India is now home to around 115 million cryptocurrency investors, despite a historically negative attitude towards the industry by the government, according to new data.
The latest indicator on the number of users in India comes from cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, which on Tuesday released the results of its “Into The Cryptoverse India Report” survey. The estimated 115 million cryptocurrency users represent around 15% of India’s population aged 18 to 60.
A key highlight was 33% of survey respondents concerned about ambiguous government regulations that could discourage potential investors. Security issues were also evident, with 26% worried about hacks and exploits while 23% worried about losing funds in the event of a security incident.
The report is based on a sample of 2042 Indian adults aged 18 to 60 who were interviewed between October 2021 and June 2022. 1,541 respondents identified themselves as cryptocurrency investors who own cryptocurrencies or have traded in the past six months and they intend to continue doing so.
The obstacles to continued adoption and the onboarding of new users are far-reaching, with education, regulatory and safety considerations being major concerns for the country’s citizens. 41% of respondents admitted they were unsure which type of cryptocurrency to invest, while 37% found it difficult to manage portfolio risk. A further 21% of respondents knew little about how cryptocurrencies work.
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A growing section of India’s cryptocurrency users are under 30, with 39% of investors aged 18-30 identified in the first quarter of 2022. Investing for the future has also emerged as a theme. important, with 54% of respondents seeing the potential for cryptocurrencies to provide a greater return on investment than conventional assets.
Cointelegraph reached out to KuCoin CEO Jonny Lyu to reveal the results of their report on India, who admitted that the number of cryptocurrency users in the country was a “confirmation of expectations”. Given that India is the world’s most populous country with a rapidly developing tech-savvy middle class, Lyu expected to see a proportionately strong layer of investors engaging in cryptocurrencies:
“While the government’s stance affects sentiment in the local cryptocurrency market, people continue to show interest in new means of accumulating and accruing value.”
Lyu also noted that regulatory concerns were not the essence and end of future cryptocurrency adoption in the country, suggesting it was just a factor affecting the rate of new users in the space.
KuCoin’s CEO also suggested that India’s vast population simply needs to be informed about potential use cases for cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology for mass adoption to take place:
“The problem is the lack of general awareness of the potential of cryptocurrencies. That could change as more Indians learn about cryptocurrencies and strong enough projects are introduced that can inject them into mass use with accompanying information support. “
KuCoin’s report on India paints a positive picture of the growth of cryptocurrency adoption in India, but the apparent disparity in its government’s stance towards the industry continues to be a stumbling block. A 30% tax on unrealized crypto gains was instituted in April 2022, which has met with widespread criticism, while users are also subject to a 1% tax per transaction.
The effect of this new law was felt with trading data in India which showed a massive decline in transaction volumes in the wake of tax laws applied to cryptocurrency trading.