Crypto trading in India is booming, with volumes hitting nearly $2 billion as small-city investors seek financial stability amid sluggish job and wage growth.

Crypto trading volumes in India jumped to $1.9 billion in Q4 2024, more than doubling from the previous quarter, as smaller-city investors sought new income sources amid weak job growth and wages, Reuters reports.

Tighter stock market regulations and growing curiosity about cryptocurrencies have pushed more traders toward crypto. Many young Indians, previously trading stocks and derivatives, now see digital assets as an alternative “especially with Trump becoming the U.S. president and the entire flavor of crypto changing world over,” said Edul Patel, co-founder of Mudrex, an Indian crypto exchange,” said Edul Patel, co-founder of Mudrex, an Indian crypto exchange.

Retail traders are driving most of the activity, exchange executives told Reuters. Out of the top 10 cities leading crypto adoption in 2024, seven were smaller cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, and Pune, where people are turning to crypto for extra income.

Despite high taxes and regulatory uncertainty, India’s crypto market is projected to grow beyond $15 billion by 2035, says Kush Wadhwa, partner at consulting firm Grant Thornton Bharat.

With crypto booming among retail investors, U.S.-based exchanges are looking to capitalize on the trend. As Coin Insider Daily previously reported, Kraken is preparing to re-enter the Indian market after being banned in 2024 for anti-money laundering violations. Its rival, Coinbase, is also considering a return after facing resistance from the National Payments Corporation of India and reported “informal pressure” from the Reserve Bank of India.