THE CRYPTO MANIA

A friend introduced Mumbai-based advertising professional Shouvik Sen, 42, to the world of cryptocurrencies in 2019. Intrigued, Sen registered with a crypto exchange and, after fulfilling the mandatory KYC (Know Your Customer) norms and linking his bank account with the exchange’s online trading platform, invested part of his savings from mutual fund investments in a few cryptocurrencies. Close friends cautioned him against this ‘gambling’ in the digital space, but Sen’s curiosity and excitement got the better of him. He placed his biggest bet on Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by value after Bitcoin. He bought a few at Rs 15,000 apiece and sold them when their value touched Rs 2.7 lakh apiece early this year. “I could have made more money had I waited longer, since Ethereum has touched Rs 3.5 lakh a piece currently, but you never know in the crypto world,” he says.

Sen is among the millions of Indians currently in the grip of a crypto mania. A digital currency that operates outside the central banking system, cryptocurrency is not legal tender anywhere, except in El Salvador and, now, Cuba. It derives its value more from its trade on online platforms, which is why many prefer to call it just crypto. In fact, the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, started as an incentive token in online gaming. It was only when more and more people began transacting in it that cryptocurrency leapfrogged in value. On November 15, the Bitcoin was trading at $65,734, or around Rs 48.7 lakh, apiece.

Its high risk, high award attribute has lured young Indians too. As many as 15-20 million Indians have invested around $6 billion (Rs 44,400 crore) in cryptos, according to Ashish Singhal, founder and CEO of CoinSwitch Kuber, a crypto exchange where one can buy