WazirX to become second-largest Indian exchange says COO

WazirX, India’s largest digital currency exchange, grew more than 12 times in the first half of 2021, and is close to becoming the second-largest exchange in India, right after the National Stock Exchange.

Its co-founder and COO Siddharth Menon confirmed the next milestone was BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) spot volume which is currently close to 18 billion in monthly volumes.

“WazirX today is close to doing around $7 to $8 billion in volumes and is the number one crypto to fiat exchange by 60-70% of the Indian market share,” Menon said.

“If we are able to surpass this, we will become the second biggest exchange in India, right after the National Stock Exchange,” he commented, adding the company was already seeing the Indian investor take crypto more seriously.

Menon told Coin Rivet the internet penetration, unlike other countries, was very strong in tier 3 cities.

“This means awareness of newer technologies and mediums is also very high today,” he said.

“India has a very large GenZ population, mostly situated across tier 2 & 3 cities who are driving this adoption organically.”

WazirX is also running India’s biggest NFT marketplace, focusing on artists who never before had the opportunity to sell their work online.

“WazirX has expanded the NFT marketplace not just for digital art, but also to music and will soon expand even to digital games,” he said.

Regulations important for the industry to grow

Menon stressed the importance of accepting the fact that all regulations are followed by innovations.

“The more we delay regulations, the slower the industry will scale and could even lead to missed opportunities,” Menon noted.

He added that while WazirX as a platform was compliant and for the people, the government must focus on regulations for the industry as a whole.

“This will only further improve investor sentiment and larger opportunities within this growing industry,” he explained.

“Just like real life security, cybersecurity is an ongoing support function, not only for the security of the user but for the security of projects as well.

“Cyber security has been tackled since the advent of the internet, and should continue to be a focus well into Web3.”

Menon mentioned that, while regulations were really important and necessary for the industry to grow, “we must ensure the regulations that are brought in should not cap the growth of the industry”.

“It’s a very sensitive area since it involves money,” he said.

“If the government is taking more time on it, that means they are taking it seriously in terms of truly researching it to do the right thing for India.

“My expectation is a more calibrated approach, where we make sure bad actors are kept out, and the upside of the industry is preserved.”

Menon also mentioned crypto gaming (GameFi), saying that, traditionally, players have spent time and money in games without anything in return.

“By the advent of the real world economy coming into play, players are finally able to earn for their time and efforts spent in the game,” he explained.

“This means that not just the game developers benefit, but everyone who is involved in the game cycle – including gamers, traders, investors etc all stand to benefit from games in Web3.

“This feels like a very natural progression into the metaverse as well, making second life a reality.”