Markets with Evolving Web3 Regulations Offer Exciting Opportunities: Ryan Sungho Kim at IBW 2024

The Web3 regulatory landscape is preparing for significant reform, driven by Donald Trump’s shift in stance on the crypto industry. With Bitcoin surpassing $100,000 (roughly Rs. 84.6 lakh) shortly after Trump’s election win, Web3 stakeholders are optimistic. Speaking at India Blockchain Week (IBW 2024), Ryan Sungho Kim, co-founder and partner at Hashed, the research firm behind Hashed Emergent, shared insights with Gadgets 360 on how investment firms are navigating the evolving regulatory environment for Web3.

In India, regulatory uncertainties around the Web3 sector have repeatedly caused confusion and concern among stakeholders. The government is carefully assessing how to integrate Web3 with existing systems, a process that is proving to be time-consuming. As a result, the introduction of laws to regulate the sector has been slow and is still ongoing.

Speaking to Gadgets 360, Kim noted that from a venture capital perspective, regions where laws are still being debated appear more exciting and enticing.

“There’s a possibility to win,” Kim said. In broader context, he explained, that the drive to overcome challenges often leads to great results. In regions where web3 regulations are still taking shape, Kim said, the developer ecosystem is fueled to demonstrate to the authorities the varied use cases of new technologies like blockchain and crypto.

“The research that goes into exploring the technologies is far more comprehensive in emerging potential hubs. Places where the laws have been defined, I think the competition scale equalises. So always, chances of taking little risks expecting great results is a better case scenerio. This is possible in locations that are still working to finalise how they want to legalise the relatively advanced and nascent sector like Web3,” he said.

However, the seasoned Web3 investor also emphasised that industry insiders still have an opportunity to engage with authorities and collaborate on the law-making process in regions where Web3 regulations are being discussed.

India is gradually finalising laws to regulate the Web3 sector, which is supported by blockchain technology and often associated with volatile digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Currently, crypto earnings in India are taxed at 30 percent, with an additional 1 percent tax deducted at source on each transaction. All Web3 entities are required to comply with anti-money laundering laws, which mandate reporting suspicious transactions to the authorities. In contrast, the European Union has introduced its MiCA regulations, outlining the legal framework for Web3 players.

According to Kim, India is a key market for the growth of blockchain-related technologies. In its recently released Web3 Landscape Report, Hashed Emergent highlighted that India is home to the world’s second-largest developer market and the third-largest founder base in the Web3 sector, representing 11.8 percent of global crypto developers and 5.4 percent of Web3 founders.

The report, unveiled at IBW 2024, revealed that Web3 founders and developers in India are actively working on areas such as centralised finance (CeFi), decentralised finance (DeFi), DePin, asset tokenisation, and gaming among others.

ndian Web3 founders from firms like Lightspeed, Kalaari, and PeakXV have raised over $462 million (roughly Rs. 3,909 crore) this year, reflecting an 82 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Looking ahead to next year, Kim predicted that efficient finance, community-focused memecoins, and AI will be key emerging trends in Web3.

“I think defi will bounce back to areas of interest for founders and investors in 2025. I mean, people will understand more on-chain activities and they will realise blockchain can help establish more efficient finance. Then memecoins will see expansion in the ecosystem. is a quite interesting phenomenon, because, memecoins are truly the easiest way to verify there’s a community, strong community. AI, meanwhile, is a perfect fit for Bitcoin which is likely to play an influential role in related areas next year,” Kim said.

The IBW 2024 event, held in Bengaluru this week, attracted thousands of members from India’s Web3 ecosystem. The Bitcoin price surge to over $100,000 (roughly Rs. 84 lakh) on December 5 was celebrated by the country’s Web3 community at the event.