~ Anushka Sengupta
India has one of the highest numbers of developers in the world and this makes our country a melting pot of talent. Crypto is critical in exposing the country’s youth to international work culture and collaborating with individuals across geographies. There was a time when it would have been impossible for someone from a small town in India to work remotely for a company that’s present on another continent. However, crypto is making it common and, in the process, also helping them hone skill sets that would catapult their career growth, said Rajagopal Menon , Vice President, WazirX.
According to the specialist staffing company Xpheno, the cryptocurrency sector is responsible for more than 10,000 active jobs in India. As per data by LinkedIn, the job postings on the platform were up by 395% in August 2021 compared to the same period the year before.
The crypto sector creates a great demand for blockchain developers, and India has the largest pool of developers. Crypto and web3 are at a very exciting stage right now. Despite the market conditions and regulatory challenges in India, innovators in this space are very optimistic about the future. The industry has immense potential and will certainly create many more jobs as well as entrepreneurial opportunities for India’s workforce, said Minal Thukral, Executive Vice-President, Growth and Strategy, CoinDCX.
Minal believes that crypto is a booming industry and highlighted that jobs in NFT, crypto and blockchain in India have already grown by 804% post COVID.
Crypto provides India with an opportunity it has not had before—to lay the foundation of the new internet, or Web 3.0. India has the talent-density and startup culture to lead this transformation; our digital infrastructure and tech stacks are ahead of even developed countries. This is an opportunity we leverage, said Ashish Singhal, Co-Founder and CEO, Coinswitch Kuber.
By enabling startups and talent in this fast-evolving space, India can shape this technological shift. Our larger software developer community of 4 million-plus, who successfully support global IT giants, will then be encouraged to learn and explore blockchain projects. This growing talent pool would lead to more startups and more solutions, helping develop a Made in India Web3 ecosystem and creating a positive domino effect on India’s economy and stature, he said.
Ashish believes that forward-looking policies can make this vision a reality and India should now accelerate this digitization process and embrace the internet of value that Crypto is. The government’s Digital India initiatives and growing internet penetration have had a clear impact, well beyond metropolitan cities.
Regulatory hurdles
The onerous taxation is definitely a deterrent. It’s proving to be a major hindrance for investors as well as innovators in this industry. The crypto community has constantly been urging the government to implement more industry-friendly regulations, said Minal.
However, Minal also believes that regulations for the crypto industry are good and it will eventually encourage adoption. “Many people who were on the fence about investing in crypto due to lack of government involvement now have a more positive attitude towards it”, he said.
Rajagopal said that WazirX at the present, is focusing on complying with various regulatory requirements such as TDS and that it is yet to see the effects of TDS implementation going ahead.
Technically, there is neither a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies (or crypto assets) in India, nor a regulation that govern their actual usage. However, crypto trading is going to be difficult in India now due to the 1% TDS rule for cryptocurrency and virtual digital assets (VDAs) transactions which has come into effect from the 1st of July 2022.
The government has in recent times provided guidelines and clarification that clear the air on taxation, data and such. These help in standardizing the best practice, enabling the industry to grow transparently and responsibly. We are hopeful that the authorities would follow this with a comprehensive Crypto regulation and lay the framework for the continuation of responsible innovation, said Ashish.
Crypto is bringing about a once-in-a-generation technological shift that would reshape the internet and internet-based businesses and services. Forward-looking regulations would allow domestic startups and entrepreneurs to create these solutions in India. Regulatory clarity will also protect investors in this emerging asset class. Ambiguity, on the other hand, introduces additional turbulence into the already rough markets, he added.
