BENGALURU: Indian investors have been displaying a growing interest in cryptocurrency as the year also marked Bitcoin's rise to over USD 1,07,000. Crypto trading platform CoinSwitch published the third edition of its annual investor report and according to that, March and November emerged as the most active months for crypto trading in 2024.
Late-night trading (9 pm to 11 pm) remains the most popular time, particularly on Mondays and Tuesdays, the report said.
Delhi with 20.1 per cent and Bengaluru with 9.6 per cent, followed by Mumbai with 6.5 per cent are the top three cities in crypto investments. Among the top 10 cities, Pune boasts the highest percentage of portfolios in green, with 86 per cent of its investors seeing positive returns.
Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, and Botad are showing strong adoption, highlighting grassroots growth, the report added.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) secured the second and third spots in investor preferences with 7 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively. Meme coins represent 13 per cent of all crypto investments, with Dogecoin leading at 55 per cent, followed by PEPE and BONK.
The report said PEPE delivered a 1373 per cent return, emerging as the best-performing asset in 2024, far surpassing Solana's 633 per cent return in 2023. Also, Indian investors continue to prefer blue-chip and large-cap tokens for their stability.
CoinSwitch pointed out that it has witnessed a spike in crypto investment across the country and what was once concentrated in major metros is now quickly expanding to tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
“2024 has been a huge year for the global crypto ecosystem, driven by big political and regulatory changes that have sped up mainstream growth. With Bitcoin crossing the USD 100,000 mark to close out the year, it sets the stage for an exciting journey of growth in 2025,” said Balaji Srihari, Vice President, CoinSwitch.
As far as the age group is concerned, the under-35 age dominates crypto adoption, comprising close to 75 per cent of investors. Also, the 36 to 45 age group is steadily growing. The report pointed out that women account for 11 per cent of the investor base.