India

7.1% of Indians own cryptocurrency

How many cryptocurrencies owners in India?

It is estimated that 97.5 million people, 7.1% of India’s total population, currently own cryptocurrency.

State of cryptocurrencies in India

Despite the regulatory uncertainty and confusion regarding policies affecting cryptocurrencies, India’s cryptocurrencies adoption rate has continued to grow rapidly.

According to the Chainalysis 2021 Global Cryptocurrencies Adoption Index, India ranks second in overall index rating, behind Vietnam. This comes amidst suggestions that Cryptocurrencies is illegal in the country. In February, Sitharaman noted that the government wishes to impose a 30% tax on any income from trading cryptocurrencies and a further 1% tax on all cryptocurrencies transactions.

The RBI had in 2018 sought to ban Cryptocurrencies, but a ruling from the Supreme Court destabilized the apex bank’s plans; this leaves cryptocurrencies well within the grey area – neither legal nor illegal. India-based cryptocurrencies enthusiasts are looking to see what will become of these recent plans. India, like other countries, has also shown interest in issuing a CBDC with an underlying Rupee value.

Indian cryptocurrencies ownership demographics

As of 2021, it is estimated that 59% of the cryptocurrencies users in India are male. However, the amount of female users has increased by 300% from 2020 to 2021, signaling strong growth in interest and acceptance of cryptocurrencies among the female users.

According to WazirX, one of the largest cryptocurrencies exchanges in India, 66% of WazirX’s users are under 35 years of age, and they saw an increase of over 1000% in female users signing up to use their platform in 2021.

Cryptocurrencies's rising popularity in India

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