Cryptocurrency craze has grown at a furious rate in India after the Supreme Court lifted the ban on digital currencies. The high rate of returns is luring many investors towards investment in crypto coins, despite it being highly volatile and risky.
According to crypto research and intelligence business CRE BACO, Indian crypto investments have increased to over $10 billion from $0.9 billion in April'20,as the crypto market touched all-time highs.
The total number of crypto owners in India now stands at 10.07 crore, which puts it ahead of every other country in the world. US stands at second positions with number of crypto owners at 2.7 crore, followed by Russia (1.7 crore) and Nigeria (1.3 crore).
A leading cryptocurrency payments company, global crypto ownership rate currently stand at 3.9%, with over 30 crore currency payments.
Even in India, Crypto currencies has gained prominence ever since the RBI ban was lifted in March 2020. India now has 15 home-grown cryptocurrency exchange platforms, consisting of more than 10 crore investors.
In comparison, the number of stock investors registered with the BSE in India has risen to 7.4 crore at present, while for MF it stands at 11.4 crore.
In terms of share of crypto investors as a percentage of population, India stands at 5th position at 7.3% vs Ukraine (12.7%), Russia (11.9%), Kenya(8.5%), and US(8.3%).
When it comes to exchanges, Coin Switch Cuber are two popular crypto exchanges in India with 11 million and 8.3 million users respectively, surpassing even India's largest stockbroker which has 7 million clients.
There are reports that the government is considering a proposal to treat cryptocurrencies a financial asset while safeguarding small investors, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Earlier Nov-21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired a high-level meeting on cryptocurrencies with officials from the RBI, Finance ministry, and Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEB I).
The discussion come as authorities race to finalize a bill Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government wants to present to parliament in the session starting Nov.29. The legislation may stipulate a minimum amount for investments in digital currencies, while banning their use as legal tender, the people said, asking not to be identified as no final decision has been taken.
The central government may not go for a blanket ban on cryptocurrency in India. To regulate cryptocurrency trading in the country, the central government is all set to bring a new bill during the upcoming winter session in the Parliament. The Center had earlier formed the panel to study the issues related to digital currencies and propose specific actions regarding the crypto coins.
However, industry experts believed that there will be not be a 'blanket ban' on cryptocurrency in India. "The market cap of bitcoin is more than $1 trillion. Over the years, it has transformed from being a speculative instrument to a store of value. All other cryptocurrencies are compared with bitcoin for reference. The government had earlier stated that they were looking to categorize crypto based on us cases. Going by that analogy, it is most likely that bitcoin will be considered an asset class," said Elul Patel, CEO and co-founder of Mudder, A global crypto investing platform.
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