India has remained Central and Southeast Asia and Oceania’s largest market for centralized crypto exchange inflows, receiving $88.4 billion through CEXs even as its overall crypto economy contracted 14.7% during the latest reporting period.
Summary
- India led CSAO in centralized crypto exchange inflows with $88.4 billion, ahead of Singapore at $82.3 billion and Australia at $79.3 billion.
- India’s overall crypto economy contracted 14.7% to $135 billion, but centralized exchange activity remained strong during the reporting period.
- Domestic exchanges captured just 0.7% of Indian exchange volume, compared with an average of around 7% across the rest of CSAO.
- Chainalysis said investment remains a major use of crypto in India, with users primarily buying, holding and selling digital assets.
According to Chainalysis, India recorded $135 billion in crypto activity between July 2025 and June 2026, making it the third largest crypto economy in Central and Southeast Asia and Oceania, or CSAO.
Singapore remained the region’s largest crypto economy with $284 billion in activity, while Australia ranked second at $173.1 billion. India, however, led both countries when activity through centralized exchanges was isolated.
Indian users received $88.4 billion through CEXs during the period, Chainalysis found, slightly ahead of Singapore at $82.3 billion. Australia followed with $79.3 billion and Vietnam with $69.8 billion.
India’s CEX lead came despite a difficult year for the country’s overall crypto market. Its total crypto economy contracted 14.7% during the global bear market, one of the larger declines recorded across CSAO.
India leads CSAO in centralized crypto exchange activity
Centralized exchange inflows in India have moved unevenly over the past several years but ultimately kept pace with the rest of the region.
Chainalysis measured the trend using a relative growth index that began at 100 in the third quarter of 2021 and ended at the same level in the latest reporting period. Periods when India outperformed or lagged the rest of CSAO therefore balanced out over the full period.
Trading and investment remain a major part of how Indian users interact with digital assets.
CoinSwitch co founder Ashish Singhal told Chainalysis that crypto in India is “predominantly being used as an investable asset,” mainly through buying, holding and selling digital assets.
Singhal said the investor base was expanding beyond the younger users traditionally associated with crypto. Investors aged 35 and above were entering the market, including some with larger portfolios.
Mudrex CEO Edul Patel described a similar change in investor behavior, telling Chainalysis that for many users the mindset was moving from “flip” to “accumulate.”
Patel said crypto was increasingly being held as a diversifying asset alongside equities, gold and mutual funds.
India’s position as CSAO’s largest CEX market comes as regulators continue to tighten oversight of exchanges and crypto transactions.
As crypto.news previously reported, the Reserve Bank of India maintained its cautious stance on crypto while tax authorities raised concerns about transactions conducted through offshore exchanges, private wallets and peer to peer channels.
India currently taxes cryptocurrency gains at 30%, while qualifying virtual digital asset transactions are subject to a 1% tax deducted at source.
Indian exchanges capture a small share of local trading
India stands out from other CSAO markets in where users access centralized crypto trading.
Domestic exchanges accounted for around 7% of Indian exchange volume before their share fell in mid 2022, according to Chainalysis, and the figure has remained depressed since then.
Domestic platforms accounted for only 0.7% of exchange volume in the latest data. Across the rest of CSAO, domestic platforms process an average of around 7% of their respective local volumes.
Singhal pointed to India’s tax system as one reason activity has moved away from domestic exchanges.
India introduced the 1% tax on crypto transactions in 2022, and Singhal told Chainalysis that compliant domestic exchanges levy the tax while offshore exchanges may not.
Indian authorities have responded by expanding oversight of offshore platforms that continue to serve local users.
In September, the Financial Intelligence Unit issued non compliance notices to 15 offshore crypto platforms and sought action to remove their apps and URLs in India. The action against the offshore platforms covered companies including Weex, Blofin, WOO X and WhiteBIT.
Virtual digital asset providers serving Indian customers are required to register with FIU IND as reporting entities and comply with requirements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Physical presence in India does not determine whether those requirements apply, meaning an offshore platform serving Indian customers can fall within the framework without maintaining an office or legal entity in the country.
Earlier enforcement brought some of the world’s largest exchanges under the same framework. Binance eventually registered with FIU IND after paying a 188.2 million rupee penalty for earlier anti money laundering compliance failures.
India puts more crypto transactions under scrutiny
Regulators have expanded their checks beyond regular exchange trading.
In June, FIU IND sought records of large crypto OTC trades from at least three major exchanges, focusing on transactions worth more than $10,000.
Exchanges were asked to preserve relevant records dating back to January 2026. Authorities sought information covering beneficial ownership, intermediaries and entities involved in private crypto deals.
OTC transactions take place away from public exchange order books and are commonly used for larger trades. FIU’s request brought those private transactions into its expanding crypto compliance checks.
Crypto platforms serving Indian customers face requirements covering customer identification, transaction records and suspicious transaction reporting under the country’s anti money laundering framework.
FIU IND has introduced stricter identity checks as part of those requirements, with the updated crypto KYC framework covering measures such as live selfie verification, geolocation capture and bank account checks.
Platforms must retain customer identity and transaction records for at least five years, while higher risk customers are subject to enhanced due diligence.
India expands crypto tax reporting
Tax authorities have been tightening reporting requirements at the same time.
India expanded parts of its international tax reporting framework in August to cover specified crypto assets, central bank digital currencies and certain digital money products.
Under the updated tax reporting rules, banks, insurers, custodians, mutual funds and other covered financial institutions face revised requirements for identifying reportable accounts and verifying customers’ tax residency.
Accounts with balances above $1 million are subject to enhanced due diligence before being classified for reporting.
The changes followed concerns within India’s Income Tax Department over the ability to trace transactions made through overseas exchanges and private wallets.
Internal government documents cited in earlier reporting showed that fewer than one quarter of the 645,000 people who conducted cryptocurrency transactions during the financial year ending March 2023 disclosed those transactions in their income tax returns.
India has yet to introduce a comprehensive law governing digital assets, leaving oversight spread across taxation, anti money laundering requirements and reporting rules.
Within that environment, Chainalysis recorded $88.4 billion in centralized exchange inflows from Indian users between July 2025 and June 2026, compared with $82.3 billion in Singapore, $79.3 billion in Australia and $69.8 billion in Vietnam.
