Regional Evaluation: India Local Node (India Unlocked)

Global Community Regional Evaluations
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Proposal Title: India Local Node

Proposal Type: Local Node - Community & Growth

Authors: India Unlocked

Category: Community & Growth

Summary

This proposal seeks to establish India as a strategic region for Scroll’s Local Node initiative by highlighting its dynamic Web3 ecosystem, vibrant builder community, and fast-growing interest in blockchain innovation. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion and a tech-savvy youth demographic, India offers a fertile ground for localized ecosystem growth, founder support, and governance participation under the Scroll DAO umbrella.

According to Chainalysis’ 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index, India ranks #1 globally in crypto adoption, signaling both broad-based interest and significant untapped potential for Scroll to activate.

Our goal is to build an active, engaged, and inclusive community for Scroll in India, driving long-term participation through impactful content and events. We aim to establish a strong foundation for Scroll’s presence in India, ensuring sustainable growth. By leveraging India’s vast user and developer base, we plan to contribute positively to the expansion of Scroll’s ecosystem in India.

Motivation

We’re submitting this proposal to officially kick off the India Local Node, a long-term effort to connect Scroll with India’s growing Web3 builder community. This proposal is the first step in a long-term roadmap to build real regional depth for Scroll in India, driven by community, guided by Scroll’s values, and focused on sustainable impact.

Mission & Vision

Our mission is to serve as a launchpad for long-term regional Scroll contributors, designed to last far beyond this proposal. The vision is to create a local Scroll ecosystem that enables:

  • To build an active, inclusive, and educated community for Scroll in India
  • Onboard new developers into Scroll via education and workshops
  • Help founders ideate and launch Scroll-native projects
  • Build governance literacy to improve local DAO participation
  • To onboard users and drive adoption of Scroll

Our vision is to make Scroll the most recognized, adopted, and community-driven Ethereum scaling solution in India by fostering deep grassroots engagement, promoting regional inclusivity, and building a strong, sustainable pipeline of contributors and builders from across the country.

Local Node Proposal Framework

This proposal follows the structure laid out by the Scroll DAO’s Local Nodes Framework.

1. Web3 Adoption:

India has consistently ranked at the top of global crypto adoption indexes. According to Chainalysis, India secured the #1 position in both the 2023 and 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Indexes, reflecting widespread usage across diverse user segments.
In the first nine months of 2024, Indian Web3 startups attracted $462 million in investments, marking an 82% increase from the previous year. Cumulatively, since 2020, the sector has secured over $3 billion in funding.

2. Regulatory Landscape:

India’s regulatory stance on blockchain technology is still evolving. While there are no outright bans on blockchain or decentralized technologies, the environment is complex, especially when it comes to cryptocurrencies.

:white_check_mark: Blockchain is Welcomed (Without Crypto)

The Indian government has shown strong interest in exploring blockchain for public sector use cases like land records, logistics, supply chain, and digital identity, to name a few. The general sentiment is that the tech itself is promising and here to stay.

:warning: Crypto = Grey Zone

When it comes to crypto (which is closely tied to most blockchain activity), things are more confusing. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has historically been cautious, even issuing informal guidance to discourage banks from working with crypto businesses in the past. However, the Supreme Court struck down the RBI’s 2018 banking ban in 2020.

Currently:

  • Crypto is not banned, but it’s not fully regulated either.
  • The government introduced a 30% flat tax on crypto income in 2022, along with 1% TDS on transactions, signaling that it sees crypto as a taxable asset class rather than illegal.
  • There is no formal regulatory framework or licensing system for crypto projects or exchanges yet.
  • Stablecoins and DeFi protocols operate in a legal grey area.

:crystal_ball: The Direction Ahead

The government has hinted at upcoming regulation, possibly influenced by global coordination (G20, IMF, FATF frameworks). For now, builders are operating cautiously, ensuring compliance wherever possible (KYC, tax reporting, etc.), and focusing more on tech innovation than token speculation.

3. Adoption Challenges:

The primary challenges to crypto adoption in India include:

  • Regulatory Uncertainty: The absence of a comprehensive legal framework creates confusion among investors and businesses. The cryptocurrency market in India is unregulated but not illegal, with a significant market size expected to grow from $2.6 billion in 2024 to $13.9 billion by 2033.
  • High Taxation: A 30% tax on crypto trading gains has deterred some investors.
  • Banking Restrictions: While the Supreme Court lifted the RBI’s ban on crypto transactions in 2020, banks remain cautious in dealing with crypto-related businesses.

4. Centralized Exchanges:

These exchanges either operate from India or are accessible to Indian users through global platforms with INR support:

  • India-Based / INR-Friendly CEXs
  1. ZebPay
  2. CoinDCX
  3. WazirX
  4. Coinswitch Kuber
  5. Bitbns
  6. Unocoin
  7. Mudrex
  8. Delta Exchange
  9. BitSave
  10. BuyUcoin
  11. Giottus

None of these currently support Scroll (SCR).

  • Global Exchanges Accessible from India (INR support via P2P or 3rd party)

These CEXs are not Indian companies but are widely used by Indian users:

  1. Binance
  2. Bitget
  3. Bitfinex
  4. Bybit
  5. OKX
  6. KuCoin
  7. BingX
  8. CoinW
  9. BitMart
  10. Nami Exchange

5. Local Ecosystem:

Top Web3 Projects from India

  • Polygon

    The most prominent Indian-origin L2 solution for Ethereum. Ecosystem includes zkEVM, PoS Chain, CDK, and AggLayer.

  • Shardeum

    An EVM-compatible L1 using dynamic state sharding. Co-founded by WazirX’s Nischal Shetty.

  • Avail

    Modular data availability layer spun out of Polygon. A key player in the modular blockchain stack.

  • Instadapp

    Smart DeFi middleware used to optimize strategies across lending protocols. One of the earliest Indian DeFi success stories.

  • Router Protocol

    Cross-chain bridge and messaging infrastructure, powering interoperability between EVM and non-EVM chains.

Are Any Indian Projects in the Scroll Ecosystem?

  1. AadhaarChain
  1. Kutumb X Scroll

  • A platform enabling social impact organizations to collaborate securely on-chain using Scroll’s zkEVM.

  • Built with Scroll zkEVM

    Winner of Scroll – Just Deploy! at Ethereum Scaling 2023

  • Showcase: ethglobal.com/showcase/kutumb-x-scroll

  1. Crowdfunding Dapp
  1. EcoTrack

6. Crypto-Friendly Businesses:

India is witnessing early but meaningful adoption of crypto payments among forward-thinking businesses, especially in tech-savvy urban centers like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Pune.

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1. Tech Startups & Service Providers

A growing number of Indian startups, particularly those offering freelance, software development, marketing, and design services now accept USDT, USDC, ETH, and BTC for international transactions. This is driven by:

  • The inefficiency and cost of international wire transfers.
  • A growing comfort with stablecoins among remote workers and startups.
  • The rise of platforms like BitPay and NOWPayments that integrate crypto processing into Indian Shopify and WooCommerce storefronts.

Source: NOWPayments

2. Cafés & Retail Shops

While not widespread, there are a handful of physical businesses accepting crypto payments:

  • Some cafés in Bangalore’s HSR Layout and Koramangala neighborhoods have run pilot programs to accept Bitcoin via POS apps like Purse.io or Paytomat.

Source: NDTV

Crypto payments in India are still niche, but there’s clear potential for scale, especially if:

  • Tax policies are clarified.
  • Platforms simplify compliance.
  • Scroll (or similar ecosystems) offer onboarding, incentives, or grants for local merchants.

If the Scroll DAO invests in regional activation, India’s rapidly digitizing small business sector could become a fertile proving ground for decentralized payment use cases.

7. Existing Communities:

In India, Web3 communities are everywhere, with Telegram groups, Discord servers, and DAOs spread across different regions. Since the country is so large, there are specific groups for every area. You have women-centric communities, local communities in both tier 1 and tier 2 cities, and special interest groups like those for DeFi and NFTs. There are also blockchain clubs in almost every 2 out of 5 universities, making sure that students are actively engaged in the Web3 ecosystem.

Here’s a few examples of such communities, but the list is much bigger:

Regional or City Based Communities

  1. Lucknow DAO - https://x.com/Lucknow_Dao
  2. Bhopal DAO - https://x.com/Bhopal_DAO
  3. Vidarbha DAO - https://x.com/vidarbhadao
  4. Hyderabad DAO - https://x.com/HyderabadDAO
  5. Odisha DAO - https://x.com/OdishaDao
  6. Web 3 Kerela - https://x.com/web3_kerala
  7. Web 3 Mumbai - https://x.com/weareWeb3Mumbai
    And many more

Other Communities

  1. Web 3 Gorkha - https://x.com/Web3gorkha

  2. Decentralised Guild - https://x.com/DecentralGuild

  3. Web3spell - https://x.com/Web3spell

  4. India Blockchain Week - https://x.com/IBWofficial

  5. Web3 Meetup India - https://x.com/Web3MeetIn

Women Centric Communities like

  1. GirlScript Foundation - https://x.com/Girlscript1

  2. Superwomen DAO - https://x.com/superwomendao

College/ University Blockchain Clubs

  1. BITS Pilani - https://x.com/BITSpBlockchain

  2. BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blocksoc-hyderabad/
    Blockchain Society BPHC (@blocksoc.bphc) • Instagram photos and videos
    https://x.com/blocksoc1

  3. IIT Delhi - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blockchain-society-iit-delhi/

  4. IIT Kharagpur - https://www.linkedin.com/company/blockchainkgp

  5. Mahindra University - https://www.linkedin.com/company/mu-blockchain-club

And many many more …

8. Leadership:

India Unlocked – A PYOR Initiative

To extend our impact beyond research, PYOR launched India Unlocked, a dedicated content and marketing arm focused on protocol adoption in India. India Unlocked helps protocols activate and grow their communities through high-quality multilingual content, grassroots campaigns, and local events. PYOR (Power Your Own Research), founded in 2022, is a blockchain research firm backed by leading investors such as Castle Island Ventures and Coinbase Ventures.

Proof of Work Document:

https://plucky-salsa-515.notion.site/India-Unlocked-184ecfd5c5cc8091b58aef6851bedd94

Over the past year, we’ve executed a range of high-impact events and content initiatives through various grants, gaining valuable on-ground experience and valuable community insights.

  • Educational and community Initiatives

    • Namaste Arbitrum
      Namaste Arbitrum is an India-wide university workshop series across 10 universities. We also created a 10-episode video series in 6 languages (English + Hindi, Telugu, Gujarati, Tamil, Bengali). This initiative reached over 450 participants and generated 250k social media impressions. We consistently produce content focused on Arbitrum, its products, ecosystem, and governance—on a monthly basis. Additionally, we hosted the Arbitrum Afterhours Mixer, centered on Arbitrum and its Ambassador Program. With over 450 registrations and 200+ attendees, the event featured 4 engaging speaker sessions.

    • Namaste Venus
      We launched the Namaste Venus campaign to simplify Venus and encourage adoption within the community. This included a 5-episode video series in Hindi and Kannada, along with 40 short clips and over 55 threads and infographics.

      As part of the Namaste Venus campaign, we hosted DeFi and Dine by Venus Protocol, which saw over 500 registrations and 100+ attendees. The event included speakers, panel discussions, and plenty of food, drinks, and merch. Attendees learned how to earn passive income through the Venus Protocol.

      **The team *(*Co Founders - PYOR)

      • Krishna Hegde

        • Krishna is a graduate of BITS Pilani and an MBA degree holder from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) by training.

        • Krishna’s experience spans over two decades, primarily as a banker. He was the Managing Director and Head of Asia Credit Research at Barclays Singapore.

        • He then joined Paytm (One of India’s largest fin-tech companies) as Senior Vice President - Business. At Paytm, he set up the lending, wealth management, and Insurance business.

        • His foray into crypto happened in 2017 as a retail investor. In 2021, he joined CoinSwitch - India’s largest crypto exchange, to head a new business vertical.

        • At CoinSwitch, he built the first ever Crypto Rupee Index for India called CRE8, which tracked the Indian crypto market.

      • Sarmad Nazki

        • Sarmad is a trained CA (Chartered Accountant). Before jumping into the startup world, Sarmad spent over 8+ years at EY and KPMG in transaction advisory services after completing his CA.

        • He was the Head of finance at OLA (One of India’s largest ride-hailing company) and a founding employee of OLA Electric (EV two-wheeler manufacturer).

        • He then joined CoinSwitch - India’s largest crypto company, as the CFO and helped the company raise 260 million with participation from a16z, making it a16z’s first investment in India.

        • He also set up CoinSwitch Ventures - the VC arm of CoinSwitch aimed at investing in Indian founders working in blockchain technology.

      • Sharan Nair

        • Sharan has over a decade of experience in the crypto Industry. He profoundly understands the Indian crypto market from its market pulse and the regulatory aspect.

        • His crypto journey started when he landed a job with Unocoin - one of India’s first crypto companies, in 2014.

        • He played a crucial role in bringing awareness about crypto to the masses. After that, he joined CoinSwitch - India’s largest crypto exchange (20M + Users), as one of the first employees and held the role of Chief Business Officer.

        • At CoinSwitch, he was instrumental in building the interface between the regulators and the Indian crypto Industry.

        • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nairsharan/

        • Twitter: https://twitter.com/NairSharan

      • Yadhu Nandan Batchu

        • Yadunandan has been toying around with crypto for over a decade since he read the Bitcoin white paper.

        • His first formal gig in crypto was with Unocoin - one of India’s first crypto companies, where he built the proof of concept for implementing blockchain technology in the insurance industry.

        • Then he joined CoinSwitch, leading the Blockchain team and setting up the end-to-end blockchain node infrastructure.

9. Events & Hackathons:

:people_holding_hands: Major Web3 Events in India

:hammer_and_wrench: Major Hackathons in India

10. Proposed Initiatives

We will anchor the content through a – Namaste Scroll – account on X, YouTube, and Telegram. Through Namaste Scroll we will create educational content in 6 regional languages, run workshops in universities and collaborate with university blockchain clubs, city DAOs, for city and regional meetups focusing on Scroll.

Our plan is to create a solid base foundation that scroll can build and grow on.

Here’s our plan of action for the pilot phase:

1. Launch of Namaste Scroll

  • Objective: To establish a dedicated space for consistent content and community engagement through daily infographics, threads, short videos, and interactive content. This will include Scroll’s technology, ecosystem, governance.
  • Key Deliverables:
    • Regular educational content across multiple formats (text, video, infographics) for both technical and non-technical.
    • A monthly report summarizing the latest updates in Scroll’s ecosystem.
    • A monthly governance rundown, covering DAO updates, proposals, and forum discussions to keep the community engaged with Scroll’s DAO.
    • Interactive content such as quizzes, puzzles, and polls to maintain community participation.

Namaste Scroll will be hosted on Twitter and Telegram to foster continuous engagement.

2. Educational Series in 6 Regional Languages

  • Objective: To democratize knowledge by producing a 5-episode educational series on Scroll in the top 6 regional languages, covering both technical and non-technical aspects of the platform.
  • Based on India’s linguistic diversity, we will prioritize the most spoken languages to maximize reach and inclusivity (Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, English, Bengali, Gujarati).
  • Content will be curated From Ethereum basics to deep dives into Ethereum Scaling, Rollups, ZK-Rollups, and how Scroll works within this ecosystem.
  • By providing education in local languages, we aim to lower the barrier for understanding complex topics and make Scroll more accessible to everyone.

3. Collaboration with College Blockchain Clubs

  • To engage the next generation of blockchain enthusiasts by partnering with top colleges and their blockchain clubs.
  • Key Deliverables:
    • Hosting hands-on workshops in at least 5 colleges with active blockchain clubs, reaching 60+ participants per session.
    • Workshops will cover fundamental topics like Ethereum, scaling solutions, rollups, ZK rollups, and Scroll’s role in scaling Ethereum.
    • Practical sessions on wallet creation, decentralized governance, and Scroll DAO.
    • Interactive quizzes and community-driven learning to ensure participants understand key concepts.

4. Regional Meetups and City-Wide Events

  • To create physical touchpoints for engagement, networking, and knowledge-sharing through city-wide meetups across Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in India.
  • Key Deliverables:
    • Partnering with existing DAOs and crypto communities to amplify reach and onboard new members to the Namaste Scroll community.
    • Hosting at least 5 meetups in diverse locations (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune) to spread awareness about Scroll, its technology, and its community.
    • Focus on inclusivity by inviting students, developers, and blockchain enthusiasts to engage with Scroll in meaningful ways.
    • Governance-specific meetups to foster participation in Scroll DAO and drive contributions from the community.

5. Scroll Builder Mixers

  • To foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing among Scroll builders in an informal, interactive setting.
  • By focusing on small, concentrated groups and interactive, practical knowledge sharing, we aim to create a community that not only understands Scroll but also actively contributes to its growth. This approach will help us build an engaged community that is inclusive, participatory, and deeply rooted in India’s diverse regions.
  • With Namaste Scroll, we’ll ensure that the community feels connected to Scroll on a personal level and has the tools they need to participate, learn, and grow.

Through these initiatives, we intend to provide a strong foundation for Scroll’s long-term engagement and adoption in India, and drive meaningful contributions to the Scroll ecosystem from the ground up.

By the end of the 3-month pilot phase, we aim to have:

Content KPIs:

  • 300 pieces of content on Namaste Scroll across 3 platforms
  • 5 episodes of the educational series in 6 languages
  • 3 Monthly Reports ( 1 for each Month)
  • 3 Governance Rundown (1 for each month)

Event KPIs:

  • 300+ participants across 5 university workshops
  • 500+ attendees at 5 city meetups
  • 3 builder mixers across major cities
  • Strong community growth with 1,000 Telegram members and 500+ Twitter followers

These KPIs will help us measure the impact and effectiveness of our initiatives, ensuring a strong foundation for Scroll’s growth in India.

The pilot phase will lay the foundation for Scroll’s growth in India. By building an active community and gathering real insights from users and builders, we’ll identify strengths, needs, and opportunities. This will help us take a strategic, community-first approach to scale Scroll’s presence sustainably and meaningfully.

11. Support Needed:

To truly make the India Local Node a success, we’re looking at this not just as a partnership, but as a shared mission to grow Scroll’s presence in one of the most active and curious Web3 communities in the world. Here’s what we’d need:

  1. Grants or Budget Support

    From high-quality content production (videos, explainers, tutorials) to organizing in-person events and workshops, some financial backing would go a long way in ensuring everything we do is impactful and consistent. We want to do this well, not just for optics but for real value.

  2. Access to Internal Resources

    It would help massively if we had early access to Scroll updates, dev docs, bounties, and upcoming campaigns. This way, we can plan ahead, create relevant educational content, and keep our community looped in real-time.

  3. Amplification & Visibility

    We can drive a lot of energy from the ground up, but having Scroll retweet or highlight our initiatives (events, content, campaigns) on its official channels would boost our reach and add credibility. This visibility would also help us bring in more curious developers, contributors, and local partners.

  4. Speaker/Builder Support for IRL Events

    If someone from the Scroll team or even a Scroll builders from the global ecosystem can join us for in-person events, panels, or workshops, it would be incredibly powerful. People love hearing directly from protocol teams, and it makes everything more real and exciting for the audience.

12. Why India for Scroll:

This isn’t just about India, it’s about the long-term success of Scroll. Engaging meaningfully with strategic regions is essential for any global DAO, and India stands out as a critical hub for Web3.

India’s prominence in the global Web3 landscape is underscored by several key factors:

1. Leading in Crypto Adoption:

India has consistently ranked at the top of Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index, securing the #1 position in both 2023 and 2024.

Sources: Chainalysis report 2023, Chainalysis report 2024,

2. Expanding Developer Base:

India’s Web3 developer community is rapidly growing, with the country contributing 17% of all new Web3 developers globally in 2024. This surge positions India as the second-largest Web3 developer hub, with projections indicating it will become the largest by 2028.

Sources: Entrepreneur

3. Robust Startup Ecosystem:

The nation hosts over 1,200 active Web3 startups, reflecting an entrepreneurial environment. In 2024 alone, Indian Web3 startups attracted $564 million in investments, marking a 109% increase from the previous year and bringing total sector funding to over $3 billion.

Sources: Ainvest

4. Youthful Demographics and Digital Infrastructure:

With a median age of approximately 28 years, India boasts a young, tech-savvy population. Coupled with significant investments in digital infrastructure, this demographic is positioned to drive the next wave of Web3 adoption and innovation.

Sources: Hashed Emergent (India web3 landscape report 2024)

If you guys have any feedback or questions, Please do reachout to us:
Email - nandana.setty@pyor.xyz
TG - @nandanasetty