Crypto Trading in India Soared by 400% During COVID-19 Lockdown

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, India’s cryptocurrency trading industry has seen an increase of 400 percent over the last few months.  

Crypto investors were initially worried about a potential ban of crypto in India. Rumors of a law set to terminate cryptocurrency use in India have been circulating for quite some time. However, as The Hindu reports, cryptocurrency trading is on the rise in India, and there are new players and even retail investors that have recently entered the crypto trading market within the last four months.

Former head of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) Ajeet Khurana speaks up regarding the new increase in crypto trading. He thinks that much of the newfound interest in crypto is due to the mandatory COVID-19 lockdown: 

“Along with the lifting of the restrictions on trading, the lockdown has also pushed people to stay at home and many people are spending more time on their desktops and many of them are trading more. Trading volumes are quite robust. Daily crypto trading volume in India maybe USD 10 - USD 30 million.”  

He goes on to add that the crypto trading numbers are significant enough for it to generate attention from crypto regulators, who should work on fixing fundamental issues revolving around crypto trading in India, such as classification and taxation.  Khurana thinks that the trading volume of cryptocurrency is significant enough for the industry to become a potential commercial activity and valid asset class. 

Other key figures of the crypto industry in India have also spoken up. CEO and founder of WazirX – an Indian crypto trading platform – Nischal Shetty said that his crypto company had seen a four-time increase in sign-ups. Much like his counterpart Khurana, he attributes his newfound crypto clientele to the COVID-19 lockdown: 

“The lockdown has been a major factor. People have more time to understand and learn new things. Also, a lot of people are looking for new avenues of making money online, as they don’t have a job right now or their jobs are offline and they can’t go to work."

Another key factor contributing to crypto trade increasing in popularity in India is the Supreme Court's (SC) decision not to ban cryptocurrency earlier in 2020. However, much work in the Indian crypto industry is to be desired. While the SC has allowed virtual currencies to be used by institutional banks, crypto regulators in India still need to figure out a way to regulate crypto trade.

CEO of WazirX Shetty says that the IAMAI is working on a draft of a code of conduct for cryptocurrencies.