India’s crypto market is showing an interesting change in its user base. Reports reveal that more young people and users from smaller cities are entering the market. But despite the growing number of new users, most of them are not actively trading. This suggests that these people are exploring crypto for reasons besides trading.
63% of ZebPay Crypto Users Not Actively Trading
ZebPay’s H1 2026 report found that a large number of Indian crypto users appear to be entering the crypto market to hold their assets rather than trading them frequently. About 63% of ZebPay users held crypto without making a single trade in the first half of 2026. But 29% of users continued to trade while also holding assets.
This means that when users sign up for a crypto exchange, it doesn’t always mean that they are preparing for active trades. Some may be buying and holding cryptocurrencies for a long time. At the same time, some people may also enter the market simply to learn and explore digital assets without even owning them.
Young Indians Are Driving New Crypto Sign-Ups
Reportedly, more than 120,000 new users joined ZebPay during H1 2026. A major portion of these new entries constituted young users. People aged 18-24 accounted for about 50% of the new registrations.
Their buying activity was also comparatively higher than their selling. As the company stated, young customers’ purchasing volume was nearly 10 times higher than selling volume. Solana was one of the most preferred assets among this group of users.
Notably, the trend suggests that crypto is becoming more popular among India’s younger generation. As CoinEdition recently reported, a CoinSwitch report also revealed a similar trend. About 54.4% of new customers who joined the platform in Q2 2026 were Gen Z users.
Smaller Cities Are Bringing More Indians into Crypto
The ZebPay report also revealed that the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities together accounted for about 62% of the newly joined users. While Tier-2 cities contributed around 41%, Tier-3 users made up another 21%.
These figures indicate that more users are coming from smaller cities, and not only from large urban areas. It is also worth noting that Tier-3 cities saw the smallest decline in registrations.
However, this doesn’t mean that these people are actively trading. Tier-2 cities recorded the largest decline in both active traders and trading volume in the first half of the year. Users from metro cities continued to trade, with their volume matching levels seen in H2 2025.
$USDT Is Leading India’s Crypto Trading
According to the ZebPay report, $USDT has emerged as the most traded crypto during the period. While Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana followed $USDT, this shows the leading role of stablecoins in the Indian crypto market. $USDT’s strong activity suggests that Indians are more interested in stablecoins rather than highly volatile tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Why Are Indians Entering Crypto?
The latest data indicates that new crypto traders are entering the Indian market for something beyond active trading. As a major portion of the new traders stayed inactive without placing trades for the past six months, it signals their little interest in active trading.
Another major aspect to note is the dominance of buying activity compared to selling. In H1 2026, Indian users bought 7% more crypto than they sold. The buying volume among younger users was 10x higher than the selling volume. This means that they were more interested in holding cryptocurrencies for a long time without making frequent trades according to market conditions.
However, the ZebPay report hasn’t revealed why the users are not interested in active trading. They may be entering the market for a wide range of reasons, including trading, investing, holding, or simply learning.
Key Risks New Crypto Users Should Know
Younger and new users should be careful while entering the crypto market. They should not forget the risks of crypto amid the initial excitement. The first thing to remember is the high volatility of cryptocurrencies. These assets can move sharply in a short period, which could lead to significant losses. So, traders should be careful when putting money into an asset; the investment should not be solely based on the popularity of a token.
Users should also be aware of the risks of leverage and frequent trading. In addition to price movements, other risks like scams, fake schemes, phishing attacks, and loss of access to wallets could also cause losses. Indian crypto investors should also understand crypto regulations and taxation rules in the country.
Related: Crypto Trading Is Trending in India: What’s Driving Traders Toward Binance and Delta Exchange?
