Writing the new Indian De-Fi Story
A Roundtable Discussion on the decentralized finance industry in India
India has always been the back office of the west. We have thrived on a service-oriented industry and also on the software talent that we have had over the years. There has been tremendous growth in the Fintech space, with some great homegrown products for the global financial industry.
Also Read: Making Crypto great again in India
However, ever since the crypto space started warming up, we have seen a spurt of the decentralized finance industry globally. India too has multiple DeFi stories to tell, with products made by Indian teams, have got international attention, growth, investments, and talent. But here is the difference — there are Indian teams for sure, but these companies are registered outside and hence are not a truly Indian company.
So the question arises:
- Is there still a hindrance in registering companies in India?
- Does DeFi as a word pose a problem in the country?
- Is there enough talent pool to support the functions of the DeFi industry?
- Are Indian VCs not interested in DeFi?
- Is there an issue with the general awareness about DeFi?
- What calls for a truly great DeFi product which can go global?
If we are more than capable of creating a fantastic DeFi product or service which has global appeal, can we not create India the DeFi hub of the world?
This was the crux of the discussion in Roundtable #7, which our amazing members brainstormed and sounded off to the world!!
The Roundtable Knights
This Chainbusters Roundtable Discussion Series №7 brought together some of the best proponents and experts on Decentralized Finance in India. Our aim was to ensure a freewheeling conversation to discuss what needs to be done to make India the DeFi hub of the world.
- Ankitt Gaur, Founder, Koinfox
- Siddharth Verma, Co-Founder, Nuo Capital
- Hemanth Kumar, CEO & Co-Founder, Pontis
- Tarusha Mittal, COO & Co-Founder, Oropockets
- Edul Patel, Co-Founder, Mudrex
- Darshan Bathija, CEO, Bank of Hodlers
- Ahmed Al-Balaghi, Co-Founder, Biconomy
Salient points of the Roundtable discussion
We were aware that this discussion could lead to some interesting insights. here are some of them.
What businesses is DeFi going to Disrupt?
- Security and ownership
- Payment systems
- Savings
- Borrowings & lendings
- Investments into assets, businesses, etc
- Working capital
What is the current state of affairs?
- We are now witnessing increased interest in crypto-based services
- There have been increased volumes after the Hon’ble Supreme Court ruling
- There is a perceptible increase in risk awareness of the investors or users
- There has been increased interest even from overseas both in terms of project and business investors as well as users.
What are the Challenges?
- The regulatory uncertainty and confusion persist which is resulting in a slow increase in the user base.
- The “No-Entry Barrier” of crypto is spooking regulators
- Users still trust banks more despite recent failures and scams
- Penetration is slow and limited due to awareness
- Minuscule financial literacy in the Indian market
- Reputation and credibility of companies
- Company registration still not favourable towards crypto
- Scalability of blockchains is also an issue
What could be possible solutions?
- Work on increasing awareness through education
- Focus on better user experience on apps
- Focus on penetration and demand creation
- The narrative of #FiatvsCrypto has to change
- We have to co-exist with #centralized #finance
- Continuous dialogue with authorities is important
Roundtable #7 Details
We conducted this #Roundtable #Discussion: 12th April 2020, Wednesday on our Airmeet community meetup page, between 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM. We received an overwhelming response and had 100+ registrations and attendance at this event from all over the country as well as from overseas.
Roundtable Discussion Link: https://bit.ly/Chainbusters-DeFiningIndia
Stay Connected
Watch our videos on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcgK-DYlNlQXUqp0rHp084Q
