- Sandeep Nainwal blamed India’s lack of clarity on crypto regulations for the exit of crypto talent.
- Mr. Nainwal expressed his desire to come to India and promote the Web 3 ecosystem.
So far, India has had a controversial and unclear approach to digital assets, and this is immensely hurting the country’s crypto talent, believes Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nainwal. In his recent interview with Scott Melker on his “Wolf of All Streets” podcast, Nainwal said that there’s an “absolutely crazy” brain drain in the Indian crypto sector.
These comments come when the number of Indians joining the crypto space has skyrocketed over the last year. India is currently the second in terms of crypto adoption with 15 million active crypto traders. Sandeep also stressed the need for proper regulation and infrastructure in India.
The Polygon co-founder believes that with necessary steps in place and a crypto-friendly environment, India has the potential to become the crypto hub of the world. Although Sandeep is from India, his crypto startup Polygon isn’t based in the country.
Sandeep Nainwal relocated to Dubai two years ago. The major reason is that Dubai is becoming the crypto hub with its pro-crypto policies. On Wednesday, March 16, Dubai passed the first crypto law setting up an official watchdog for virtual assets. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, made this official announcement. He said:
Today, we approved the virtual assets law and established the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. A step that establishes the UAE’s position in this sector. The Authority will cooperate with all related entities to ensure maximum transparency and security for investors.
Thoughts on coming back to India
Although Dubai offers the right environment to run crypto companies, Sandeep hasn’t given up on the idea of coming back to India. Of course, this will depend on how India brings its regulatory framework going ahead. The 34-year-old Polygon co-founder said:
I want to live in India and promote the Web3 ecosystem. But overall, the way the regulatory uncertainty is there and how big Polygon has become it doesn’t make sense for us or for any team to expose their protocols to local risks.
Earlier this week, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government hasn’t taken a final call on whether to regulate crypto assets or ban them. However, last month, the government decided to levy a hefty 30 percent tax on crypto gains.
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Polygon has been leading from the front as the most-popular Layer-2 scalability solution for Ethereum. It hosts a total of 7,000 decentralized apps (or Dapps) with more than 130 million active users. Polygon recently secured $450 million funding against its MATIC token sale led by Sequoia Capital.
