NFT’s ‘biggest ramp’ to crypto in Central, South Asia and Oceania – report
Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) could be the biggest driver of crypto adoption in Central, South Asia and Oceania (CSAO), a new report has found.
According to a September 21 Chainalysis post titled “Crypto Adoption Steadies in South Asia, Soars in the Southeast,” NFT-related actions accounted for 58% of all web traffic to cryptocurrency services from this region in the second quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile, another 21% of traffic in the quarter went to play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain game sites, with major titles including Axie Infinity, STEPN and Battle Infinity.
Chainalysis noted that P2E blockchain games are “closely related” to NFTs, as most P2E games have in-game elements in the form of NFTs that can be sold on marketplaces such as MagicEden and OpenSea, thus meaning:
“NFTs are perhaps the biggest foray into cryptocurrency in CSAO today.”
CSAO countries include India, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia, among 25 others, and are home to seven of the top 20 countries in Chainalysis’ Crypto Adoption Index.
According to a web traffic heatmap, NFT-related websites accounted for the majority of web traffic in almost every country in the CSAO region, although blockchain games and entertainment also had a significant share of traffic.
Chainalysis noted that this “isn’t necessarily surprising: CSAO is a hub for innovation in blockchain-based entertainment,” adding:
“Gaming-centric blockchain developers Polygon and Immutable X are headquartered in India and Australia, for example, and Axie Infinity and STEPN, the two biggest play-to-earn games, are operated in Vietnam and Australia, respectively.”
Vietnam topped Chainalysis’ cryptocurrency adoption index for the second year in a row, but the Philippines surprisingly came in second after ranking 15th in the latest report.
“Both of these countries have similar growth drivers: play-to-earn (P2E) play and money transfers,” explained the blockchain research firm.
On the other hand, traffic to websites related to other topics, such as decentralized exchange contracts, has declined in recent quarters, according to Chainalysis — which it said is likely linked to the bear market and the ongoing crypto winter.
Related: Emerging Markets Lead Global Adoption Index: Chain Analysis Report
Meanwhile, the report also touched on crypto adoption in India and Pakistan, noting that while both were ranked as the second and third highest adopters of cryptocurrency globally in 2021, the two countries have dropped this year to fourth and sixth respectively.
More recent regulatory developments are listed as possible reasons for the change.
In January, Pakistan’s central bank and government recommended a crypto ban, while the Indian government implemented a 30% tax on all crypto gains in April and an additional 1% tax on every crypto transaction in July.
