Is Pakistan's crypto market ahead of India?
- Girikrishna GP
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Headlines this year have been dramatic: Pakistan racing to regulate crypto, doling out power for bitcoin mining, and even launching a national crypto council — while India keeps growing its retail base, reporting rising SIPs, and leading Chainalysis’s global adoption index. Which country is “ahead” depends entirely on what you measure.
What the major adoption rankings say about Pakistan's crypto market
Probably the most credible apples-to-apples view comes from Chainalysis’s 2025 Global Crypto Adoption data: Its report places India as number one globally for crypto adoption, while Pakistan also appears as one of the leading countries in APAC, often ranked inside the top five. In sum, India remains the leader; Pakistan is a very fast riser. 
Where Pakistan looks especially strong and why it matters
1. Rapid Policy and Institutional Moves
Pakistan enacted in 2025 a law on Virtual Assets, creating a national regulator called PVARA and a Pakistan Crypto Council, transforming crypto into a regulated industry from a grey market. Those steps then attract exchanges, service providers, and perhaps even foreign partners.
2. Energy and mining strategy
There is interest from the Pakistani government to utilize excess electricity supplies for the mining of bitcoin and even AI data centres, a move that would yield inexpensive hashpower and a young mining sector. That’s a structural advantage where Pakistan could excel regionally. 
3. Grassroots Adoption and P2P Activity
Many local reports and various data points indicate large, enthusiastic retail participation and heavy P2P trading-increasing adoption scores, even if these do not immediately translate into institutional volume. 
Taken together, these moves explain why Pakistan is suddenly visible as a global crypto adopter, but visibility isn't the same thing as overall market scale.
Where India still leads and why that matters more for the term “biggest market.”
1. On-chain transaction volume and ecosystem complexity
Chainalysis specifically notes India as the region's leader in on-chain volume and the most complex crypto market in APAC. That reflects heavy trading, varied use cases, and institutional participation-not just retail curiosity. 
2. Larger institutional and exchange footprint
Indian exchanges report large annual volumes, crypto SIP growth, and growing product sophistication (earn, staking, ETFs, custodial services). Indian platforms have broader product suites and larger institutional ties. Recent industry reports show that Indian trading activity and product adoption sharply increased in 2025. 
3. Regulatory clarity and taxes-yes, even the friction helps
India's move to formalize taxation and KYC-even when it is strict-creates on-chain traceability and draws formal market infrastructure, which institutional players prefer over opaque markets. That regulatory muscle makes India more attractive for big capital, despite short-term headaches. 
So who's "ahead"? (It depends on the metric)
• Retail & Grassroots Adoption Ranking: Pakistan has surged to join the top ranks for adoption, but India still leads overall. 
• On-chain volume & institutional depth: India leads by a comfortable margin. 
• Regulatory clarity + exchange maturity: Currently, India has a wider exchange infrastructure and taxation frameworks; Pakistan is building this fast in 2025, but it's relatively new. 
• Mining & infrastructure potential: If mining plans and cheap power scale up in Pakistan, then the country may have an edge. A structural advantage not tied to retail adoption could be formed. 
Risks and caveats, why "ahead" can be temporary
• Data pitfalls: Adoption indices often count on-chain flows and P2P activity, which makes countries heavy with informal trading appear more “adopted” than they actually are in the regulated markets. Chainalysis controls for this, but nuance remains. 
• Policy risk: Aggressive steps taken by Pakistan are bold; however, rapid policy reversals amidst macro fragility may change incentives. Independent analysts flag off economic and security risks if the pace of adoption is pushed too hard. 
• Institutional trust matters: Institutional capital likes clarity and depth, and India's larger financial market, clearer reporting pipelines, and active exchanges make it the safer bet for big money at the moment.
Bottom line and what readers should care about
No, Pakistan is not clearly ahead of India overall. India remains the largest, more institutionally developed crypto market in APAC. 
Yes - Pakistan represents one of the most exciting fast-rise stories in 2025. New laws, a national regulator, mining plans, and grassroots uptake mean this country will move from a fringe market to a mainstream contender in no time. 
For readers: focus on what matters, trading volumes, on-chain activity, regulatory clarity, and the presence of institutional counterparties. Those are the metrics that decide whether a market is only loud or actually mature.
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