In an exclusive interaction with Adlin Pertishya Jebaraj, correspondent of Finance Outlook Magazine, Vikram Subburaj, CEO and Co-Founder of Giottus, shares how India remains one of the world's leading countries in terms of crypto adoption, as seen by the country’s advanced digital ecosystem, tech-savvy citizenry and its rapidly changing financial systems.  

Vikram brings deep leadership experience from Amazon and ITC, and a global perspective shaped by roles across Europe, the Middle East, China, and India. As one of the most vocal champions of cryptocurrency adoption in India, Vikram blends deep industry insight with an unwavering belief in the future of digital finance. Under his leadership, Giottus has become a trusted platform known for security, innovation, multilingual support, and transparency. 

How do you see the current pace of cryptocurrency adoption in India compared to other major emerging markets? 

India is no longer in the catching-up phase. It is setting the pace for crypto adoption among emerging markets. Despite operating under one of the most demanding tax frameworks globally (30% on gains and 1% TDS), India has held the top position in Chainalysis’ 2024 and 2025 Global Adoption Index. India is ahead of countries such as Nigeria, Vietnam, and Indonesia in crypto adoption. That ranking reflects not just speculative behaviour, but a broad-based shift in how digital assets are perceived and used. 

What makes India different is the way crypto has integrated into an already mature digital payments and financial infrastructure. The combination of UPI, high smartphone penetration, and digitally native consumers has made adoption feel less like an experiment and more like a natural extension of India’s fintech evolution. 

The current tax structure has diverted some trading activity offshore. But it has not slowed interest or intent. Retail participation remains strong and institutional curiosity is rising. Apart from this, a talented pool of developers is actively building Web3 use cases rooted in real economic value. 

India’s trajectory is moving beyond trading volumes or hype cycles. It is gradually becoming a structural market where crypto and blockchain will underpin payments, cross-border transfers, digital identity, tokenization, and new asset classes. Suppose we can ensure more regulatory clarity and a calibrated shift toward compliance-friendly innovation. In that case, India can evolve from being the world’s most extensive user base to a strategic global price-setting hub for digital assets.  

What policy reforms would be essential to bring India closer to a balanced, innovation-friendly crypto regulatory framework? 

India does not need to reinvent the wheel. It needs to decide which wheel it wants to use. At the G20, India has already endorsed the roadmap for crypto-asset regulation by the IMF and the FSB (Financial Stability Board). This emphasises same-risk-same-regulation, robust AML standards, and clear treatment of stablecoins. Translating that into domestic law will require three big shifts.  

Firstly, move from a high tax regime (30% flat plus 1% TDS) to a rational framework aligned with other financial assets. This will help bring liquidity back onshore instead of leaking to foreign platforms.  

Secondly, create a unified licensing and supervision architecture where RBI, SEBI, and the Union Finance Ministry have clearly demarcated roles on payment tokens, securities-type tokens, and utility assets. Thirdly, build explicit consumer-protection rules on disclosures, custody, segregation of client assets, and advertising. This is a more structured approach than relying on circulars. If India can pair its CBDC and digital public infrastructure with clear rules for private crypto, it can become a rule-maker in this space.

Also Read: Building Financial Discipline in India's Fast-Growing Media Industry 

Volatility, speculation, and currency substitution, which among the financial risks do you think India should mitigate as adoption scales? 

For India, the immediate fire is speculation, not currency substitution. Retail punting on highly leveraged products during global risk-on phases can create pockets of distress. This is despite the fact that the systemic footprint of crypto in India’s banking system remains limited.  

Over the medium term, unregulated stablecoins and offshore platforms could pose subtler risks to capital controls and monetary sovereignty if they become embedded in informal cross-border flows. That is why the RBI is simultaneously warning about private crypto while pushing its own e-rupee pilots.  

A pragmatic approach is to treat volatility as an education and disclosure problem; speculation as a conduct and leverage problem; and currency substitution as a macro problem. India can tightly force the use of leverage and marketing to unsophisticated users. The country’s regulators are strong enough, in experience and heft, to impose robust reserve and transparency norms on INR-linked stablecoins. They can continue to keep the rupee and UPI rails attractive enough that “dollarisation by stablecoin” never becomes a mainstream option. 

How can India enhance digital literacy to help retail users understand cryptographic security and self-custody? 

India has already shown, through UPI, that you can teach 1.4 billion people new financial behaviours in under a decade. UPI now accounts for the vast majority of digital transactions by volume.  

It rides on near-universal youth usage and deep smartphone penetration. The same digital public-goods playbook can be adapted for crypto literacy. At a policy level, we need three layers. Firstly, embed basic concepts of private keys, phishing, and verification into school and college curricula just as we did with cyber-hygiene.  

Secondly, the use of state-backed platforms like DigiLocker, NPCI apps, and ONDC as channels for short, vernacular explainer modules on wallet security and scam avoidance. Finally, incentivise FIU-registered exchanges like Giottus to run audited, outcomes-based education programmes. In these programmes, users who complete security pathways can unlock lower fees or enhanced features.  

This would nudge them towards safer behaviours. In a world where self-custody can be both empowering and unforgiving, India’s edge will lie in combining cryptography with pedagogy. 

Also Read: Digital Payment Security: Strengthening Issuance Products in 2025

What does a realistic 5-10-year roadmap for mass cryptocurrency adoption in India look like?  

In five years, a realistic scenario is not every Indian owning “coins,” but crypto becoming an invisible layer under everyday finance. It will be much like cloud computing underpinning today’s apps. If tax frictions are rationalised and licensing clarified, we could see onshore liquidity returning to Indian platforms. We will also witness tokenised versions of traditional assets (bonds, invoices, funds) trading alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum.  

Over a 10-year horizon, the more interesting story would be convergence. CBDC and UPI should be able to function along with permissioned and public chains. The e-rupee pilots already signal the RBI’s intent to experiment with programmable money. Policymakers need to keep consumer protection tight while allowing innovation in tokenisation. Thereby, India’s “mass adoption” may look less like a speculative gold rush and more like a quiet rewiring of the financial landscape.