Cryptocurrency market in India posted a 15.5x increase in investment to $438.18 million in CY2021 from $28.10 million in CY2020, reveals data from start-up tracking firm Tracxn. The sector has received investment worth $139.33 million, year till date. However the sector can see a slowdown or a decline as well. “In 2022, with the law of 30% taxation and 1% tax deductible at source (TDS) being implemented the growth of cryptocurrency startups and trading volume of day-to-day traders will decline,”Avinash Shekhar, CEO, ZebPay, a cryptocurrency exchange, told FE Digital Currency.
Furthermore, according to the World Economic Forum, while the return from bitcoin was 59.8% in 2020, the cryptocurrency sector’s total market capitalisation grew by 187.5%.
Meanwhile, the non-fungible token (NFT) category and metaverse market received investments worth $65.60 million and $0.84 million in CY2021, respectively. This is the first year of investment for both the categories, hence comparable data isn’t available. To be sure, the sector has seen a huge interest among consumers. A study by one of the NFT companies Nonfungible.com stated that the overall trading scenario witnessed a 2,1000% spike in 2021. “NFTs and metaverse have allowed the proof of ownership for users on blockchain. In 2021, the Indian digital asset market came up with various NFT drops, as we saw Indian celebrities and brands endorsing the NFT and metaverse culture,” Ramkumar Subramaniam, co-founder and CEO, GuardianLink, a blockchain based, research and development organisation, said.
Industry experts opined that in 2022, NFT and metaverse market will provide for more utility-oriented and user-based projects. The concept of play-to-earn will also have an impact. Besides, NFT and metaverse is expected to play a part in various government based initiatives.
Moreover, investment in the global market for cryptocurrency, NFT and metaverse market stood at $14270.38 million, $5005.67 million and $661.33 million in CY21, respectively. According to Nilesh Jahargirdar, vice-president of marketing, [x]cube LABS, a software company, India needs more investments in the blockchain technology space for it to be a global financial technology leader. “With the digital currency initiative that was announced in the budget session of 2022, I feel that the strength of Indians entering the global digital currency scenario will increase. I believe that the Indian metaverse scenario has still not become a virtual hub for all kinds of shopping and transactions,” he added.
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