What's up with Cryptocurrency in India? November 2021

A quick 5-point primer on what’s been happening and the upcoming draft bill in parliament.

It is estimated that India has upwards of 1.5 Cr. crypto investors, many of whom have started investing recently. Estimates also suggest that 70-80% of Indian crypto investors have invested less than Rs. 2000.

There are many exchanges where one can trade various cryptocurrency in India. There is also a lot of chatter and ads on crypto in traditional media and financial media.

Whether you are already a crypto investor or thinking about it, here’s a quick primer on where things vis a vis crypto are at:

🔵 India effectively banned crypto back in 2018 which was reversed earlier this year. It is understood the government will regulate crypto and restrict certain use cases at the very least. However, the regulations are not out yet and the shape, form, and timing are not clear yet. If you are holding crypto, the only suggestion is to not take any action out of panic.

🔵 Since the reversal of the earlier ban and adding many new crypto users, a downtrend in crypto prices has not been seen i.e. most new crypto investors are yet to see any significant dip in prices. Even the news of the draft bill has not led to the kind of extreme dips the crypto markets have a history of.  This largely upward recent trend may be misleading for new investors.

🔵 Cryptocurrency in india will be regulated. There are frequent scams in the crypto market and legitimate players in the sector have been advocating for rational regulations. While considering regulation, the government is also intending to launch its own digital currency aka government crypto which is tantamount to admitting the utility of the underlying technology. And while banning non-government crypto is quite an uphill task, there are examples of countries (like China) implementing successful bans. 

🔵 Invest only what you can afford to lose - is what most responsible industry influencers say. The market is new, affected by hype, and unregulated. It is highly speculative and volatile. If you haven’t invested until now, then, it may be best to wait for the draft bill to become public before you decide to invest.

🔵 Whenever you invest, take necessary security precautions such as keeping your passwords safe, storing crypto on a hardware wallet, etc. Crypto wallets are obvious targets for hackers and unlawful agents.

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