In a candid conversation, Edul Patel, Co-Founder and CEO of Mudrex, caught up with Hardik Katariya, Founder and CEO of The Crypto Times, to talk about where crypto is really headed, both in India and around the world.
No fluff, no jargon, just a straight-up breakdown of what’s working, what’s changing, and why digital assets might soon be impossible to ignore.
A New Era for Crypto: From Curiosity to Mass Adoption
For a long time, crypto in India felt like a niche obsession, something only early tech adopters or risk-takers played around with. But that’s changing. Slowly, it’s becoming a real option for people looking to build wealth, especially for those who’ve been locked out of traditional investments.
Patel noted that interest in crypto is growing not just among Gen Z, but also among Millennials and people in his and Katariya’s age group, who are now seriously considering participation.
The reason? Crypto offers accessibility. For many Indians priced out of traditional investments like real estate, crypto feels like a genuine opportunity to build long-term wealth.
Many individuals today lack the means to invest in real estate, but crypto offers a low-barrier entry point to start building wealth gradually. Patel called this optionality “amazing.”
And the shift isn’t just individual, it’s systemic. The approval of Bitcoin ETFs in December 2023 marked a turning point globally.
“I think it’s also true because the regulatory mindset has changed, right? Like, the ETF that came in, in December ’23, about a year and a half ago,” he noted.
That ETF wasn’t just a regulatory approval; it was a landmark moment signaling crypto’s entry into the financial mainstream.
From Crash to Credibility: The Global Crypto Cleanup
Patel didn’t shy away from reflecting on crypto’s turbulent past. The industry, especially during 2022–2023, went through what he termed the “dark ages.”
“We went through a couple of dark ages in the arc of crypto in ’22 and ’23, where there was basically an entire cleanup event that happened, right? Like, a lot of fraudulent players went away, a lot of companies defaulted, a lot of illegitimate practices got cleaned out,” he explained.
The result? A more transparent, safer, and credible ecosystem.
Since the approval of ETFs, investor confidence has soared. Bitcoin ETFs alone have seen $46 billion in inflows, growing to a $75 billion market.
“Just to give you guys some sense, till date, 46 billion has flowed into Bitcoin ETFs, cumulative combined. That 46 billion has grown to 75 billion,” Patel noted.
Edul Patel asked about Bitcoin’s price Prediction, “I think that from a macro perspective, we are actually set up to see a bitcoin peak of near $150,000, of course, it’s not that doesn’t mean that it’ll just hit there. There is a range, but I also see very strong support around the 95,000 mark.”
He added:
“I think it’ll be rangebound between this $90,000 to $140,000- $150,00 range peak being around $140k-$150k later on in this year.”
Bitcoin’s volatility has been easing, driven by steady institutional participation.
Stablecoins: The Quiet Force Behind Financial Innovation
While Bitcoin grabs the spotlight, stablecoins are quietly reshaping global finance. Patel emphasized their transformational power:
“It’s also led to stable coins moving away from crypto, saying that stable coins is payments, and the entire financial world will change with stable coins, and cross-border remittance becomes very cheap, very effective.”
Use cases like near-instant, low-fee remittances are already active across countries, and India, being the largest remittance-receiving country in the world, has a lot to gain.
“To give you some sense, a trillion dollars’ worth of remittances happens world over. 130 billion, 13% of all remittances globally, come to India every year,” Patel pointed out.
Traditional channels eat up billions in fees. But stablecoins can change that.
“People over there are, instead of paying 3 to 5% for sending money, are paying 30 to 50 basis points, like one-tenth. Money movement doesn’t take 3 to 5 days; it’s instant,” he explained.
Still, India’s tax rules, treating stablecoin transactions as crypto sales, remain a bottleneck.
Patel noted that interest in crypto is rising among not just Gen Z, but also Millennials and peers in his and Katariya’s age group.
India’s Crypto Timeline: Ban, Backlash, and Breakthrough
India’s crypto journey has been anything but smooth. Patel traced the dramatic arc, from the early days of no platforms to outright bans and now, towards structured regulation.
“It starts off with a lot of platforms, there being no platforms, then suddenly a bunch of platforms like Mudrex emerging in 2018, right? Then, in 2018, bans crypto. In 2020… saying that anyone who holds crypto should be jailed for 10 years,” he recounted.
Things turned in 2021 with the Supreme Court’s reversal of the RBI ban, followed by new tax frameworks in 2022 and regulatory engagement in 2023. By 2024, India was even leading G20 crypto policy dialogues.
“India has basically made a complete U-turn from extremely anti to it becoming more and more and more receptive,” said Patel.
And more clarity may soon arrive.
“We expect a discussion paper to come out in the next few months… and I think the future for crypto is fairly bright right now,” he added.
Moving the Narrative Beyond Tax
Katariya raised a key question about crypto taxation ahead of Budget 2025:
“So… do you think that there would be any change on 30% crypto tax or 1% TDS that we are… have to bear right now?”
Patel offered a different lens.
“So, I actually don’t think that there will be any, because I think, again, I think you’re talking about the absolute wrong set of problems. TDS, tax, all of these are very transactional things in the global scheme of things.”
For him, the focus should be on use cases and innovation, not just tax codes.
“As an industry, we should be talking about the right problems, how crypto can actually help India elevate,” he emphasized.
The Role of Banks and Institutional Support
Katariya proposed a powerful idea: what if banks began offering crypto products?
“Do you think the banks are going to be involved in crypto?… HDFC multicap crypto fund, just an example.”
Patel agreed it’s not just possible, it’s likely. “I think over the next couple of years or so, we will see increased regulatory activity in India.”
Such moves could bring massive volumes into the sector. “It would be in lakhs and lakhs of crores rupees into the crypto,” Hardik noted.
Still, trust remains a hurdle, especially after episodes like the WazirX hack. “People are not trusting the exchanges,” Hardik pointed out.
Patel acknowledged this but emphasized stronger frameworks and education.
India’s $5 Trillion Dream, Fueled by Crypto?
Patel’s final message was clear and hopeful: crypto isn’t just a financial product, it’s a national opportunity.
Patel emphasized the need to shift the focus from investor protection to economic growth, highlighting how crypto can support India’s journey toward becoming a, $5 trillion economy.
And to do that, India must embrace crypto for what it is, a new category that blurs lines between asset, currency, and infrastructure.
“Crypto is not an asset, not a currency, not a security, not a commodity, yet somehow it’s all of these things together.”
As Patel concluded: “There are direct, clear pathways in which that can happen, in my opinion.”
India’s crypto journey is at a tipping point. Leaders like Edul Patel are pushing the conversation forward, from taxation to transformation. With regulators warming up, institutions preparing to enter, and users looking beyond hype, the foundation is being laid for something big. The question now is not if India will embrace crypto, but how boldly it will lead the charge.
Also Read: India’s Crypto Dilemma: Can growing Institutional Adoption Enable Regulatory Clarity?
