Indians More Familiar with Metaverse Compared to Web3, NFTs: Report

Indians are gradually warming up to the idea of blockchain-based elements, with metaverse winning most hearts. A latest report by YouGov, commissioned by Consensys, has claimed that out of over a thousand surveyed participants from India, 53 percent are familiar to metaverse. A fully functional virtual universe, the metaverse makes for a digital ecosystem where humans and imaginary characters can co-exist as avatars. The concept caught up with the world mainly after Facebook rebranded itself to ‘Meta' in 2021, placing huge bets on the future of the metaverse sector that could eventually simplify social interactions regardless of the geographical distance.

Over 1,000 people were surveyed from India, out of which 41 percent said they had some knowledge about Web3, while 42 percent said they were aware about what NFTs are.

Interestingly, 37 percent participants from India also said that they see cryptocurrencies as the future of money.

The report essentially says that the Indian market is set to undergo a paradigm shift where Web3-aware Indians will go from being users to builders.

“A fifth of the population currently owns some cryptocurrency and a notable 57 percent of Indians respondents would consider investing in crypto in the next 12 months. Also, 57 percent of respondents believe crypto is an environmentally friendly technology. When asked about the main concepts associated with crypto, more than one-third of those familiar with the industry expressed beliefs in its potential as the future of digital ownership (31 percent),” the report said.

The north, central, eastern and northeastern states of India trigger 94 percent crypto tractions in the country, followed by the western (92 percent) and southern (89 percent) regions.

There are, however, major roadblocks that are obstructing a widespread adoption of blockchain elements in the country, the survey said.

“62 percent participants consider data privacy to be important, while 53 percent expressed the desire to have more control over their identity on the internet. The volatility of the market (48 percent) together with fear of scams (44 percent) emerged as the most significant barriers to entry, followed by complexity of the ecosystem (36 percent) and difficulties to understand its purpose.”

A total of 15,158 individuals, ranging within the age groups of 18 to 65 ‑- from 15 countries across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia -- participated in a first-of-its-kind survey commissioned by Consensys and conducted by YouGov, the international online research data and analytics technology group.

Meanwhile, among other crypto-friendly nations, Nigeria (65 percent) and Argentina (56 percent) show the highest motivation to own cryptocurrencies as a means to store value.

57 percent of Indian and Brazilian respondents along with 25 percent French respondents tend to think that crypto is an environmentally friendly technology.

Overall, the results of the survey show increasing mainstream desire for more control over online identity.

“Web3 helps to address these desires by shifting control of identity from third parties to the individual, and establishing new paradigms of value creation and community formation. People engaging with crypto and web3, whether developing software, staking crypto-assets, or creating or purchasing NFTs, are more than a ‘user' as typically defined, but directly contributing to and helping build their communities and the overall ecosystem," the report noted.