Bitcoin News Today: India Surpasses U.S. as Global Crypto Adoption Shifts South

India led the global crypto adoption index in 2025, securing the top spot across all four subcategories, including retail, institutional, and decentralized finance (DeFi) activity, according to Chainalysis’ sixth annual report. The United States came in second, driven largely by institutional interest fueled by the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and broader regulatory clarity. Pakistan, Vietnam, and Brazil followed in the top five. The report highlighted a shift in crypto momentum toward the Global South, where grassroots adoption is being driven by practical use cases such as remittances and inflation hedging. The Asia-Pacific region recorded the highest year-over-year growth in on-chain crypto activity at 69%, with India, Vietnam, and Pakistan contributing significantly to the surge in transaction volume, which rose from $1.4 trillion to $2.36 trillion between June 2024 and June 2025. Latin America saw a 63% growth in adoption across both retail and institutional segments, while Sub-Saharan Africa grew by 52%, underscoring the region’s continued reliance on crypto for remittances and everyday payments.

The report also noted a significant evolution in the global stablecoin landscape, with USDT and USDC continuing to dominate in transaction volume. However, newer stablecoins such as EURC and PYUSD experienced rapid growth, with EURC seeing a nearly 89% month-over-month increase in volume from June 2024 to June 2025. This growth is attributed to regulatory developments such as the EU’s MiCA regime and increasing institutional engagement. Major financial institutions, including Citi and Bank of America, have signaled interest in exploring stablecoin issuance, while payment giants like Visa and Mastercard have launched stablecoin-linked products. These developments indicate a shift toward more regulated and region-specific stablecoin adoption, particularly in Europe and emerging markets.

Bitcoin remained the primary entry point for users entering the crypto ecosystem, accounting for over $4.6 trillion in fiat on-ramps between July 2024 and June 2025. This figure far exceeded the next-highest category, which included Layer 1 tokens excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum. The United States emerged as the largest on-ramp, with $4.2 trillion in total volume, nearly four times that of South Korea, the second-largest. This dominance is attributed to the U.S.’s robust institutional infrastructure and high Bitcoin adoption rates, which reached 47% in the United Kingdom and 45% in the European Union.

The report also highlighted a broad-based adoption trend across income levels, with high-, upper-middle-, and lower-middle-income countries experiencing synchronized growth in crypto usage. However, low-income countries remained more volatile due to factors such as policy shocks, limited infrastructure, and economic instability. Eastern European countries, including Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, emerged as leaders in crypto adoption when adjusted for population size, driven by factors such as economic uncertainty and high technical literacy. This regional shift suggests that crypto is becoming an increasingly viable alternative for wealth preservation and cross-border transactions in economically unstable environments.

Chainalysis attributed the U.S.’s rising global crypto adoption to a combination of favorable regulatory developments and institutional interest. The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs and the passage of legislative bills such as the GENIUS Act contributed to increased legitimacy and participation from traditional financial institutions. The report emphasized that institutional activity now plays a crucial role in the crypto ecosystem, with North America and Europe dominating in absolute transaction volume. North America’s 49% growth in crypto adoption was largely due to renewed institutional interest, while Europe saw a 42% increase despite already having a high baseline. These developments indicate that crypto is becoming a more mainstream asset class, with growing acceptance in both retail and institutional markets.

Source: [1] The 2025 Global Adoption Index (https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/2025-global-crypto-adoption-index/) [2] BTC, USDT, USDC Lead Global Flows: Chainalysis (https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/09/06/bitcoin-and-stablecoins-dominate-as-india-u-s-top-2025-crypto-adoption-index) [3] 2025 Geography of Crypto Report (https://go.chainalysis.com/2025-geography-of-cryptocurrency-report.html) [4] Global Crypto Adoption 2025: Chainalysis Reveals Which ... (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1095599-20250904) [5] Crypto Adoption 2025: India, US, And Pakistan Secure Top ... (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1094199-20250904) [6] The United States surpasses Europe in the global ranking ... (https://news.bit2me.com/en/The-United-States-surpasses-Europe-in-crypto-adoption-rankings) [7] Global Crypto Adoption Report 2025 (https://coinpedia.org/research-report/global-crypto-adoption-report/)