India has the second highest cryptocurrency users in the world, according to a report by Chainanalysis
The popularity of cryptocurrency seems to show no signs of slowing down. Now, data suggests that investors in India also have embraced cryptocurrency. According to a new report by Chainanalysis, the boom in cryptocurrency in India has resulted in a tremendous rise in the number of users in the country. In 2021, India recorded the second-highest number of cryptocurrencies users around the world, the report stated. The report, released in 2021, shows that India is second only to Vietnam in the number of cryptocurrency users.
In addition to the rise in the number of cryptocurrency users, the report by the industry research firm also shows that the country’s crypto market grew by 641 per cent in the year. While Pakistan comes third in terms of the number of cryptocurrency users after Vietnam and India, it saw the most growth at 711 per cent. The report also noted here that “while India, Vietnam, and Pakistan all have high levels of grassroots cryptocurrency adoption, they’re quite different in terms of the raw transaction value.”
Additionally, the report cited possible reasons behind the surge in the number of users based on comments by industry experts. For instance, Joel John, Principal at LedgerPrime, said that it could be the ease of crypto investments that has encouraged more people to warm up to it. “Investing inequities in India is a long, painful process that requires you to sign lots of documents. It takes about three to four days. Investing in crypto takes less than an hour,” Joel John was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Krishna Sriram, Managing Director at Quantstamp, was cited in the report as saying, “Tons of Indian developers, fund analysts, and independent freelancers working for overseas employers have started requesting to be paid in cryptocurrency.”
The rise in the number of cryptocurrency users comes at a time when Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government will bring clarity on formalisation of cryptocurrency soon. In the budget for 2022-23, the government has announced that virtual digital assets would be taxed.