100 million people in India to start investing in crypto in next 2 to 3 years, says India’s largest crypto exchange

100 million people in India to start investing in crypto in next 2 to 3 years, says India’s largest crypto exchange
FILE PHOTO: Representations of virtual cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration taken November 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

The backstory:

  • In 2021, it was believed that 20 million people in India had gotten into cryptocurrency, with the country’s residents holding crypto assets worth US$5.3 billion. According to Chainalysis, an industry research firm, the local market surged 641% in the year through June 2021.
  • So even though there is a fair bit of regulatory ambiguity over crypto in the market, it hasn’t deterred many from jumping on the crypto bandwagon.
  • But then, on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the nation plans to tax the income from the transfer of virtual assets at 30%.
  • While this tax is hefty, the regulatory move legitimized the industry.

The development:

  • According to Nischal Shetty, co-founder of India’s largest crypto exchange WazirX (owned by Binance), the company has seen daily sign-ups increase 30% since February 1.
  • Another exchange, CoinSwitch, said that the daily increase was 35%, according to founder Ashish Singhal.
  • While neither revealed how many customers had been added to the exchange since the tax rate was implemented, WazirX’s Shetty said he expects 100 million people in the country to start investing in crypto in the next two to three years.
  • Shetty also added that more companies are investing in crypto and that the average new customer puts about 30,000 rupees to 40,000 rupees, which is about US$400 to US$533, in their trading account.

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