WazirX, the leading crypto exchange in India, has seen its userbase grow tenfold since the start of the year. A report unveiled this news earlier today, noting the Binance-owned exchange recorded a trading volume exceeding $38 million (£28.31 million) year-to-date. Per the exchange, this volume is equal to the average month-on-month growth of 44%.
According to the report, WazirX witnessed a 2,648% growth in user signups from tier II and tier III cities. While these categories comprise big cities in India, they do not include the six largest cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. The exchange added that the wide adoption was primarily because of vast adoption by women in tier I and II cities.
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Reportedly, the exchange attributes the growth to crypto’s ability to create job opportunities while offering financial freedom. WazirX’s NFT business is also growing after recording sales worth $309,741.26 (230,864.10). The exchange’s NFT marketplace allegedly has a creator-to-collector ratio of 1:53, with a total of 737 creators and 481 collectors.
Crypto adoption in India continues surging mounting uncertainty
The exchange’s strong growth this year shows the surging popularity of cryptocurrencies in India despite the looming uncertainty of whether the government will ban digital assets or not. At the start of this year, India planned to enforce an outright ban on crypto but instead moved to regulate the sector as an asset class.
While it is still unclear whether the Indian parliament will pass a bill to ban cryptos into law, the government has invited WazirX and other members of the India Internet and Mobile Association (IAMAI) Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council ( BACC) to share their views on the industry. The meeting is set for November 15, and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance will be the host.
Players in the industry are bullish about getting a chance to voice their opinions. For instance, Sumit Gupta, CEO of the Mumbai-based CoinDCX exchange, said,
Since the government is considering introducing the bill during this session of Parliament, we are sure the government will definitely listen to all the stakeholders before taking any decision. We are talking to other stakeholders and will definitely initiate deeper dialogue with the government and showcase how we can actually create a healthy ecosystem in unison.
While WazirX claims its userbase has increased tenfold, Shaktikanta Das, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), said the numbers might be exaggerated. He added that about 70% of the participants in India’s crypto market have only invested between $13 (£9.68) and $40 (£29.80) in crypto.
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