recent analysis
from market research firm Finder, the top five nations in terms of bitcoin ownership are all located in Asia. Most of them were considered unimportant in the cryptocurrency industry; however, a recent study contradicts the same.
The Asian country with the highest percentage of cryptocurrency ownership was Vietnam, at 40 per cent, followed by Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, respectively. 30 per cent of individuals polled in Indonesia and India stated that they held cryptocurrency.
According to media reports, India also ranked #2 in a poll of nations that use cryptocurrency the most, with 9% of the respondents claiming they used crypto. Meanwhile, the United States and the United Kingdom had the lowest proportion of cryptocurrency owners, with 8 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively.
After the Supreme court ruled out the RBI ban on crypto transactions, there has been a massive increase in retail investors.
CoinSwitch Kuber
, the largest cryptocurrency platform in India, has onboarded nearly 8 Million users since June 2020.
ET Spotlight SpecialYounger people lead the charge
One trend that has been consistent around the globe is that younger people are leading the charge when it comes to cryptocurrency adoption. Young people between the ages of 18 and 34 make for more than 40% of users throughout the world, according to
Finders.
One of the main reasons behind this is the growth of crypto-based companies such as CoinSwitch Kuber, making crypto investing easy and accessible to individuals.
The user base also consisted primarily of those aged 35 to 44, with 17 per cent belonging to those in their 45 to 54-year-old. Also, in nations such as Colombia and Netherlands, crypto adoption is seen majorly among the elderly ie, those above the age of 65.
Smaller towns in India push adoption:
Smaller towns in India have been at the forefront of cryptocurrency acceptance in recent years. The increase in user subscriptions from Tier II and Tier III locations on the CoinSwitch Kuber app have grown by over 2000%.
Studies show that the adoption of the crypto market has grown by over 880% between June 2020 – June 2021 worldwide and the number of crypto users in India has crossed over 15 million during this time.
Recently, there has been a flurry of activity in India’s cryptocurrency space, with the government working towards acting on laws and investors pouring money into crypto companies. Recently, CoinSwitch Kuber raised $25 million in their Series B round from a VC giant named Tiger Global at a $500 million valuation.
ET Spotlight SpecialThe future of crypto in India
According to a poll conducted by global consultancy company PwC, India can be among the leaders in the adoption of the overlying blockchain technology that crypto is based on, over the next five years, if an appropriate degree of business and government engagement is achieved.
Sharan Nair, the CBO of
CoinSwitch Kuber
, stated that “The cryptocurrency industry is steaming hot. 2021 has seen an accelerated interest in the crypto space as companies look to gain exposure to the market. Several sectors floundered in FY21, given the challenges of doing business in a pandemic environment. Fintech, for the most part, was not one of them.”
Around 15 million Indians are believed to have made investments in private cryptocurrency holdings. Cryptocurrency investments in the nation increased from $923 million in April 2020 to almost $6.6 billion by May 2021, a growth of about 400% in only one year.
Following the announcement of a carefully calibrated position on cryptocurrency and digital money earlier in May, the Finance Ministry stated that the world is evolving quickly with technological advances. The possibility of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies becoming recognised as an asset class in India has also been floated recently.
On the other hand, the central government has stated that Bitcoin or crypto would not be accepted as legal tender shortly.
But there is some good news for the crypto community: the government has stated that it would “investigate the application of crypto’s blockchain technology actively to usher in the digital economy.” Instead of outright outlawing cryptocurrencies, the Indian government may impose stringent rules and regulations in their place.
For now, the response to crypto in India has been overwhelmingly positive. It is clear that cryptocurrency does have a market in the country, and it is growing exponentially.
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