Investment through cryptocurrencies gathered steam across the globe in 2021 and India wasn’t one to be left out. According to Economic Times, around 20 million users jumped onto the cryptocurrency bandwagon last year and as things stand, these users hold assets worth $5.3 billion.
Bitcoin was the first and optimal choice for investors in 2021 and it comes as no surprise since it is the world’s first and most popular cryptocurrency. Ethereum emerged soon after and it was followed by alternative currencies like Solana, Polygon, and Terraluna.
Users experimenting with the variety of options in the crypto market resulted in exchange platforms such as Wazir X and CoinSwitch Kuber also witnessing record growth not only in user sign-ups but also in transaction volumes. As per the aforementioned source, CoinSwitch Kuber recorded a 3,500 per cent rise in transaction volumes while the number was 1,735 per cent for WazirX.
As far as the user base is concerned, CoinSwitch Kuber recently crossed the 14 million mark.
“We've come a long way in 2021. We started this year with just about 1.5 million registered users and crossed 14.5 million users by the end of the year. From being a 30-member team working out of a small space in Bangalore back in January, we are already 400-strong and united in the goal of ‘making money equal for all’,” said Ashish Singhal, founder and CEO, CoinSwitch Kuber.
While there have been several new entrants in 2021, those investing in cryptocurrencies in 2020 and 2019 received handsome returns. Furthermore, 2021 also saw new demographics like youngsters and women entering the field. CoinSwitch Kuber claims that as much as 15 per cent of their total user base are women.
However, given the volatility of the crypto market, investment in the field has always been a gamble of sorts. Some stay true to their investment while many seem to panic. Regardless of that though, cryptocurrency research firm Chainalysis says that India is one of the fastest-growing markets, increasing by 641 per cent between July 2020 and June 2021.
The rise shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given how massively cryptocurrencies grew in 2021. On Jan 1, 2021, Bitcoin was at $29,374 and by December, it grew up to $48,174. Ethereum, on the other hand, was $730.37 in January and touched $3,783.48 on December 31.
Meme coins such as Shiba Inu and Dogecoin had fantastic returns as well. In October, the former had a rise in return of 828.85 per cent while the latter’s one-year return was 1,673.75 per cent.
Given such immense growth, it’s only natural that India is in the process of figuring out a proper and sustainable crypto legislation, which is bound to take some time given the intricacies and complexities that are associated with such exchanges.
Featured photo: Unsplash / Executium
