Indian crypto traders wait to break even in bull run

Mumbai: Indian Cryptocurrency investors have taken a cautious "wait and see" stance in anticipating the recovery of their beleaguered walletscreated during the most important cryptocurrency bull run in 2021, even when the crypto The market shows signs of revival in the first half of 2023, predominantly driven by a resurgence Bitcoin.

Bitcoin has jumped more than 80% by 2023, and the overall crypto market now stands at $1.19 trillion.

“Most Indian crypto investors bought digital assets when the market was rising, and when the market corrected sharply in 2022, their portfolios shrunk substantially. Now they are just waiting to recoup their initial investments. The 30% crypto tax has really dampened the enthusiasm of Indian crypto investors, further increasing their apprehension regarding the recovery prospects of their portfolios," said Vishal Gupta, a Noida-based crypto investor.

Chahal Verma, a Gurugram-based crypto investor, said that 2023 has proven to be an interesting year for crypto markets, particularly Bitcoin, despite regulatory hurdles.

“Despite ongoing market challenges, such as the US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) backlash on major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance, Bitcoin has defied expectations. One of the driving forces behind In addition to the recent price surge is news of BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, filing for a Bitcoin ETF.If approved, this development could trigger a massive influx of funds into the Bitcoin market.In addition, Bitcoin's highly anticipated halving is scheduled for next year, further fueling optimism among investors," he said. he said. Another investor, Mumbai-based software engineer Ashwin Nadar, said crypto markets have risen and so has the mania, fueled by Memecoins like Pepe and Ordinals (NFTs on Bitcoin) attracting a new wave of speculators.

“From a regulatory standpoint, the SEC was causing chaos by declaring popular altcoins as securities and filing lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, causing excessive dollar outflows from those platforms. Hopefully, SEC approval for the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF seems to keep markets buoyant, but one has to keep in mind that this rally is once again highly correlated with Big Tech's rally, which implies that cryptocurrencies could fall once stocks start to fall. ", said. Seasoned market trackers like Nadar say the entry of TradFi Giants as CitadelSchwab, Fidelity, and BlackRock could signal a new era of cryptocurrency adoption and restore some trust in institutions.

Rajagopal Menon, vice president of WazirX, said that transactions on the platform peaked between February and March 2023.

“User buying of Bitcoin was in line with its price increase for most of the duration. Ethereum has been the token with the most users on the platform, followed by SHIB (Shiba Inu), USDT (Tether), BTC (Bitcoin) and DOGE (Dogecoin),” he said.

Indian exchanges, currently grappling with a staggering drop of more than 90% in trading volumes, are urging the government to adopt a more accommodating policy towards cryptocurrencies, aligning with the approach taken by other prominent emerging global hubs.

“Regulations for digital assets are advancing at high speed with Dubai, the UK, Hong Kong and South Korea emerging as fertile markets for the growth of the crypto ecosystem. In India, the regulations may become a game changer for the cryptocurrency industry,” said Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, the second longest-running cryptocurrency exchange in India.

Crypto startups, though few in number, are also starting to see some traction in the market.

Jaideep Yadav, founder of dRisk, a crypto startup, said: “We are quite optimistic for 2023, given the cold crypto market in 2022. When dRisk launched our new project in January 2023, we anticipated weaker demand for games, however, we were pleasantly surprised when our first major campaign achieved over 30,000 new registrations and over 40,000 games played on our platform in just two months.”

After a fast growing year in 2021, during which a record number of Indians joined the crypto market, 2022 brought significant losses for most investors as cryptocurrency prices plummeted to their lowest point in two years.

The recession was exacerbated by the Indian government's announcement in February of a 30% tax on all profits made from cryptocurrency trading, as well as a 1% levy on every transaction, which had a chilling effect on the cryptocurrency ecosystem. country's cryptocurrencies, including investors. merchants and exchanges.