India tops global crypto adoption for third straight year, TRM Labs report shows

A new report from TRM Labs, released on Wednesday, revealed that global cryptocurrency adoption surged in 2025. India led as the fastest-growing region, followed by the U.S., which is the world’s largest crypto market by transaction volume.

TRM Labs revealed in its 2025 Crypto Adoption and Stablecoin Usage Report that South Asian countries, such as India and Pakistan, saw an 80% surge in crypto adoption between January and July 2025, compared to the same period last year. The region recorded approximately $300 billion in transaction volume for the period.

India leads crypto adoption for the third consecutive year

According to TRM Labs’ Country Crypto Adoption Index 2025, India has ranked as the top country in terms of crypto adoption for the third consecutive year. The U.S. comes second, followed by Pakistan, the Philippines, and Brazil.

The blockchain intelligence firm argued that India’s increased adoption of cryptocurrencies is fueled by its large, young population’s rising interest in crypto. TRM said crypto interest is also growing among institutional and high-net-worth investors, which reinforces the country’s acceleration of crypto adoption.

India ranked as the top country in crypto adoption despite a crypto ban in Bangladesh. Although the country’s central bank, the Bangladesh Bank, has issued warnings about the use of crypto, adoption continues through underground channels.

TRM Labs also found that the U.S. market experienced a 50% increase in crypto transaction volume over the first seven months of the year, surpassing $1 trillion. The data platform attributed the surge to recent regulatory developments in the U.S., including the establishment of the GENIUS Act, the White House’s 180-Day Digital Assets Report, and the CLARITY Act. The firm believes that such legislations create clearer guardrails for crypto adoption, capital flows, and market structure.

TRM Labs cited a report by MarketWatch that revealed regulated products, such as spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), attracted approximately $15 billion in net inflows during the first half of 2025. The firm said other political and structural factors accelerated the growth of crypto transactions this year. TRM Labs noted that U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign was the first from a major U.S. party to accept donations in digital assets.

According to the report, Trump’s election also led to a spike in crypto activity, with a 30% increase in U.S. web traffic to VASPs in the six months following the November 2024 elections compared to the preceding period.

Stablecoin market fuels crypto adoption in 2025

The firm also acknowledged that stablecoins played a significant role in crypto adoption, accounting for approximately 30% of the entire cryptocurrency transaction volume. Stablecoin transactions have risen this year, up about 83% year-over-year in August to a record $4 trillion. Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC accounted for around 93% of the total stablecoin market capitalization.

Source: TRM Labs. The distribution of market capitalization among the leading stablecoins.

TRM Labs also noted an increase in retail-led adoption, with retail transactions rising by more than 125% between January and September 2025 compared to the same period the previous year. The firm argued that the surge highlighted the growing role of individuals in driving cryptocurrency adoption, especially in areas such as payments, remittances, and value preservation during economic volatility.

The blockchain intelligence company added that adoption accelerated in certain jurisdictions in response to regulatory clarity and institutional access. TRM also stated that adoption has expanded in other jurisdictions, despite formal restrictions or outright bans. According to the report, the contrasting dynamics suggest that cryptocurrency is moving further into the financial mainstream, indicating a shift in the rise of stablecoins.

a16z Crypto also released its State of Crypto report on Wednesday, which revealed that the crypto industry has matured in 2025. The report highlighted that traditional financial incumbents, such as Visa, BlackRock, Fidelity, JPMorgan Chase, and tech firms like PayPal, Stripe, and Robinhood, started offering crypto products.

The report also revealed that blockchains now process over 3,400 transactions per second, representing a 100x growth in the last five years. a16z added that stablecoins power $46 trillion in annual transactions, while over $175 billion sits in Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs.

Claim your free seat in an exclusive crypto trading community - limited to 1,000 members.