Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said India’s massive, young and tech-savvy population makes it a natural hub for global crypto adoption, arguing that regulators
worldwide—including in India—are gradually shifting from scepticism to engagement.
“India ranks number one in terms of the crypto adoption index at a grassroots level,” Teng noted, citing Chainalysis data, adding that many former sceptics globally have already turned believers.
While India allows digital assets and CBDCs, crypto trading remains in a grey zone, but Teng believes deeper knowledge transfer can shift perceptions. “Lack of knowledge sometimes causes misgivings,” he said, noting how prominent global finance leaders transitioned from sceptics to believers after understanding the technology.
Teng has said that Binance wants to reach one billion users and that India is indispensable to that ambition. Earlier, he also viewed India’s CBDC trial as strategically important, saying it could demystify blockchain for the central bank.
Global crypto momentum holds; institutional onboarding accelerates
Despite crypto prices coming off their highs, Teng said the underlying market structure remains robust. He pointed to Binance crossing 300 million users last year, processing around $34 trillion in trading value, and securing a full global licence from Abu Dhabi Global Markets. “Our aspiration is to reach a billion users,” Teng said, adding that Binance onboarded over 60 million users annually in the past two years.
Institutional volumes on Binance grew over 20% — a sign, Teng said, that corporate treasuries are starting to use crypto and stablecoins as a more efficient architecture for global capital movement. “Corporate treasuries are now moving into stablecoins and crypto because it allows them to move capital globally on a 24/7 basis, at a fraction of the cost,” he said. (A)
Binance recently added gold and silver perpetual contracts, and Teng said the company is looking to diversify its asset classes further in view of strong demand.
US clarity forces global rethink on AI and blockchain
Teng praised the US push to build regulatory clarity through legislation like the Clarity Act and Genius Act while positioning the US as the AI and blockchain capital of the world. “These two technologies will drive every economic sub-sector going forward,” he said, adding that other governments must “rethink their approach towards AI and blockchain” or risk losing competitiveness.
He argued that clarity has become a competitive advantage. It is pertinent to note that the GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, provided the first federal framework for stablecoins in the US, allowing banks, credit unions and non-banks to issue them under clear oversight, while exempting compliant issuances from securities and commodities classification.
Europe, meanwhile, is moving ahead with MiCA, a single-passport regime for CASPs with full licensing due by mid-2026, covering everything from reserves to risk disclosures and AML/CFT compliance.
