Digital currency is becoming more and more popular in India, traditionally home to heavy metal investors.
Cryptocurrency investing has been taking off in India over the last year. The country is traditionally one of the largest investors of gold, metal, and precious gems but has been seeing a lot more cryptocurrency enter the market in 2021. India, where private citizens own more than 25,000 tones in gold total, cryptocurrency investments rose from $200 million to around $40 billion in 2021 according to Chainanalysis.
The numbers are surprising when one considers the country’s continuing to resist the influence of crypto. In fact, the central bank has shown what some consider hostile behavior toward the asset class.
The jump in crypto investing is considerable and shows that many younger investors are shying away from traditional platforms.
Indian investors and entrepreneur Rishi Sood was cited in the report, said that “I’d rather put my money in crypto than gold.” The report states that the 32-year-old put around $13,000 into digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ether. She even borrowed money from her family to further invest in digital currency. Lucky for her, the report also says she bought in before the boom, cashed out before the most recent crash, and bought back in after the price dip.
The report goes on to say that in excess of 15 million Indians are now in the business of trading or investing in crypto. The number is around 8 million less than the U.S. but far more than the U.K.
The Indian government continues to crack down on crypto
The growth in India is somewhat surprising considering the growing number of regulations and bans the government has proposed. Regulators in India are continuing to threaten to make cryptocurrency an asset class under a new bill that coil be presented as soon as July.
This would not be the first time India has tried to prevent the adoption of cryptocurrency. Last year a bill was submitted to the Supreme Court to ban crypto trading by banking entities. The bill was shot down by the court and resulted in a surge in trading within India.
Despite the setback, regulators have not shown any intention of slowing down and embracing digital assets. The central bank has continued to voice its concerns over the asset class and has asked India to look into a ban on trading coins.
India is not the only nation cracking down on cryptocurrency trading. The United Kingdom just banned Binance Ltd from conducting business in the country meanwhile China has been exiling crypto miners left and right in an attempt to lessen their carbon footprint.
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