India is finally ready to embrace cryptocurrency, experts says

Experts discuss the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, the pandemic effect and the future of crypto in the country

In March, the Indian Supreme Court overturned banking restrictions on crypto exchanges imposed by India’s central bank.

WazirX, the Indian exchange Binance acquired in 2019, has reported a 150% increase in signups across many Indian cities from February to May 2020 — boosting local trading volumes by 66%. Experts have told CoinDesk that the untapped markets of India might finally be ready to embrace cryptocurrency.

“The Supreme Court’s positive verdict has surely helped in creating positivity around crypto in India,” a WazirX spokesperson said.

After recent rumours of the Indian Government considering a blanket ban on virtual currency was squashed, crypto entrepreneurs are eager to expand into the country. Pavel Matveev of Wirex said:
“Last November we launched our product in eight countries across Southeast Asia, and we are hoping to launch in India this summer.” He further added that India’s demand for cryptocurrency may have been exhilarated by the COVID-19 situation.

Matic Network co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal, revealed that their Ethereum scaling solution had acquired roughly 60 decentralized apps (dapps) within a month of its launch, with another 60 on the way. “Especially with crypto, people are able to play games and earn money out of it. Real money games are becoming more popular,” he said while talking about the cause of cryptocurrency’s growing popularity.

Nailwal further stated that the number of tech workers in India is more than the entire population of some countries. With tech hubs like Bangalore and brain drains to the US diminishing thanks to new immigration policies, India has the potential to overcome the UX challenges that hinder “mainstream” users, he added.

Unocoin exchange co-founder, Sunny Ray, believes that India is ready to embrace cryptocurrency now that the legal battles have been won. He further revealed that his company was up and running within two months of the Supreme Court Verdict, and currently serves more than 400,000 consumers that have completed their KYC (Know Your Customer) process.

However, a lack of clarity on the legality of cryptocurrencies and lack of regulations are acting as a barrier to mass adoption currently, so Indian lawmakers will need to make their decision soon if they want India to benefit from digital assets.