Indian Crypto Exchange Reports Record Trading Volumes Amid Regulatory Uncertainty

Despite regulatory uncertainty and banking restriction imposed by the country’s central bank, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange says that it is seeing record trading volumes every month. The CEO of Wazirx told news.Bitcoin.com that the recent uptick in crypto prices has prompted a lot of Indians to start trading again.

Also read: Indian Supreme Court Moves Crypto Hearing, Community Calls for Positive Regulations

Record Trading Volumes

Indian cryptocurrency exchange Wazirx says it is seeing record trading volumes despite a number of conditions that dampen trader sentiment such as the crypto banking ban imposed by the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The exchange’s CEO, Nischal Shetty, told news.Bitcoin.com on Monday that “In a flat market coupled with banking restriction,” there is little motivation for Indians to trade cryptocurrencies. However, he elaborated:

The recent uptick in the crypto prices has gotten a lot of Indians trading again … whenever there’s volatility people forget the problems and start trading. That’s exactly the reason why we’re seeing our volumes shooting up so fast.

The RBI issued a circular in April banning financial institutions under its control from providing services to crypto companies. Responding to the banking restriction, Wazirx launched an exchange-escrowed peer-to-peer (P2P) platform in July, with Shetty repeatedly saying that the response to this service has been “tremendous.”

He further shared that his exchange has been “hitting new peaks in volume every month,” adding that this month it surpassed 200 BTC in daily trading volume for the first time. “200 BTC in 24 hours was our record high and the highest by any exchange in India right now,” he claimed. Noting that this record high was achieved within nine months of launching his exchange and during a bear market, he concluded:

Considering the banking restriction in place, this is great news for the Indian crypto sector.

On Localbitcoins, the number of BTC traded in INR has also been growing, with 302 BTC traded in the week of Dec. 22 as well as in the previous week.

Regulatory Uncertainty

Subhash Chandra Garg

The Indian government is expected to finalize the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the near future. The panel, tasked with providing recommendations regarding crypto regulatory measures, has reportedly submitted its report to the government. This panel is headed by Subhash Chandra Garg, the country’s Economic Affairs Secretary.

Commenting on the upcoming crypto regulatory framework, Shetty told news.Bitcoin.com, “I have to remain optimistic,” noting:

I believe in our government, that they’ll listen to our voices. I’ve been running a Twitter campaign and it’s gaining traction amongst Indian crypto users. As the campaign grows it’ll be harder to ignore.

The CEO started his Twitter campaign on Oct. 31, calling for positive regulations for the Indian crypto space. Meanwhile, the country’s supreme court is set to hear the petitions against the RBI ban in January.

What do you think of the crypto ecosystem in India? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter, and Coin.dance.

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.