Non-metro India now drives most crypto growth: Ashish Singhal

Ashish Singhal, cofounder of CoinSwitch, India’s largest cryptocurrency (crypto) trading platform, says crypto adoption in the country is rapidly shifting beyond metropolitan centres. Non-metro regions now account for nearly 76 per cent of India’s crypto activity among CoinSwitch’s 25 million users, while women investors make up 12 per cent of the user base. Despite a 30 per cent crypto tax and 1 percent tax deducted at source (TDS), the market remains youth-driven, with investors aged 26-35 contributing 45 per cent of total investments. In a video interview with Peerzada Abrar, Singhal discusses demographic trends, regulatory challenges, and the shift from speculative trading to long-term investing. Edited excerpts:

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CoinSwitch has seen user growth despite high taxes. What's driving this, and how has behaviour changed?

The Trump administration's pro-crypto stance has created positive global momentum, with Bitcoin recently nearing $125,000. That confidences spilling over into India despite the 30 per cent tax and 1 percent TDS.

We're also seeing a strong geographic shift. Non-metro India now drives most crypto growth — 33.2 per cent of users come from Tier-II markets and 43.4 per cent from Tier-IIl and Tier-IV towns. Peak trading activity is between 10 and 11pm, after people return from work.

Investor behaviour has matured. People are moving from FOMO-driven trades to strategy — buying dips and investing more in blue-chip tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum rather than memecoins. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka lead in buy-the-dip activity.

Women participation stands at 12 per cent, with Andhra Pradesh reporting more women investors than men. Bihar shows strong interest in mid and smallcap cryptos.

Are adoption patterns different from earlier cycles?