A sixth of urban Indians are investors in cryptocurrency

And according to a survey conducted by consulting firm Kantar, 19% of urban Indians intend to invest in virtual tokens in the next six months. …

India’s cryptocurrency craze could be set to grab a bigger share of the investment pie.

According to a survey conducted by consulting firm Kantar, 19% of urban Indians intend to invest in virtual tokens in the next six months. Those who claim to currently own cryptocurrency—16%—mostly fall in the age bracket of 21-35, and live in metro cities. Teenagers are also investing.

Kantar says it spoke to men and women aged between 21-55 across 12 key Indian cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Indore, Patna, Jaipur, and Lucknow. All the respondents had savings accounts in various banks.

Are Indians moving away from traditional investments?

The survey showed that cryptocurrency investors have a high risk appetite and a diversified financial portfolio. The average investment basket comprises stocks at 31% and mutual funds at 21%, in contrast to traditional choices like fixed deposits and life insurance.

“Most Indians are currently trying to better understand how cryptocurrency works and if it’s worth the investment and risk,” says Kantar’s Anand Parameswaran. Consumers are willing to consider the diversification of their portfolios with high-risk products, according to Parameswaran.

In terms of ownership, the top five preferred currencies are bitcoin, with a total share of 75%, followed by dogecoin at 47%, ethereum at 40%, Binance’s coin at 23% and Ripple’s XRP at 18%.

Ethereum leads on the net sentiment scorecard, which measures the net value of all those opinions expressed on social media about a brand or product. Even though bitcoin is the most popular, net sentiments for other cryptocurrencies like dogecoin, XRP, and Binance’s coin are higher, Kantar noted.