Cryptocurrency has had a surprisingly complicated journey in India. For years, people could hear about Bitcoin, watch its price climb and read stories about early investors making extraordinary returns. But actually buying it wasn’t always easy. There were fewer platforms, payment and banking issues, unfamiliar interfaces and plenty of uncertainty about how regulators would eventually treat crypto. And yet, as access improved, interest grew rapidly.
That raises an obvious question: why did cryptocurrency become so popular in India when its legal and regulatory position is still unclear? The answer isn’t just about technology. It has a lot to do with timing, accessibility, expectations of making money, and the way people discover financial opportunities today.
Bitcoin became visible before it became easy to buy
One of the most important parts of India’s crypto story is something that is easy to overlook:
- Indians are inherently of the nature to save money, they already invest in gold, and real estate, and were looking for another asset to invest in that grows many folds.
- Indians were watching Bitcoin grow long before they could easily participate in it.
Bitcoin’s price was discussed globally, usually in US dollars. Indian users could see the spectacular gains, follow international investors and hear stories about people who had bought Bitcoin early. However, seeing the opportunity and being able to act on it were two different things.
Indian crypto exchanges and communities existed as early as the 2010s, but the experience was nowhere near as simple as opening a modern financial app and buying a small amount with a few taps. So, there was always a sense of distance around Bitcoin. It was something happening somewhere else.
When Indian platforms eventually made buying cryptocurrency easier in rupees, the psychology changed around it. People weren’t discovering Bitcoin for the first time. They were finally getting access to something they had already been watching. For some, that naturally created a feeling of having missed the first opportunity — and a desire not to miss the next one.
Crypto arrived at the right moment for India’s digital generation
The timing also coincided with a much bigger shift in how Indians manage money. Smartphones, internet access, mobile banking and UPI had made digital transactions part of everyday life. By 2025, around 85% of Indian households had smartphones and more than 86% had internet access at home, according to government data cited in the original study. India also had hundreds of millions of internet users and a huge volume of UPI transactions.
None of this means that people started buying crypto simply because they had smartphones.
What it did was remove friction. People were already comfortable opening an app, completing digital verification, moving money electronically and keeping track of balances online. Crypto platforms could fit into that behaviour relatively easily.
For a younger, digitally connected audience, buying a small amount of cryptocurrency didn’t necessarily feel like entering an entirely unfamiliar financial world. It felt like trying another app.
The attraction was often simple: the possibility of higher returns
Strip away the technical language around blockchain and decentralisation, and one of the biggest reasons people became interested in cryptocurrency was fairly straightforward: they thought they could make money from it. Surveys of Indian crypto users have repeatedly pointed towards return expectations as an important motivation.
Some people wanted to hold crypto for the long term as they are HODLers; others traded more actively. Some were attracted by the idea of passive income, while others were looking for short-term gains. So, there wasn’t one single reason people entered the market but the possibility of high returns was difficult to ignore.
This was particularly important because people could start with relatively small amounts. Someone didn’t necessarily have to make a huge financial commitment to experiment with cryptocurrency. That made the decision psychologically easier. I’ll just try it and once someone owns even a small amount, they have a reason to start following the market, joining communities and paying attention to what other investors are doing.
Social media turned crypto into a conversation
This is where cryptocurrency differs from many traditional investments. A large part of the crypto experience happens in public. People discuss prices on social media. Influencers talk about particular tokens. Telegram and WhatsApp groups share market views. Friends talk about what they have bought. Someone posts about a sudden gain, and another person starts wondering whether they are missing out.
The original research points to social influence and FOMO — the fear of missing out — as important parts of the adoption story among younger Indian investors. And the cycle can feed itself. Someone hears about crypto from a friend. They make a small purchase. They start following crypto accounts. They see more conversations about the market. If prices rise, the original decision can feel validated.
The opposite can happen when prices fall, too. Some people leave, while others trade more in an attempt to recover losses or take advantage of the next price movement. This makes crypto less like a one-time investment decision and more like an ongoing digital activity.
It wasn’t limited to India’s biggest cities
Another interesting development is that crypto participation hasn’t remained confined to India’s major technology centres. Reuters, as cited in the study, reported that seven of the ten Indian centres driving crypto activity in 2024 were lower-tier cities, including Jaipur, Lucknow and Pune. CoinSwitch, meanwhile, reported more than 19 million users on its platform in January 2024.
These figures shouldn’t be interpreted as proof that millions of Indians actively own cryptocurrency. Different platforms and research firms measure different things. But they do point towards something important: crypto became accessible beyond a small group of technology enthusiasts. Once the product could be discovered, purchased and discussed online, geography became much less of a barrier.
Regulation created uncertainty, but it didn’t close the market
It’s also misleading to describe cryptocurrency in India as simply “unregulated.” The reality is more complicated. India has introduced taxation and anti-money-laundering requirements for parts of the crypto industry. Certain virtual-asset service providers have to register with the Financial Intelligence Unit and meet compliance obligations.
At the same time, private cryptocurrencies are not legal tender, and India does not have a comprehensive crypto licensing and consumer-protection framework comparable to the systems that exist for more established financial products.
That has created a kind of middle ground. Crypto hasn’t been completely prohibited, but neither has it been given the kind of regulatory certainty that would make it feel like an ordinary financial product.
The tax system has also had a noticeable effect on trading behaviour. The introduction of the 1% TDS was followed by a sharp decline in trading volumes on Indian exchanges, although other factors, including the global crypto downturn and movement towards offshore platforms, also played a role.
So, regulation hasn’t been irrelevant. It has influenced how and where people participate.
There is also a more complicated reason: people don’t all see crypto in the same way
For one investor, Bitcoin might be a long-term bet. For another, it might be a short-term trading opportunity. Someone else may be interested in stablecoins or the possibility of moving money across borders, and some people are simply curious about a new financial technology.
The research even found an association between higher inflation expectations and increased crypto purchases on one major Indian exchange, particularly involving Bitcoin and USDT. That doesn’t mean people were universally using crypto as an inflation hedge, but it suggests that broader economic expectations can influence behaviour.
This is why there isn’t really one explanation for India’s crypto interest. Different people arrived at the same market for different reasons.
So, why did crypto take off in India?
The simplest explanation is that several things came together at the same time.
People had already heard about Bitcoin and had watched its price rise. Then buying became easier. India’s rapidly expanding digital ecosystem made experimentation more convenient. Social media made crypto highly visible, while stories of large returns created a strong incentive to participate.
And regulation, rather than completely stopping the market, created a space where people could participate while many questions about the industry’s long-term framework remained open. That’s probably the most useful way to look at India’s crypto story.
Also read – Inside Bybit India: Vikas Gupta on Crypto, Regulation and What Comes Next
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