Binance co-CEO Richard Teng has positioned India as the world's leading cryptocurrency adopter at the grassroots level, highlighting the country's unique demographic advantages in the global digital asset landscape. Speaking about India's crypto ecosystem, Teng emphasized how the nation's massive, young, and tech-savvy population creates a natural foundation for widespread crypto adoption.

India's Grassroots Crypto Leadership

According to Teng, India holds the top position globally in terms of cryptocurrency adoption at the grassroots level, based on Chainalysis data. This leadership position comes despite the regulatory uncertainty surrounding crypto trading in the country, where digital assets exist in a grey zone while the government allows digital assets and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

Teng believes that knowledge transfer can play a crucial role in shifting regulatory perceptions. "Lack of knowledge sometimes causes misgivings," he noted, pointing to how prominent global finance leaders have transitioned from skeptics to believers after gaining a deeper understanding of blockchain technology.

Binance's Global Growth and Institutional Adoption

The cryptocurrency exchange has demonstrated significant growth metrics, reflecting the broader momentum in the digital asset space. Binance crossed 300 million users last year while processing approximately $34 trillion in trading value. The platform has maintained strong user acquisition, onboarding over 60 million users annually over the past two years.

Institutional adoption has emerged as a particularly strong growth driver, with institutional volumes on Binance growing over 20%. Teng attributes this growth to corporate treasuries increasingly adopting stablecoins and cryptocurrencies for more efficient global capital movement. "Corporate treasuries are now moving into stablecoins and crypto because it allows them to move capital globally on a 24/7 basis, at a fraction of the cost," he explained.

Regulatory Developments and Market Expansion

Teng praised recent regulatory developments in the United States, particularly legislation like the Clarity Act and GENIUS Act, which aim to establish clear frameworks for blockchain and AI technologies. The GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, provided the first federal framework for stablecoins in the US, allowing banks, credit unions, and non-banks to issue them under clear oversight while exempting compliant issuances from securities and commodities classification.

Europe is advancing with its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, creating a single-passport regime for Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) with full licensing requirements by mid-2026. This comprehensive framework covers reserves, risk disclosures, and Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance.

Binance has also expanded its asset offerings, recently adding gold and silver perpetual contracts in response to strong demand. The company secured a full global license from Abu Dhabi Global Markets, strengthening its regulatory standing. Teng emphasized that regulatory clarity has become a competitive advantage, arguing that governments must rethink their approach toward AI and blockchain technologies to maintain economic competitiveness.

With India being indispensable to Binance's goal of reaching one billion users globally, Teng views the country's CBDC trials as strategically important for demystifying blockchain technology for central banks and regulators.

Binance has released its comprehensive Full-Year 2025 & Themes for 2026 report, identifying 12 critical themes that are expected to shape cryptocurrency markets in the coming year. The report comes after a volatile 2025 that saw significant milestones alongside market turbulence, with total crypto market capitalization surpassing $4.00 trillion for the first time and Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high of $1,26,000 in October.

2025 Market Performance Overview

Despite achieving historic milestones, the cryptocurrency market faced considerable challenges throughout 2025. The market experienced significant volatility, with total market value swinging between approximately $2.40 trillion and $4.20 trillion. Macro uncertainty dominated market behavior, driven by monetary policy changes, trade tensions, and geopolitical risks, ultimately resulting in the market ending the year down about 7.90%.

Key Themes for 2026

The Binance report outlines 12 themes spanning various narratives and sectors, including macro environment factors, Bitcoin dynamics, institutional adoption, policy and regulation, stablecoins, tokenization, and decentralized trading. These themes are expected to drive market behavior and investor attention throughout 2026.

Policy and Regulatory Framework Evolution

According to the report, 2026 represents a pivotal year where regulation transitions from directional guidance to operational rules and licensing requirements that will determine which crypto businesses can scale effectively. The convergence of the upcoming U.S. midterm election cycle and evolving fiscal imperatives is set to materially influence market behavior, creating a structurally supportive backdrop for digital assets through expansionary fiscal policy and suppressed real yields.

Institutional Adoption and Infrastructure Development

Institutional participation is increasingly shaping crypto markets through how digital assets are accessed, allocated, and used via traditional finance channels. The focus centers on where incremental capital is permitted within existing financial infrastructure and how those access points continue to expand. Over time, this capital is expected to filter into institution-ready on-chain sectors including tokenization, payments, and core decentralized finance.

Stablecoins and Consumer Finance Integration

The report highlights stablecoins' evolution toward everyday consumer finance applications. The momentum is expected to come from stablecoins paired with neobank-like applications that bring digital assets directly to everyday consumers worldwide through intuitive, self-custodial platforms offering dramatically lower cross-border costs and near-instant settlement times.

Market Structure and Value Capture Shifts

Binance identifies a structural shift in crypto economics, with value capture continuing to migrate from base layers toward applications. The application-to-network revenue ratio is likely to widen further in 2026, reinforcing application-led value capture as base layers face structurally thinner monetization from increasingly commoditized blockspace.

Industry Perspective

"2025 showed how regulatory clarity is beginning to translate into real market structure. Clearer frameworks around access, stablecoins, and on-chain finance allowed institutions and long-term capital to participate with greater confidence, shifting the focus from speculation to sustainable adoption," said SB Seker, Head of APAC at Binance.

Seker added that growth in 2026 will come from compliant infrastructure, regulated entry points, and applications capable of operating at scale within evolving regulatory environments, particularly across the APAC region where policy direction plays a critical role in shaping adoption patterns.