Crypto investment: Millennials, non-metro India are driving cryptocurrency adoption, says WazirX report

India's cryptocurrency market is increasingly being driven by millennials from smaller cities rather than investors from the country's biggest metros, according to WazirX's H1 2026 India Crypto Trends Report. The report suggests that crypto investing is becoming more mainstream across non-metro India, while investor confidence has strengthened following the exchange's restart earlier this year.

The report, released on Tuesday, highlights changing demographics, improving trading activity and growing participation in newer crypto segments, indicating that the market is gradually moving beyond its recovery phase.

Non-metro India dominates user base

One of the biggest takeaways from the report is the growing contribution of smaller cities to India's crypto ecosystem. According to WazirX, more than 82% of its verified users now come from non-metro cities, underscoring the widening geographic spread of digital asset investing.

The findings indicate that cryptocurrency is no longer confined to technology hubs such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. Instead, investors from Tier-II and Tier-III cities are increasingly participating in the market, aided by wider internet penetration, digital payment infrastructure and greater awareness of virtual digital assets.

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Millennials remain the largest investor group

The report also shows that millennials continue to dominate crypto investing in India. The average WazirX user is 34 years old, while 50.8% of users fall in the 25-34 age group. Overall, nearly 80% of the platform's users are between 25 and 44 years old, making working professionals the backbone of the country's crypto investor base.

The demographic profile suggests that younger investors continue to view cryptocurrencies as an alternative asset class despite market volatility and a relatively stringent tax regime for virtual digital assets in India.

Signs of recovery

The report also points to improving investor confidence after WazirX resumed operations. According to the exchange, 95% of traders who participated after the restart were returning users, indicating that most existing customers chose to continue using the platform.

Beyond simply returning, investors also committed fresh money. Around one in seven returning traders made new deposits, reflecting renewed confidence rather than merely managing existing holdings.

This trend was also visible in fund flows. During the first half of 2026, deposits consistently exceeded withdrawals by two to six times, while withdrawal requests declined by nearly 55%, suggesting investors were holding on to their crypto assets for longer periods.

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Trading trends

The report indicates that Indian crypto investors are becoming more diversified in their investment choices.

Stablecoins accounted for 38.5% of total trading volume, making them the preferred liquidity gateway on the platform. Meanwhile, Bitcoin, Ethereum and other Layer-1 assets contributed 28.4% of overall trading volume.

Interestingly, meme coins attracted the largest number of unique traders, highlighting continued retail interest in speculative assets. As market sentiment improved during the second quarter, investor participation also expanded into newer sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), decentralised finance (DeFi), gaming tokens, Layer-2 networks and real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation.

New products gain traction

Apart from changing investor behaviour, the report highlighted strong adoption of WazirX's newer products.

The exchange said Futures trading value increased 300% between March and June, making it one of its fastest-growing segments. More than 93% of Futures users also traded in the spot market, indicating higher engagement across products.

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Subscription-based trading also gained popularity. According to the report, WazirX Zero subscribers traded nearly twice the monthly volume of pay-per-trade users, recorded 13% higher trading frequency and showed more than five times higher repeat engagement.

Commenting on the findings, Nischal Shetty, Founder of WazirX, said the first half of 2026 marked an important phase in rebuilding the platform, with customer experience, transparency and delivering on commitments remaining key priorities. He added that the company remains focused on building a secure and accessible crypto ecosystem as participation continues to broaden across India.

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