ETMarkets Smart Talk: Regulatory framework will reduce the uncertainty from the crypto market: Sumit Ghosh, Chingari

Crypto markets have remained volatile in the year 2022 due to a number of factors and new flows. What is your take on that and how do you see it? What are your key takeaways?

This year has been challenging for crypto markets with spillover effects of ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Fed’s interest rate hikes and overall bearish sentiment impacting cryptocurrencies. Not to forget about the FTX collapse and Terra-Luna crash. It remains to be seen whether the crypto winter will continue or it will recover.

However, with more investors adding cryptocurrencies to their portfolios and buying tokens to support on-chain transactions, the overall demand for cryptocurrencies appears to be increasing.

Besides this, the broader the crypto adoption is expected to rise with many institutions now accepting crypto payments. Year 2022 also saw NFTs being discussed widely considering their possible integration in sports, entertainment and arts. Overall, the crypto sector will continue to mature at an increasing rate.

Monetizing platforms like Chinagri also faced some heat during this year. What do you think went wrong for such platforms and what are your key learning?

The year has been good for us despite one hiccup of price correction which again was due to market factors, beyond our control. Despite the black swan event our GARI wallet holders have increased significantly with the number crossing 1.7 million in just 10 months of its integration into Chingari app.

This shows the community’s faith in our project. We are focussing on building great products to our users. Be it Creator Cuts, our video NFT marketplace, GARI Mining or daily subscription plans, all help our users to monetize their content. The platforms which faced heat are still in the web2 space whereas we have shifted to web3.

In future only platforms that give back to the community by helping them monetize their content will thrive, rest will struggle to sustain.

What are your plans for the year 2023? Is there any feature or programme to be launched anytime soon? How do you plan to stay ahead of competition in the coming year?

We are planning to launch Chingari focusing on South-East Asia, Latin America and Africa considering Africa has potential to be an attractive market for us.

We are working on GARI quests which will be released soon. Through GARI quests advertisers will be able to advertise their business to the wide Chingari web3 user base with web3 native ads. We recently released our new feature ‘Staking’ which will give an opportunity for GARI holders to stake their GARI tokens and earn APY up to 10 per cent.

This will add one more utility to Chingari’s native crypto token. Besides, Gamification and release of native wallets are on our roadmap for the coming year. These multiple offerings will give us an edge in the fiercely competitive vertical.


Amid the layoff buzz in the year 2022, what are your plans regarding the headcount for the next calendar? Are you planning to hire any new talent? If yes, then in which departments?

With plans of venturing into new regions, Chingari will hire local human resources for such markets. Technical, content, and creative departments will be expanded. As the company continues to grow, we plan to hire 400-500 people across overseas offices, more than doubling the current strength of around 250.

Venture funds and private equity players have lost interest in the crypto space but Web3.0 and metaverse continue to hog some limelight. Do you think 2023 will be better in terms of funds getting into crypto space once again or is there more time?

The year 2023 may potentially see a larger uptake of Web3, as more organizations come to understand its numerous advantages over conventional systems, including better security and transparency, reduced prices, quicker transactions, and more effective storage.

There is still existing capital interest from VCs and private equity players for web3 projects. The projects with best product market fit (PMF) and businesses that create value rather than empty hypes and promises will continue to attract funds.

GARI, like other majority of the crypto tokens, did not have a good year amid the regulatory buzz. What are your expectations from the government on the regulatory front? Do you think 2023 will be a milestone for the crypto regulations?

In the last budget, the government proposed tax on gains made on virtual digital assets at 30 per cent and 1 per cent TDS on transfer of cryptos. In the upcoming Union budget, we can expect the introduction of a regulatory framework that helps reduce the uncertainty associated with crypto markets. It is believed that 2023 will offer more clarity on the regulatory front, addressing the concerns of the crypto industry.

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