fully recognized by the Indian government yet, but the sector is booming in terms of jobs. India now accounts for 11 percent of the world’s crypto and Web3 talent, making it the third largest such market, NASSCOM found in a new survey.
Although more than 60 percent of India’s crypto startups are registered outside the country, they continue to hire talent from India. Since 2018, India has witnessed a 138 percent jump in crypto and blockchain-related jobs. “India’s Web3 talent pool is growing at the fastest rate globally, with around 120 percent likely in the next 1-2 years,” the industry body said in its study titled ‘The India Web3 Startup Landscape: An Emerging Technology Leadership Frontier’.
The country is now home to more than 450 Web3 startups, which have raised $1.3 billion in funding over the past two years (until April 2022), NASSCOM reported. Most of these startups are building in the decentralized finance (DeFi), NFT and metaverse space, employing around 75,000 professionals. India is also one of the leading users of DeFi in terms of value received on-chain ($88 billion in 2020-21).
NASSCOM further indicated that India’s Web3 growth is riding on its huge pool of GenZ and millennials, who make up an overwhelming 77 percent of the population, “enabling a wave of consumption, discretionary spending and urbanization”.
Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, NASSCOM, said in a note, “India’s rapid adoption of new age technologies, its growing startup ecosystem and the vast digitally skilled talent pool are all the right building blocks for India to emerge as a key player in the global The Web3 Landscape Also on the consumer side, India has the right economic and demographic elements to become a high-growth Web3 market.”
While India continues to be among the fastest growing tech economies in the world, the global crypto user base is poised to rise from today’s 320 million to 1 billion by 2030, according to NASSCOM. Globally, blockchain and crypto companies raised a whopping $30.5 billion in venture capital in 2021, amid the crypto boom, according to the study.
In India, however, the crypto industry has often had a rocky relationship with the government and financial regulators, RBI and SEBI, resulting in subdued growth. “The lack of political clarity around Virtual Digital Assets (VDA), which leads to a lack of confidence in founders and innovators, thus forcing them to move their base to other countries, takes away not only the market but also the critical talent and expertise needed in this area,” explained NASSCOM.
The industry body urged Web3 founders and CXOs to “actively engage with decision makers with constructive dialogue”, act as evangelists in the ecosystem and “help regulators address loopholes”. NASSCOM also asked academia to partner with industry to launch upskilling and certification programs around Web3 and blockchain.
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