India is one of the leading countries in terms of cryptocurrency adoption, but non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are yet to gain recognition in the country.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Totality Corp Founder and CEO Anshul Rustaggi revealed that India remains an untapped market for NFTs.
According to the CEO, social and cultural barriers, as well as anti-crypto regulations, are some of the reasons NFTs are yet to gain massive adoption in India.
Rustaggi explained that crypto and NFTs are viewed as speculative investments in India, and the concept doesn’t sit with many Indians, as some of them view them in a similar stance to gambling. He said;
“India has a very love and hate relationship with speculation. So all of Asia, including India, loves speculation. But morally, we like to always say bad things about it.”
He added that the time he spent in London as a hedge fund manager was seen by his own mother at the time as “basically gambling with other people’s money.” He added that;
“With NFTs, the only way to earn money was speculation […] We haven’t yet as a society accepted digital goods.”
Rustaggi further explained that holding certain things is seen as a symbol of status and wealth. For instance, holding the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection is viewed as a symbol of status in India due to the large number of celebrities that hold the NFTs. He added that;
“In India, social status matters massively, the largest expense we have in India is marriage. On average, 34% of your life’s expenses are for the marriage of your children. And the thing is that it’s such a social event, you want to showcase your best to the world. So social status is important. So I think that time for NFTs to become a great signaling will come in India. I don’t think it has come yet, but it will come.”
Last year, Totality Corp launched its first Lakshmi NFT. This NFT collection was inspired by the goddess of wealth and fortune. The CEO said the Lakshmi NFT was the largest NFT drop in India, generating over $561,000 from a collection of 5,555 NFTs.