Majority of Indian investors see 'no easy way to enter' crypto SAMUEL HAIG 17 HOURS AGO
Most mainstream Indian investors still do not see an easy way to enter the crypto markets despite recent regulatory liberalization regarding virtual currencies.
A comprehensive survey from India’s CoinDCX exchange has found that most local investors don’t see an “easy way” to access exposure to crypto assets. That’s despite the country reversing a ban on financial institutions providing services to digital asset businesses earlier this year.
According to the OKEx-affiliated exchange’s findings, 56% of respondents under the age of 40 assert there is stil “no easy way to enter” the markets. This sentiment is also shared by 60% of respondents earning less than 500,000 Indian Rupees ($6,700) per year.
Many segments of India’s population also cite a lack of “legal & regulatory clarity” as the largest barrier to entering the crypto sector, including 22% of respondents aged 40 or above, 32% of undergraduates, and 23% of real estate investors.
Graduates and respondents aged from 20 to 30 identified “knowledge & education” regarding crypto as the biggest challenge to its adoption.
CoinDCX queried more than 11,300 participants digitally for its survey, including 3,512 of its own customers.
The findings indicate that 40% of India’s crypto investors hail from one of three professional backgrounds — IT, finance, or education.
While 12% of respondents working in the banking industry stated they have owned crypto assets, 22% agree with the statement that virtual currencies are a strong alternative investment suggesting this could be a growth sector in the country.
Nearly two-thirds of crypto investors are salaried, while 12% are self-employed, and just 8% are students. Despite the low-level of crypto-ownership among students, 87% of hodlers were found to have at least graduated university.
Interestingly there were very few survey respondents willing to write off crypto entirely with less than 5% of retired, unemployed, or homemaker respondents asserting cryptocurrencies offer “zero utility.” This figure drops below 1% among graduates.
In May of this year, India’s Supreme Court overturned a ban on banks providing financial services to businesses handling crypto assets that had been enacted by the Reserve Bank of India in July 2018.
Despite many crypto firms continuing to complain that banks are reluctant to work with them, India’s virtual currency sector has expanded significantly since the first quarter. India has emerged as a major peer-to-peer market for Bitcoin trading, local exchange Zebpay revealed plans to launch a marketplace for non-fungible tokens, and Binance launched a local accelerator for decentralized finance projects.
Business Private Office of UAE Sheikh Launches $100M Blockchain Investment Fund The office said it will work closely with companies and regulatory bodies to find investment opportunities in the blockchain sector. By Tanzeel Akhtar Oct 11, 2021 at 12:29 p.m. EDT Updated Oct 11, 2021 at 3:43 p.m. EDT
The Private Office of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Ahmed Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched a $100 million Blockchain Investment Fund in a push to meet the region’s goal to put 50% of government transactions on the blockchain by the end of the year.
* The private office of Sheikh Hamdan bin Ahmed Al Maktoum is behind the launch of the fund, which will work with ECN Launchpad platform investing in blockchain-based projects.
* Since 2016, the Dubai government has said that it wants all government documents secured on a blockchain, and it has launched a number of pro blockchain projects.
* The office said it will work closely with companies and regulatory bodies to find investment opportunities in the blockchain sector.
* “This is a key milestone, we hope that through our knowledge and capital, we can bring great talent and technology to the region through Dubai. ECN is an important platform that can multiply the impact of our reach,” said Ahmad Aljariri, CEO of the private office, in a press release.
CORRECTION (Oct. 11, 19:00 UTC): Corrects the title of Sheikh Hamdan bin Ahmed Al Maktoum.
UPDATE (Oct 11, 19:41 UTC): Corrects headline to say fund was set up by Sheikh Hamdan bin Ahmed Al Maktoum’s personal office, not a family office.
Read more: Dubai Free Zone Becomes First UAE Government Entity to Accept Bitcoin
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