Young Indian investors are shunning “boring” traditional assets like stocks and bonds in favor of pursuing crypto. 

According to a report by CNN Business, India has seen a huge boom in cryptoasset trading since the start of the pandemic, despite concerns from the country’s government officials over digital currencies.

Entrepreneurs are keying in on India, which has Asia’s third largest economy, for its potential to become a “crypto superpower.” The report cites India as having one of the largest internet markets in the world, with over 750 million users and hundreds of millions more yet to come online for the first time. 

The report claims India was second only to Vietnam last year in a list of countries with the fastest growth in cryptoasset adoption. Industry experts have suggested that the country may have more than 20 million crypto investors, with the growth being driven primarily by those under the age of 35. 

33-year-old Indian businesswoman Swati Daga, who first bought Bitcoin in 2017 (when BTC was under $3,000), said:

“The elders in my family told me not to throw my money away… I find stock markets boring.“

Sumit Gupta, CEO and co-founder of exchange CoinDCX, told CNN that many Indian millennials first began investing via crypto. Gupta said that 20 years ago young Indian investors preferred gold or savings accounts, while today’s youthful investors are demanding to have Bitcoin as part of their portfolio. 

Pritish Kumawat, a crypto trader from a small town in the western state of Rajasthan, told CNN that digital currencies are becoming ubiquitous among under-35 crowds. He said he finds conversations about crypto occurring in almost “every tea shop” in his area, with most of the participants being college students.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.

Image Credit

Featured Image by “hari_mangayil” via Pixabay.com