Has cryptocurrency become too 'mainstream' in India to be banned?

 Considering cryptos' growing popularity among millennials and the sector's employment potential, can India realistically completely ban - or even partially ban - the technology? Let's understand

Ahead of the winter session of Parliament, source-based media reports are again speculating that the pending Bill to regulate cryptocurrencies will come up in this session.

But unlike the reports in February this year, which were suggesting a complete ban on cryptocurrencies, a complete ban appears unlikely this time around.

The reason, sources say, is that crypto in India has become too big for a ban.

Too many people, around 20 million according to WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty, have dipped their hands in virtual currencies. And India is being seen as the fastest-growing crypto market in the world.

The sector has spawned two unicorns already this year, CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber.

We are also seeing crypto exchanges beating digital stockbrokers in terms of the user base.

MORE INTEREST THAN STOCKS?
The user base of top platforms
WazirX: 8.5 million
CoinSwitch Kuber: 11 million
Both higher than…
Zerodha: 7 million

WazirX has 8.5 million users. CoinSwitch Kuber has 11 million. Both have more users than India's largest stockbroker, Zerodha, which has 7 million users.
It’s amazing how much things have changed in a year.

In March last year, the Supreme Court had quashed the RBI circular that barred banks from providing services to cryptocurrency exchanges.

One year later, Crypto companies are the toast of the town.

Switch on the TV and you see ads hailing Bitcoin as a great investment instrument. Top Bollywood actors, from Ranveer Singh to Ayushmann Khurrana, are seen promoting CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX respectively.

Bollywood actors are launching their non-fungible tokens or NFTs, which are bought and sold using cryptocurrencies.

According to industry estimates, Indians have invested around Rs 6 lakh crore cumulatively in crypto assets.