Indian crypto exchange WazirX's trading volume falls by 90 per cent as regulatory delays continue

WazirX, the prominent Indian crypto trading platform, disclosed its business trajectory for the year 2023, shedding light on the challenges faced by the crypto market in India amid ongoing regulatory uncertainties. The platform reported a substantial decline in trading volume, reaching around $1 billion (approximately Rs. 8,315 crore), marking a stark 90 per cent drop from the previous year’s $10 billion (approximately Rs. 83,151 crore) and 2021’s figure of $43 billion (approximately Rs. 3,57,534 crore). While WazirX refrained from elaborating on the reasons behind the decline in trading volumes, its competitor CoinDCX attributed a 12 per cent reduction in its workforce to the impact of India’s tax regime, suggesting that regulatory uncertainties played a role in deterring investors. Despite the challenges, WazirX provided insights into trading patterns observed in India during 2023. Bitcoin (BTC), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), and Polygon (MATIC) emerged as the most traded cryptocurrencies among Indian users on the platform. WazirX shared demographic details, revealing that women constituted 22 per cent of the total trading volume, with women aged between 21-40 years contributing 83 per cent of the total volume traded by female users. Among male users, the age bracket of 21-40 years constituted 76 per cent of the total volume. Geographically, traders from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Haryana represented the majority, while states with the highest trading volumes included Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Haryana. Rajagopal Menon, Vice President of WazirX, expressed optimism about the future of blockchain-related sectors despite the current challenges. Menon projected that as blockchain technologies mature, cryptocurrencies would evolve beyond speculative assets, integrating into supply chain management, healthcare, and digital identity verification. He anticipated a revolution in user experiences across Web3 technologies in 2024 and suggested that the Bitcoin halving signalled a bullish trend in the coming times. WazirX’s disclosure aligns with recent acknowledgements from other players in the industry, such as CoinDCX and CoinSwitch, highlighting the impact of regulatory uncertainties on crypto trading volumes and user engagement in India. The nation is currently assessing the potential impacts of integrating crypto into its existing financial systems, and concrete crypto regulations may take up to eighteen months, potentially until mid-2025, to materialize. (With inputs from agencies)