WazirX Founder Shares Prediction For Next Big Crypto Wave

As the founder of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Nischal Shetty is on the lookout for new trends.

In 2017, after taking over a week to buy his first bitcoin, he spotted a gap in the market to simplify transactions for the then-booming digital currency.

In 2018, he launched WazirX as a localized cryptocurrency trading platform for his home country, India, a company that was later acquired by Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.

Now he has his eye on the next phase of cryptocurrency growth.

“The last three to four years (have) been the time to create crypto exchanges, layer one blockchain products,” Shetty told CNBC Make It.

Blockchain refers to a decentralized digital ledger, which can be used to record data and transactions. One of its primary uses is for storing and managing digital currencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, forms of virtual money operated independently of state governments.

Choosing the right idea at the right time will be the key to building the next big crypto company, he added.

Identifying this trend is not easy, but Shetty, 36, a software developer, said he expects the next wave to be in consumer products that make digital currencies more accessible in everyone’s life. days.

Today, there are around 50 million blockchain wallet users around the world, according to Deutsche Bank estimates. By 2030, the bank expects that figure to reach 200 million as digital currencies are used more and more.

“The next few years, I think, would be spent building crypto products for consumers. Right now, it’s still not really in people’s hands,” Shetty said. “Then cryptography education will emerge as another big area to explore as well.”

The key for potential entrepreneurs is to find the right timing, Shetty said, noting that widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology is currently far from being achieved.

“The challenge is figuring out when is the right time for the idea, because crypto is still early days,” Shetty said. “Many of these ideas cannot be realized given the current technological state of cryptography.”

The crypto industry faces increasing pressure internationally as authorities fear it may contribute to tax evasion and criminal activity.

For its part, WazirX has been caught in the midst of an ongoing crypto debate between Indian authorities, which has led Shetty to partner with other exchanges to jointly engage the country’s top financial decision-makers.

“It will not be a smooth race because mistakes will be made, and in that regard we will see a lot of difficulties that will come from a regulatory point of view,” he said.

Shetty compared the situation to the early days of the Internet. Initially, poor technology and slow internet speeds made it difficult to send email. Video calls are now commonplace and an integral part of the working society.

Still, regulators are trying to tame the rapidly changing tech industry.

Likewise, new blockchain technologies offer developers and entrepreneurs an opportunity to play a role in building the next wave of innovation, Shetty said.

“It’s going to take a while, but it’s a time of opportunity, where any entrepreneur or anyone with an idea can come in and build it,” he said.

Don’t miss: How this 36-year-old coder built India’s largest crypto trading exchange

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