August 14, 2025
By Anjali Kochhar
In an exclusive conversation with Anjali Kochhar, Correspondent, Block Wind News, the WazirX co-founder shares his vision for India’s role in shaping decentralized technologies, regulatory clarity, and the next wave of crypto adoption.
What first drew you to blockchain technology, and how did your career path lead you from WazirX to founding Shardeum?
I was drawn to blockchain because it creates a permissionless network — one where access isn’t granted or revoked at the whim of a centralized entity, but is available to anyone, anywhere, without gatekeepers. The internet we use today is essentially rented. When you build on the APIs of centralized products, they can cut off access at any time. We’ve seen this repeatedly, especially with social networks that initially opened their APIs for developers to build on, only to later restrict or remove key features.
With blockchain, that dynamic changes completely. It’s ownership-driven, not rented. No one can take away your access or change the rules overnight.
I became serious about blockchain in 2017. But in India at that time, the biggest challenge wasn’t building on blockchain — it was getting people onto it. The on-ramp to crypto was poor, so I decided to solve that first by creating WazirX, which made crypto accessible in India.
Now that the on-ramp problem is largely solved, my focus is on scalability. Mass adoption will only happen if fees remain low even when hundreds of millions are using the network. Current blockchains can’t handle that. Shardeum was created to solve exactly this — a linearly scalable blockchain that keeps fees predictable while staying true to decentralization.
What lessons from building WazirX have been most valuable in shaping Shardeum?
WazirX taught me the importance of resilience and transparency. In fast-moving industries like crypto, unforeseen events can happen, but how you respond defines your credibility. We learned to act quickly, communicate openly, and take decisive steps to protect users.
Another key takeaway was the need to design systems that can handle growth and unexpected stress from day one. With Shardeum, those lessons have shaped a culture of preparedness, constant improvement, and building infrastructure that can scale without compromising security.
How would you explain Shardeum’s vision to someone completely new to blockchain?
Shardeum’s vision is to make decentralization accessible to everyone. We’re focusing on PayFi, DeFi, and GameFi.
PayFi combines decentralized finance with payments and is especially important for micropayments, which can only work if fees are extremely low. Shardeum’s architecture is built to handle that.
In DeFi, popularity often leads to higher fees, making it harder for smaller players to participate. Another problem is MEV, where someone can pay a higher fee to push their transaction ahead of yours. Shardeum solves this with a fixed-fee model and first-in, first-out transaction order.
We’ve made Shardeum EVM-compatible so developers can use the tools they already know. Platforms with strong developer ecosystems dominate, while others struggle to gain traction. With Shardeum, developers get scale, low fees, and the world’s most mature smart contract ecosystem from day one.
Our goal is to empower the next wave of decentralized applications by making blockchain fast, fair, and accessible to all.
What makes Unstablenet different from other blockchain testnets?
Unstablenet is a smart contract-enabled testnet built to simulate real-world situations. Instead of running under controlled conditions, it tests Shardeum under unpredictable loads, constant updates, and network stress. Developers can deploy Solidity contracts using familiar Ethereum tools while experiencing how the network handles extreme pressure.
As demand rises, it automatically adds validator nodes; as demand drops, it scales back — all while maintaining predictable, ultra-low fees.
How do you see India’s developer community contributing to global blockchain innovation?
India’s developers excel at building cost-efficient, scalable solutions — qualities critical for blockchain adoption. With one of the world’s largest tech talent pools and a fast-growing Web3 community, India can lead in creating globally impactful protocols and applications. Shardeum’s low-cost, scalable infrastructure enables Indian developers to build for billions.
What is Shardeum doing to make blockchain development more accessible in India?
We’re lowering barriers through education, tools, and costs. Our hackathons, workshops, and university partnerships reach talent across India. EVM compatibility ensures developers can deploy instantly without rewriting code. Predictable low fees make experimentation affordable.
What were the biggest takeaways from scaling WazirX in a fast-changing regulatory environment?
Leadership in this space demands the ability to stay calm, decisive, and forward-looking. At WazirX, we had to navigate a fast-changing regulatory landscape and high-pressure situations where user trust was on the line.
Those experiences reinforced that adaptability is non-negotiable. They also taught me the value of proactive engagement with regulators, building systems that can withstand stress, and constantly educating stakeholders. These principles are now embedded in how we’re building Shardeum.
How do you see India’s regulatory stance on crypto evolving?
India has taken a cautious stance so far due to concerns around investor protection, taxation, and potential misuse. Over time, I believe the conversation will shift from if crypto should be regulated to how it should be regulated in a way that fosters innovation while addressing risks.
I hope we’ll see balanced policies that separate speculative activity from genuine blockchain innovation, allowing Indian developers and entrepreneurs to compete globally.
Where do you see Shardeum in five years?
In five years, I see Shardeum having solved the scalability challenge for smart contracts, unlocking the potential for mass adoption of decentralized applications. I expect Shardeum to be one of the largest financial networks powering PayFi, DeFi, GameFi, and new categories we can’t yet imagine.
Eventually, I believe the world will see decentralized consumer apps with 100M+ users, and Shardeum will be the platform they choose because it combines scalability, fairness, and developer accessibility like no other blockchain.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency and blockchain stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over four years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.
