33% of Pakistani crypto investors use it as a hedge against falling rupiah – Business

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KARACHI: One in 10 crypto investors in Pakistan prefer receiving or paying salaries in virtual currency, according to a survey conducted by KuCoin, a global cryptocurrency exchange.

Titled Into the cryptoverse: Understanding Pakistani Crypto Investors 2023, the survey results released on Thursday showed growing adoption and interest in digital assets in Pakistan, a potentially large market based on Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index which ranked the country sixth in 2022.

Pakistani crypto investors are driven by various motivations such as future aspirations (69%), wealth accumulation (44%), convenience (49%) and storing value against currency depreciation (33%) .

The survey sheds light on different use cases for cryptocurrencies in Pakistan, with trading (46pc) being the most common. It was followed by HODLing (30pc), a practice of buying and holding a cryptocurrency while refusing to sell it despite price fluctuations.

Other use cases include peer-to-peer money transfers (29pc) and the purchase of non-fungible tokens (22pc), which are digital assets stored on a blockchain and can only be transferred by the owner.

This indicates the potential for widespread adoption and the various ways in which crypto assets are used in the country, according to KuCoin’s commentary on the investigation conducted by a third party on its behalf. The survey was conducted May 5-12 using SurveyMonkey Audience and involved 500 adult crypto investors.

Its demographics reveal that 66% of crypto investors are male, with Millennials (aged 26-39) being the largest age group of investors (47%), followed by Gen Z (aged 18 to 25 years old) with a share of 35%.

The majority of crypto investors (66%) have an annual family income of less than 5 million rupees. Additionally, 30% of new investors started investing in crypto in the last three months. This suggests that as crypto adoption grows, a significant portion of crypto investors in Pakistan come from moderate to low income households, highlighting the accessibility and appeal of cryptos to a wide range of groups. revenue, he noted.

A significant portion (40%) of crypto investors in Pakistan have invested less than Rs 30,000 or $100, according to the survey. This is particularly evident among Gen Z (48 pc) [as] this implies that a large number of investors, especially younger generations, start with smaller investments, potentially due to limited financial resources or a cautious approach to cryptocurrency, he said. -he declares.

The State Bank of Pakistan does not recognize crypto-assets, which are digital currencies in which transactions are verified and recorded by a decentralized system. Still, rough estimates from stakeholders suggest that the annual trading volume of these digital assets in the country is between $18 billion and $25 billion.

Posted in Dawn, June 2, 2023

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