Crypto exchanges bet on NFTs amid regulatory concerns

Mumbai: Indian cryptocurrency exchanges seem to have taken a shine to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). At least half a dozen crypto platforms are foraying into the NFT space, assuming that it would not be outlawed as NFTs hold an underlying asset that is traded in digital form.

In fact, cryptocurrency exchanges that offer NFTs have grown 40-50% month on month, albeit on a smaller base.

NFTs are a unique and noninterchangeable digital representation of art photo, video, text – that exist on a blockchain.


The global market for NFTs hit $22 billion in 2021, according to DappRadar, a global app store for decentralised applications. In March last year, a digital collage created by artist Mike Winkelmann, known professionally as Beeple, was sold for $69. 3 million.

Indian creators sold NFTs worth Rs 2. 4 crore on the WazirX NFT marketplace till December 20, according to a newsletter by cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.

“The (NFT) space is evolving every day, with categories ranging from art, music, sports/ games, utility, brands, influencers, literary, movie/entertainment, among other things,” said Vishakha Singh, co-founder of the WazirX NFT marketplace. “We have1,076 creators and 923 collectors on our platform. ”

Other crypto exchanges are also rushing in to offer NFTs.

This is also a way to hedge their bets in case the government decides to ban cryptocurrencies.

“We have seen a 30% month-on-month growth in numbers,” said Edul Patel, cofounder and chief executive of Mudrex, a cryptocurrency exchange.

Patel said people started investing the minimum amount required and significantly increased that once they realised the potential of NFTs.

The minimum investment amount is about ?750 and the number of investors on the platform exceeds1,700, he added. “We have plans to launch an NFT Marketplace in 2022,” said Charles Tan, head of marketing at Coinstore. “NFTs will drive more usage of cryptocur rencies and give crypto a tangible value when used at its full potential. ”

Crypto exchange CrossTower is already in the process of launching its own NFT platform. “The platform is targeted for launch by the end of the first quarter of 2022,” said Vikas Ahuja, CEO, CrossTower India.

Many new players in the space are experimenting with real estate, hospitality, and travel NFTs, apart from the usual ones such as paintings, dialogues, and videos. Global platform LynKey, for instance, is planning to tokenize and offer NFT solutions for travel and tourism using smart contracts.