When centralized social networks like Twitter and Facebook began limiting API access to developers, Nischal Shetty was dismayed. He truly believes in the power of globally decentralized networks, as a way to reduce barriers on the Internet and make technology a tool available to all. In 2017, India was riding the first euphoric wave of cryptocurrency. During this time, he tried to use Indian cryptocurrency exchanges but was dejected to see the opacity in exchanges and overall UX.

On March 8th 2018, Nischal Shetty along with Siddharth Menon and Sameer Mhatre launched the Wazirx exchange platform. But shortly after, the Reserve Bank of India imposed a ban on crypto banking in India and several exchanges began exiting the Indian market. Shetty, Menon and Mhatre decided to pivot the platform to launch Wazirx P2P, to help users buy or sell crypto with INR. And this was a game changer for Wazirx, with no looking back for the trio ever since.

(From left: Sameer Mhatre, Nischal Shetty & Siddharth Menon, cofounders, Wazirx)

After two years, Wazirx was inching towards their first 1 million users when on March 4th, 2020, the Supreme Court lifted the ban imposed by the RBI on banks to use their systems for cryptocurrency-related payments – a welcome move for the startup. Shortly after, India entered a stringent lockdown due to the COVID19 pandemic, another event that worked to their advantage. By January 2021, Wazirx finally hit their landmark of 1 million users. But by July 2021, the startup had already acquired close to 7 million users. “We were adding nearly 1 million users a month – a number we took nearly three years to reach. This windfall was due to the pandemic-induced lockdown, the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse the ban and the sustained interest in crypto, which didn’t waver despite a turbulent regulatory environment since 2017,” says Shetty.

Today, Wazirx is lot more confident, assured and measured in its approach to cryptocurrency. Shetty is all too aware of the volatility surrounding crypto, but his belief in its transformative power has been steadfast. Unlike peers, Wazirx has entrenched itself as a serious player in the crypto player, with the goal to empower everyone with alternate currency and a technology that brings myriad benefits.

It's been a long and interesting road for Wazirx the past few years. What are your thoughts on the crypto space in India now?

Everyone is an early mover in this space so there’s a lot to learn. While India has around 15 million crypto users now and seems a sizeable number, there are still over 400 million Internet users in the country. We still have a big market share that we hope to get. But I believe in approaching this space with a different mindset – while the initial understanding of crypto is largely financial, I think it is today’s version of an Internet for everyone. Like how the Internet is aimed at bringing every person in society online, everyone should be using crypto. It is a transformative, inclusive piece of technology that will play a pivotal role in determining the nature of any kind of transactions in a digital world.

Can you provide some key highlights and milestones that Wazirx has achieved in the past year?

We have seen a nearly 3,000% growth in users. We’re currently at 8 million users with a monthly volume of $26 billion. We’re currently India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Another interesting and heartening statistic is we’ve seen a 1,355% rise in female investors in the past year. 63% of women traders are less than 34 years of age and 82% are less than 44 years of age in India. Overall, 15% users are female. This speaks to the flexibility and innate inclusivity that crypto provides – unlike conventional trading platforms and markets that function in certain time periods and tend to favour the sensibilities of seasoned (and mostly male) investors. Crypto is truly for everyone. By design, this technology is inclusive and is reflective of how technology should be serving us in current times.

How is the crypto market elevating India’s profile as an AI hub?

AI is a culmination of core building blocks of the Internet. For a machine to be truly intelligent, it needs to be online, gather data, synthesise it and draw inferences from it. However, we still lack the true integration of machines. Blockchain is the missing piece of this puzzle. Let’s take smart appliances or smart vehicles - they may function independently but their true value is realized when they are connected through a neutral, centralized platform. Blockchain is a pivotal step to true machine intelligence, data exchange and processing. Moreover, the transactional nature of finance augurs well for AI, and eventually, we should envision a future where machines can even engage in commerce online. Currently, there are human intermediaries overseeing commercial transactions but AI and blockchain can enable machines to seamlessly engage in financial transactions with one another.

Is the talent market keeping up with the demand for crypto?

The Indian tech talent market is hot right now, and there is a soaring demand for skills in sectors like AI and blockchain. While AI is finally getting its due today with market acceptance, government support and industry-led innovation, crypto is slowly getting there. It suffered a staggered start due to regulatory uncertainties, but with the SC reversal on the ban, increase in global popularity of the crypto ecosystem and the ongoing pandemic, the sector is thriving. Today, there are more conversations around crypto everywhere – there is huge interest in the sector, although formal skills are still in short supply. Compared to the USA, which has a robust network of blockchain developers, India is nowhere close to churning out those numbers. But the good news is, I’m yet to find someone who isn’t interested in learning about it. This is why we’re focusing intently on building knowledge assets and generate more awareness. We have dedicated collaborations with websites like Moneycontrol and participate in a programme dedicated to crypto on CNBC. We also have the WazirX education partner program, WazirX Campus Outreach Program and WazirX Warriors Program. In addition, I also run a Twitter campaign called #IndiaWantsCrypto, which has been running for 900 + days. We’re hopeful that sustained efforts to educate the public about crypto will increase the levels of interest and eventually compel people to take up careers. While there is some effort required to learn about this technology, it shouldn’t take a tech enthusiast more than 30-60 days to get comfortable with the concepts.

You’re pioneering the NFT marketplace for Indian artistes. How is this shaping up?

This has been a very successful endeavour for us. Again, we approached artistes and creators with the same principle as we did crypto – to make a marketplace for everyone with a low barrier to entry. To date, we have facilitated the sale of over 1,000 art pieces and have 320+ creators on the platforms. The highest value of an artwork sold on our platform was US$10,000. We have around 10,000+ creators waiting to be onboarded. This is because NFTs are a new space for us as well, and we want to become a reliable NFT marketplace for Indian artistes. We’re taking it slow so we can learn along the way and create a robust platform for artistes.

What is the future like for Wazirx?

For now, we’re focused on scaling the technology platform, which is progressing well. Education and knowledge building will also continue. We’re launching our decentralized exchange soon, and developing monetization options for users aside from trading such as staking and lending.