Indians Investing in Crypto by the Droves

Cryptocurrency space in India has been experiencing a revolution for the last couple of years. Despite the vagueness in regulations and extreme volatility millions of us Indians prefer to invest in cryptocurrency instead of gold. Am among the 15 million-plus Indians who have invested in cryptocurrency.   

Recently ChinaAnalysis stated that in our country, India, cryptocurrency investments grew from around 923 million USD in April 2020 to over 6.6 billion USD in May 2021. It represents an over 600% rise in the number of cryptocurrency users. The same country where its occupants own more than 25,000 tonnes of gold. 

CoinSwitch Kuber, the largest cryptocurrency platform in India, has boarded nearly 6 million active users since its commencement in June 2020. The massive gush in the growth of cryptocurrency happens to be the set in the spectacle of ambiguity. The Indian government is beginning to realize that the technology could be way more outstanding than the economics of the currency itself. Even if the future of cryptocurrency is still unknown. 

In early 2018 cryptocurrency started booming in India. However, the Indian government dimmed it by introducing a ban on banks preventing them from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions. The government was worried that the anonymity of cryptocurrency would give way to fraud, money laundering, and other underground activities. Nonetheless, the supreme court revoked the ban saying that there were no grounds for placing such a ban on cryptocurrency. 

The revoke of the ban rejuvenated cryptocurrency spark among Indians. As soon as the prohibition against  the Reserve Bank of India was lifted, Indian investors made haste to make the most of their lost time. Ever since the volume of traders and trading have been rising month to month. 

Cryptocurrency booming in India

I decided to invest in cryptocurrency as the ambiguity and resentment against cryptocurrency wore off in India. I invested in Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency as it quickly started becoming a favorite for us Indians. Not long ago before investing in cryptocurrency, we were all known for being ardent investors of gold.  

We Indians are now catching up with the over 23 million cryptocurrency users in the United States and are over and beyond the 2.3 million crypto users in the United Kingdom. Cryptocurrency experts stated that cryptocurrency growth in India is ignited by us young people between the age of 18 and 35. Most of us are first-time investors. 

Most international companies are employing young backend engineers since most contractors accept payment in cryptocurrencies. It makes the whole international transaction process way much easier and less time-consuming. 

Another evolution in the cryptocurrency world in India is that the women and the elderly in India are also entering this highly volatile market. Ashish Singhal says that the elderly are becoming more and more technoid. He added to it saying that they do not see a big deal in allocating their savings to assets by swipes on their phones to diversify their investment bouquet. Ashish Singhal is the CEO and founder of the largest cryptocurrency platform in India, CoinSwitch Kuber. 

Ashish Singhal went ahead and also said that the interesting part of all this is that the elderly activity matches that of the young folks. CoinSwitch has noted a nearly 35% increase in investors who are over 45 years of age in the past couple of months. 

Data suggested that the count of women investors rose by over 1400% across all the exchanges in the last one year. As a result the cryptocurrency space in India incorporates over 15% female investors. It is noted that this positive uplift in women is not only in India but has also extended across the globe into more sturdy economies like the United States. 

Millennials turning into cryptocurrency in India

A  certain 33-year-old businessman in Punjab, Shanky Singla, had been torn between gold and cryptocurrency. He finally decided to go back to investing his savings in cryptocurrency this year after a very long break. The decision was as a result of covid-19. Shanky said that the value of money decreases with each passing day. In addition, he said that the growth of Bitcoin has increased exponentially.  

Denish Reddy planned his daughter’s wedding with fanfare to be held in May this year but he had to make a smaller gathering due to covid-19. The lockdown measures in the southern Indian city of Bangalore were massive. What he saved after downsizing the ceremony, the newlyweds received it in the form of Bitcoin.

Reddy and Shanky stories are just a part of the growing trend in India. Due to the pandemic, some working class members are also looking into investing their money in digital currency amidst the economic uncertainties.

The cryptocurrency rush is making young investors run away from traditional investments like gold and Real Estate. Gold crazy Indians were forced to look for alternative ways when several jewelry stores were closed down due to the pandemic lockdown. 

In the middle of restricted people’s mobility and crippled logistics, gold demand was so low due to the high price, postponed weddings, and cancelation of events like festive buying. Last year, India’s gold imports fell to the lowest despite our country being the world’s largest importer of gold. The yellow metal consumption is gradually resuming this year. 

I thought that investing in cryptocurrency is a private affair and has more financial freedom just like Tabbasum M Adur, the founder of a PR firm in Karnataka. She also stated that the entire process of investing, transacting, and dealing in cryptocurrency is way more coherent and smooth compared to other options available. 

The ban of cryptocurrency in India

The government of India plans to propose a new bill that will ban digital currency and impose fines on anyone trading or holding onto digital assets. The ban has raised many uncertainties around the cryptocurrency space in India. 

The ban will impact Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and all the other cryptocurrency investors. A senior government official said that the bill will criminalize possession, mining, trading, issuance, and transferring crypto assets.     

For the past few months, the government has been planning on taking action against cryptocurrency. Recent comments have been giving us the investors some hope. Nevertheless, if the new bill is to be imposed into law, it will be a point of concern to all the other investors. It will also make India be the first major economy to make holding cryptocurrency illegal. China has also imposed a ban on mining and trading but not on holding possession. 

Over 7 million of us Indians have invested more than 1 billion USD in cryptocurrency. It was stated that we, the investors, will be given a six months window period to liquidate the assets before a penalty is levied on them. We hope that we will be reimbursed before the law is imposed.  

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister has clarified that there will not be a complete ban on cryptocurrency. The Finance Minister was speaking on the India today conclave south recently. 

Verdict

With the covid-19 pandemic, our government should not impose such a harsh law on us investors. Cryptocurrency has been our only source of income for over a year now.

I feel we should have more time until gold consumption resumes completely.