Investments in cryptocurrency increased significantly in 2021, with cryptocurrency exchange WazirX witnessing a record trading volume of over $43 billion in 2021— accounting for over 1735 per cent growth from 2020.
Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE), WazirX Token (WRX), and Matic (MATIC) were the most-traded cryptocurrency on the exchange. Women traded more in Bitcoin, whereas men traded more in Shiba Inu.
To gauge the amassing interest among its users, WazirX conducted a user survey as well as analyzed the data patterns on its platform. Based on the same, the crypto exchange shared insights in its report called “Highlights & Observations From 2021: The Year Of Crypto”.
Interestingly, trading and investments in crypto have seen a demographic shift— with 66 per cent of WazirX users below 35 years of age. The growth in the number of new female users was up by 1009 per cent vis-à-vis an 829 per cent growth recorded in an increase in male sign-ups.
Apart from age and gender, crypto also witnessed a trend in participation from beyond metros and Tier-I cities. There was also a 700 per cent increase in the number of participants from smaller cities like Guwahati, Karnal, Bareilly, thereby signaling the growing interest from rural and semi-urban areas.
As of November 30, 82 per cent of WazirX users have reaped profits on their crypto investments, the company said, adding that it clocked a significant surge in user signups and crossed a user base of 10 million.
“The audience is evolving and recognizing crypto as an emerging alternative asset class. The government’s impetus towards a regulated approach for crypto would put India on the world map with other developed countries dealing in crypto,” said Nischal Shetty, CEO of WazirX.
It should be noted that cryptocurrencies including Dogecoin, Ethereum and Shiba Inu also topped ‘Google’s 2021 Year in Search’, which the Alphabet-owned search engine released this week. “Dogecoin” and “Ethereum price” were the top 10 most-Googled news stories of the past year, across the globe.
Meanwhile, Shiba Inu was the most discussed cryptocurrency on Twitter during October, as per the data compiled by ICO Analytics. The analysis firm revealed the 20 most discussed cryptocurrencies on Twitter and Shiba Inu has emerged as a clear winner, receiving a 22 percent share of all crypto assets discussions on the platform, dwarfing Ethereum by 8.1 percent and Bitcoin by 7.2 percent.