Unregulated and volatile: Is crypto worth the gamble?

India’s crypto landscape is a complex mix of volatility, cybersecurity risks and regulatory gaps

- Aprajita Sharma

Imagine a fixed-income investment advisor who tried out crypto assets and then got converted. That's what happened with New Delhibased Shiv Pande, who worked closely with pension and provident funds and became curious about the meteoric rise of crypto assets in 2021.

He spent a year researching it and invested in it for the first time in July 2022.

"I started my research purely from the knowledge perspective so that I don't appear clueless when my clients talk to me about it. I felt I should understand all about it before I write it off or look at it as an investment option," said Pande. Initially, he allocated 1-2% of his monthly investment to crypto, taking it to 30% now. "My two-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) has been roughly 150%," said Pande.

While he invested in crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Arbitrum and Uniswap, Pande continued his sys tematic investment plans in mutual funds, exchange traded funds and contributions to National Pension System.

For the young

Pande's story is similar to many people who made good money from crypto. It is an asset class for the young generation that understands technology, Ashish Singhal, co-founder of CoinSwitch, a crypto exchange, said at the Mint Money Festival on 22 November. "At least 4-6% of the portfolio should be kept in crypto. But I emphasise it is a risky investment. They should diversify in other asset classes too," said Singhal.