When India Blockchain Week 2025 kicks off this December in Bengaluru, it won’t just be another tech conference—it will be a powerful statement about India’s rapidly accelerating influence in the global Web3 ecosystem. With over 1,200 homegrown Web3 startups, the world’s second-largest developer base, and the highest crypto adoption rate globally, India has transformed from an emerging player to a central force shaping blockchain’s future .
Have you ever wondered what happens when a country of 1.4 billion people embraces decentralized technology? The answer is unfolding right now across India’s tech hubs, where a perfect storm of technical talent, entrepreneurial ambition, and growing institutional interest is positioning the nation as the next global Web3 hub. This year’s India Blockchain Week arrives at a pivotal moment—just as Indian Web3 startups secured an impressive $564 million in funding during 2024 alone, representing a staggering 109% increase from the previous year .
What makes this growth trajectory particularly remarkable is that it has occurred despite regulatory uncertainties. India’s Web3 community has demonstrated extraordinary resilience, continuing to build and innovate while navigating a complex regulatory landscape. As Tak Lee, CEO and Managing Partner of Hashed Emergent (the event’s organizer), noted: “Over the past two years, IBW has become the central stage of the Indian Web3 ecosystem, connecting global companies with India’s web3 community” .
Why India’s Web3 Moment Matters Globally
The Numbers Behind the Boom
India’s rise as a blockchain powerhouse isn’t accidental—it’s the result of several converging factors that create ideal conditions for Web3 innovation. The country has demonstrated a 28% year-on-year increase in developers, adding 4.7 million contributors on GitHub in 2024 alone . This massive talent pool provides the essential foundation for blockchain innovation, particularly when combined with India’s status as the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Bengaluru, often called India’s Silicon Valley, hosts approximately 20% of the country’s Web3 startups and boasts 12% of global Web3 developers . The city has emerged as a vibrant hub for decentralized finance, gaming, and NFTs, creating a concentrated ecosystem where ideas can cross-pollinate and innovations can scale rapidly.
But here’s a question for you: What happens when this massive technical talent pool intersects with growing institutional interest in blockchain technology? The answer appears to be explosive growth across multiple sectors, particularly in DeFi, real-world assets (RWAs), and staking solutions that are dominating current investment trends .
Navigating the Regulatory Crossroads
A key discussion point at India Blockchain Week 2025 will undoubtedly center on regulation—a topic of crucial importance to both founders and investors. India’s current regulatory framework includes a 30% capital gains tax and 1% TDS on crypto transactions, which initially tempered domestic activity when implemented in 2022 .
However, recent developments suggest potential shifts on the horizon. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed a multi-agency oversight model that would assign:
SEBI jurisdiction over crypto securities
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) over stablecoins
Other regulatory bodies for insurance and pension-related tokens
This structured approach could potentially catalyze institutional adoption and align India with global regulatory trends, creating more predictable operating conditions for Web3 businesses. The conference will dedicate significant attention to these regulatory developments, recognizing that balanced frameworks are essential for sustaining growth.
Key Speakers and Thought Leaders at India Blockchain Week 2025
Visionaries Shaping the Future of Web3
The IBW Conference will feature an impressive roster of 100+ innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and thought leaders engaging in keynote speeches, panel discussions, fireside chats, and moderated debates . These sessions are designed not just to inform but to spark the collaborations that will drive the next wave of Web3 innovation.
Among the notable speakers are:
Sreeram Kannan, Founder & CEO of Eigen Labs
Avery Ching, Co-Founder & CEO of Aptos Labs
Sandeep Nailwal, CEO of Polygon
Sébastien Borget, Co-Founder & COO of The Sandbox
Mark Rydon, Co-Founder & CEO of Aethir
Table: Key Speaker Profiles and Their Contributions
| Speaker | Role | Expected Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Sreeram Kannan | Founder & CEO, Eigen Labs | Infrastructure development for AI and blockchain convergence |
| Sandeep Nailwal | CEO, Polygon | Scaling solutions and India’s Web3 startup ecosystem |
| Avery Ching | Co-Founder & CEO, Aptos Labs | Next-generation blockchain infrastructure |
| Sébastien Borget | Co-Founder & COO, The Sandbox | Metaverse and digital asset ownership |
India’s Developer Ecosystem: A Global Asset
Sreeram Kannan of Eigen Labs emphasized India’s strategic importance: “India has one of the world’s strongest pools of developers and innovators, and it’s exciting to see IBW serve as a platform that connects this talent with global institutions, protocols and investors” . He further noted that “as a multi-trillion-dollar economy with a rapidly growing digital ecosystem, India represents one of the most important markets for the future of AI and crypto” .
This perspective highlights a crucial point: India isn’t just a consumer of blockchain technology but an increasingly important contributor to its development. With initiatives like EigenCloud aiming to “provide a foundational layer for the builders,” India-based developers are positioned to create solutions with global impact .
What to Expect at India Blockchain Week 2025: Key Highlights
Flagship Events and Can’t-Miss Opportunities
The two-day flagship IBW2025 Conference anchors a weeklong array of 100+ side events, networking events, workshops, and parties hosted by Indian and global blockchain industry players . This expansive schedule reflects the event’s growth from a single conference to a comprehensive movement unifying India’s Web3 ecosystem.
Key highlights that attendees won’t want to miss include:
IBW Demo Day: Spotlighting Indian Innovation
Sponsored by Aptos and Avalanche, the IBW Demo Day will offer a minimum of $250,000 worth of investment rewards from Hashed Emergent, split among one or more notable Indian Web3 startups . This event caters to a broad audience including investors, founders, builders, and others looking to identify promising projects and partnership opportunities.
The Demo Day represents more than just a pitch competition—it’s a vital platform for visibility and validation for Indian startups. Have you ever considered how many groundbreaking projects never progress beyond initial development due to lack of funding and support? Initiatives like the IBW Demo Day directly address this challenge by connecting promising projects with the resources they need to scale.
India Web3 Landscape Report: Data-Driven Insights
During the flagship conference, organizers Hashed Emergent will release the fourth edition of the India Web3 Landscape Report on the main stage on Day 1 . This comprehensive document will shed light on startups, investment, adoption, developer ecosystems, and policy and regulatory developments—providing invaluable data for anyone seeking to understand the current state and future trajectory of India’s Web3 space.
For investors and entrepreneurs alike, this report will offer crucial intelligence for strategic decision-making. The previous editions have become reference documents for policymakers, investors, and founders seeking to navigate India’s complex but promising Web3 landscape.
Web3 Investment Trends: Where is the Smart Money Going?
Beyond the Hype: Sustainable Investment Opportunities
The investment landscape for Web3 has evolved significantly since the initial boom of 2017-2018. Today’s investors are more discerning, focusing on projects with sustainable business models, real-world utility, and strong fundamentals. The $564 million in funding that Indian Web3 startups secured in 2024 reflects this more mature investment approach .
Several key sectors are attracting particular attention from venture capitalists and strategic investors:
Real-World Assets (RWA) Tokenization
One of the most significant shifts catching VC attention is the tokenization of real-world assets—bringing tangible assets like private credit, real estate, and bonds on-chain in meaningful ways. Research suggests this could become a $16 trillion industry by 2030, with tokenized RWAs (excluding stablecoins) already accounting for over $22.6 billion as of May 2025 .
This trend is particularly relevant for India, where traditional financial infrastructure remains inaccessible to significant portions of the population. Tokenization can democratize access to investment opportunities that were previously available only to institutional players or high-net-worth individuals.
Web3 and AI Convergence
The intersection of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology represents another major investment trend. VCs are increasingly interested in startups that blend autonomous agents, gaming, infrastructure, and smart decision-making—all underpinned by blockchain .
Surveys indicate that 87% of game developers are already using AI agents for tasks like level design, dialogue, and balancing, with rising adoption for creative and interactive roles . Web3 executives predict over 1 million AI agents operating in decentralized environments before the end of 2025, working in use cases like on-chain trading, staking, and autonomous decision making .
Modular Infrastructure
Another significant shift in Web3 investment is moving away from “jack-of-all-trades” blockchains toward modular infrastructure that breaks down roles like consensus, execution, and data availability into separate layers . This approach enables greater specialization, flexibility, and efficiency—addressing some of the scalability challenges that have hampered earlier blockchain implementations.
Projects like Celestia (focusing on data availability) and EigenLayer (offering shared security features) represent this trend toward specialized infrastructure components that can be combined as needed . For developers, this means lower barriers to building and greater flexibility to create solutions tailored to specific use cases.
India’s Broader Digital Economy: The Foundation for Web3 Growth
Beyond Blockchain: The Larger Context
To fully understand the significance of India Blockchain Week 2025, it’s essential to view it within the context of India’s broader digital transformation. The country’s IT and IT-enabled services sector contributes $250 billion annually, with the Web3 industry projected to add $1 trillion to GDP by 2030 .
This growth isn’t happening in isolation—it’s part of a comprehensive digital ecosystem development that includes:
India’s National Blockchain Framework (NBF), launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which promotes blockchain applications in governance, land registries, and digital identity
Enterprise adoption demonstrated by companies like Reliance Jio’s integration of blockchain for 450 million users
Global partnerships with firms like Microsoft and Tencent collaborating on decentralized storage and enterprise automation
When you step back and look at this bigger picture, what emerges is a comprehensive digital transformation where blockchain serves as a crucial enabling technology rather than a standalone sector. This integration into broader technological and economic systems is perhaps the strongest indicator of Web3’s sustainable growth in India.
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Conclusion
India Blockchain Week 2025 represents more than just a conference—it’s a gathering point for the builders, investors, and innovators who will shape the next generation of the internet. As Tak Lee of Hashed Emergent stated, the event aims to “harness India’s momentum, positioning it as a global Web3 hub by 2028” .
With its dynamic startup ecosystem, regulatory evolution, and strategic partnerships, India’s influence in the decentralized future appears poised for exponential expansion. The question is no longer whether India will become a major player in Web3, but how quickly it will establish leadership positions across multiple blockchain sectors.
The opportunities for connection, learning, and collaboration at India Blockchain Week are unparalleled—but they require your active participation. Will you be among the innovators shaping this future? The time to engage with India’s Web3 revolution is now, and India Blockchain Week 2025 offers the perfect starting point.
Have you identified which Web3 trends align with your skills, interests, or investment thesis? Share your thoughts in the comments below—we’d love to hear which aspects of India’s Web3 ecosystem you find most compelling.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the dates and venue for India Blockchain Week 2025?
India Blockchain Week 2025 will be held from December 1-7, 2025, with the main IBW Conference taking place on December 2-3 at the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention Center .
Who is organizing India Blockchain Week 2025?
The event is organized by Hashed Emergent, the venture capital arm of Hashed that focuses on backing builders from India and emerging markets who are shaping the onchain frontier .
What is the expected attendance for IBW 2025?
The conference is expected to attract 5,000+ attendees from over 40 countries, significantly higher than last year’s 3,500 participants .
What are some key highlights or unique events at IBW 2025?
Key highlights include the IBW Demo Day (offering $250,000 in investment rewards for Indian Web3 startups), the release of the India Web3 Landscape Report, and presentations from 100+ speakers across various blockchain sectors .
How significant is India’s Web3 developer ecosystem?
India has the world’s second-largest Web3 developer base with a 28% year-on-year increase in developers, adding 4.7 million contributors on GitHub in 2024 alone .
What is the investment trend in Indian Web3 startups?
Indian Web3 startups secured $564 million in funding in 2024, a 109% increase from 2023, with particular strength in DeFi, real-world assets (RWAs), and staking solutions .
Who are some notable speakers at India Blockchain Week 2025?
Confirmed speakers include Sreeram Kannan (Eigen Labs), Avery Ching (Aptos Labs), Sandeep Nailwal (Polygon), Sébastien Borget (The Sandbox), and Mark Rydon (Aethir), among others .
What is the broader economic impact of Web3 in India?
India’s Web3 industry is projected to add $1 trillion to GDP by 2030, building on an IT and IT-enabled services sector that already contributes $250 billion annually .
