Indian businesswoman Swati Daga first bought bitcoin in 2017, when cryptocurrencies were trading below $ 3,000.

Her decision to invest in digital currencies was met with criticism from her family.

"My family's parents told me not to waste my money," said Daga, who now runs a food business near New Delhi.

But the 33-year-old has not regretted her decision - the value of bitcoin has increased 15 times since then - and she continues to invest up to 10 percent of her savings in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum.

"I find stock markets boring," she told

, adding that it also brings uncertainty by investing in volatile businesses.

She is not the only one.

India has seen a huge boom in cryptocurrency trading since the pandemic began, although authorities in Asia's third largest economy have expressed concerns about digital currencies and even considered halting them.

Entrepreneurs in the industry have claimed that the Indian state has the potential to become a cryptocurrency superpower as it is one of the hottest markets in the world, with 750 million internet users and hundreds of millions more to come.

India ranked second after Vietnam last year in the list of countries seeing the fastest growth in cryptocurrency adoption, according to a report published in October by the blockchain data platform Chainalysis.

While the government does not hold estimates of how many people trade cryptocurrencies, industry experts have suggested the country may now have more than 20 million investors in cryptocurrencies.

The growth has been driven by younger investors - mostly under the age of 35 - and many are coming from smaller cities and towns, said the founders of two of India's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

While 20 years ago, their parents chose to invest in gold, today's young people "are more interested in having bitcoin as part of their portfolio," said Sumit Gupta, CEO and co-founder of Exchange CoinDCX, referring to the fact that Indians have traditionally chosen to invest their money in buying gold or depositing it in savings bank accounts.

Buying gold is an investment and a cultural custom in India, which is one of the largest markets for the precious metal, according to the World Gold Council.

He also plays a key role in many religious ceremonies.

Mumbai-based CoinDCX became the number one cryptocurrency company in India, reaching an estimated $ 1.1 billion after raising money from investors like Coinbase Ventures and B Capital Group.

The company says 70 percent of its ten million users are between the ages of 18 and 34.

Data shared by rival firm WazirX tells a similar story.

WazirX also has over 10 million users and described 2021 as a "phenomenal year" for cryptocurrency trading in India.

The company was acquired by Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, in 2019.

Over 65 percent of users are under the age of 35, according to a recent company report, and has seen a “700 percent increase in the number of new customers from smaller cities like Guwahati, Karnal, Bareilly, signaling growing interest from rural and semi-urban areas ”.

Pritish Kumawat, a cryptocurrency trader from a small town in the western state of Rajasthan, said he now hears many people in cafes talking about cryptocurrencies.

Often, the most engaged participants are students, Telegrafi reports.

In November, bitcoin was trading at a record level of 68,990 dollars, but since then has fallen to about 43 thousand dollars.

In addition to bitcoin, meme currencies like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are also popular among Indians, the WazirX report added.

In addition to investors from smaller cities, both companies saw an increase of more than 1000 percent in the number of users on their platforms, albeit on a small basis.

Gupta said that women are already dealing with cryptocurrencies and that he has seen "a massive increase" in the last 18 months and is "quite high, quite healthy, compared to the capital markets."

The company data show that 15 percent of their total users are women - which is also the global trend.

Enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies is growing in India, despite the country’s recurring relationship with digital currencies.

The central bank has long expressed concerns that cryptocurrencies could be used for money laundering and terrorist financing.

A top-secret proposal posted on the Indian parliament website last year even suggested the government was exploring plans to "ban all cryptocurrencies in India".

Earlier this month, the Indian government announced it would impose a 30 per cent tax on revenue from virtual digital assets, which many industry experts took as a sign that cryptocurrency trading would not be banned at the end of the year. last.

The government also said it would launch a digital rupee in the coming months.

"Taxation of virtual digital assets or cryptocurrencies is a step in the right direction.

"It gives the industry much-needed clarity and confidence," Gupta said at the time of the announcement.

Siddharth Menon, co-founder of WazirX, said the platform has had daily growth with over 50 percent of new customers.

He also noted a growing interest among Indian developers and other professionals to join the cryptocurrency industry.

"I'm getting messages on LinkedIn from senior executives in India who are now more optimistic about the business," he said.

In the past, Indian exchanges have struggled to hire and retain experienced people due to a lack of clear regulations.

But the Indian government quickly dampened enthusiasm, clarifying that cryptocurrencies are not yet legal in the country.

"I think the government is not entirely sure what it wants to do from a political perspective," said Anirudh Rastogi, founder of technology law firm Ikigaw Law, which works with cryptocurrency exchanges in India.

"She knows where she wants to go.

"It wants to find the right balance where it is not detached from global advances in blockchain and other technologies, but it also wants to address cryptocurrency concerns."

For shares, India applies a short-term tax on capital gains of 15 per cent if the shares are sold in less than a year and 10 per cent if sold after one year.

India, with its large group of developers and enthusiastic young population, could be a "superpower in the next five to 10 years" in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, he said.

"What is missing now is a clear regulatory framework," he added.