The sentiments and trading patterns of crypto investors in India have the potential to rock the global market, as the country’s last brush with crypto ban rumors showed the world. With FUD still brewing in the distance and the rise of inflation, crypto exchange WazirX’s report reveals valuable insights about Indians and their crypto assets.
Waz up with WazirX?
In the newly released “Highlights and Observations of 2021,” report, one of India’s most well-known crypto exchanges noted that it saw more than 10 million users, and over $43 billion in trading volume, as of 30 November.
Adding to that, WazirX shared that 82% of users had seen growth in their crypto portfolio. However, this applied to the interval up to 30 November. It’s worth noting that the 4 December crash would have drastically changed many users’ portfolios.
WazirX 2021:
82% of our users earned profit
$43B+ trading volume
51% entered crypto due to friends & family
1009% increase in female signups
66% users below 35
44% users invested 10% portfolio in crypto
Women bought #BTC while men bought #SHIB https://t.co/ydYS5Hpx2W
— Nischal (WazirX) ⚡️ (@NischalShetty) December 16, 2021
While Bitcoin was the most traded crypto on the exchange this year, top-ranking alts included Tether [USDT], Shiba Inu [SHIB], Dogecoin [DOGE], WazirX Token [WRX], and Matic [MATIC].
Noting that Bitcoin’s share of the exchange’s overall trading volume had dropped, the report suggested,
“It appears that more people and institutions are realizing that there’s more to crypto than just Bitcoin. This will pave the way for innovation in applications of popular altcoins like Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, and even layer 2 solutions.”
Coming to user behavior, the report calculated that there had been a 1009% surge in sign-ups by women. However, sign-ups by men jumped up 829%. Interestingly, while men mostly traded Shiba Inu [SHIB], women seemed to prefer Bitcoin.
On a more serious note, however, the report observed how the majority of WazirX users were below 35 years of age. Research also showed that India’s smaller cities saw more than a 700% surge in sign-ups. WazirX stated,
“It shows growing crypto adoption in the semi-urban and rural India.”
Taking in these findings, a crypto regulation bill sounds like the next logical step. So, what’s happening on the legal front?
A surprising ‘India’-cator
While Indian crypto investors were counting on seeing a crypto regulation bill this month, there’s a chance this might not be the case anymore. A local journalist tweeted that the hotly-anticipated bill might not see the light of day during the winter session of Parliament after all.
Changes expected in the #CryptoBill
The New Crypto Bill might not be tabled in this session of Parliament
— Sonal MehrotraKapoor (@Sonal_MK) December 15, 2021
However, investors pointed out that India’s Budget session is to take place early next year, and expressed hopes of seeing crypto on the Parliament agenda in a few more months.
