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Chainalysis, which is an American blockchain analysis firm, has made a report stating that Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) experienced an immense surge in terms of crypto-related web traffic in Central, Southern Asia and Oceania in the last 12 months. Basically, NFTs have been the biggest influential resource when it comes to crypto adoption in the CSAO region for the past year. On Wednesday, Chainalysis informed readers that crypto adoption was stable in the South Asian countries, but it has significantly soared in the Southwest. To be precise, more than 55% of every web traffic directed to crypto services encompassed NFT-related actions in those countries in the second quarter of 2022.
NFTs and Play-To-Earn Games In Asia
On the flip side, web pages of play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain games have drawn more than 20% of traffic in the quarter and the key titles are the following - STEPN, Axie Infinity, and Battle Infinity. Chainalysis reminded people that this is because there is a direct correlation between P2E blockchain games and NFTs since the majority of P2E games contain in-game items in the form of NFTs. These games can be sold at various marketplaces such as OpenSea and MagicEden, therefore we can firmly state that NFTs are one of the largest on-ramp to digital coins in the CSAO region nowadays.
There are a total of 25 countries united in the Central, Southern Asia and Oceania region including India, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, etc… Also, it is worth noting that seven countries in this region are on the list of the top 20 governments in Chainalysis’ crypto adoption index. The web traffic heatmap also showcased that the majority of web traffic in Asian countries comprised NFT-related websites as well as blockchain games and entertainment. What is the main reason for this?
Chainalysis explained that the CSAO is a region where a lot of innovation and blockchain-based entertainment takes place, so this fact should not come as a big surprise. What’s more, the industry’s leading game-centric blockchain creators called Immutable X and Polygon are located in Australia and India. Whereas, some of the largest play-to-earn games STEPN and Axie Infinity operate in Australia and Vietnam. Hence, it is pretty clear why these countries have generated high web traffic numbers in terms of NFT and P2E games, and in fact, it is expected that the overall engagement will grow even further in the upcoming months.
Prospects of Crypto In Asian Countries
Chainalysis’ crypto adoption index list was dominated again by Vietnam this year, following the last year’s success. However, the surprising fact was that the Philippines made an appearance at second after ranking 15th in the last report. The blockchain analysis firm noted that both Vietnam and the Philippines contain pretty much the same growth drivers, which include play-to-earn games and remittances.
Furthermore, according to Chainalysis, traffic to websites featuring different content was significantly reduced in recent quarters. For instance, decentralized exchange programs have experienced a serious downfall which is most probably induced by the bear market and the current crypto winter. So, until the situation is not resolved in the crypto market, other trends will most likely continue to fall in Asian countries.
The report also covered other countries such as India and Pakistan. When it comes to crypto adoption in these governments, Chainalysis outlined that India and Pakistan were in second and third places in the world. However, the current year has not been so prolific as they have moved to the fourth and sixth spots on this list. There are various factors that caused this change, but mainly because several regulatory developments occurred in recent months.
However, we have seen some strict movements in regard to digital assets in several Asian countries this year. For instance, the central bank and government of Pakistan came up with an idea to ban cryptos in January. What’s more, they have asked the court to ban crypto exchanges as well. As the local news state, a total of 11 countries have followed this suggestion of Pakistan to ban digital assets, including Saudi Arabia and China. However, the Sindh High Court has not made any definite statement in this regard yet, so it is not entirely clear what the future holds in Pakistan.
Moreover, the Indian government has introduced the idea that every crypto gain generated in April should be eligible for a 30% tax, and people have to pay an extra 1% fee on every transaction executed in July. Consequently, some exchanges have drawn highly negative numbers in terms of trading activities as they have experienced a more than 50% decline. The total picture is not clear at the moment, and it feels like India does not care about the prospects of digital assets for its residents. It is only interested in blockchain technology and what it can bring to the country in the long run.