61% of Crypto Futures Traders are Gen Z: Reveals Pi42 & Hashed Emergent Study
India has consistently ranked high in global cryptocurrency adoption, particularly in rural and semi-urban regions. The country's tech-savvy youth and a thriving digital economy are the key drivers of this growth. The findings by Pi42, India's leading crypto-INR perpetual futures & options exchange, and Hashed Emergent, a Web3 platform with the largest on-ground presence in India, reflect a similar trend. The data reveals that Gen Z traders are dominating the INR derivatives trading space, with 61% of all new traders in the age group of 18-25 years. Moreover, participation of women grew by 20% year-on-year. As a result, women now account for nearly one in eight traders.
The study shows that average trade size on the platform has nearly doubled from approximately $1,051 in 2024 to around $1,960 more recently, pointing towards increasing investor confidence and higher conviction trading strategies. At the same time, trading frequency has risen sharply, with nearly 60% of active traders now participating in daily trading activity compared to about 45% earlier. Besides, nearly one in four crypto derivatives traders on the platform have reported booking profits, suggesting improving awareness around trading strategies and risk management among retail investors.
East India leads with nearly 32% of retail investors, with Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya emerging as the top three states in the region, followed by North and Central India, which have doubled in 2025. This regional distribution underlines how crypto-INR futures trading is flourishing beyond traditional metro cities, with Tier 2 and Tier 3 states emerging as strongholds for retail trading activity.
Speaking on the report, Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO of Pi42, said, “These trends signal a clear shift in how Indian investors are engaging with crypto derivatives. Even amid ongoing global macro and geopolitical uncertainties, trading activity on the platform has remained resilient, with investors continuing to increase participation, trade sizes and overall conviction. We are seeing young, digitally native users adopt more strategic and informed trading approaches, while adoption from emerging regions is accelerating at a strong pace. This momentum reflects a structurally expanding market where INR-based derivatives platforms can play a meaningful role in improving accessibility, enabling wider participation and supporting the long-term growth of India’s digital asset ecosystem.”
Speaking on the report, Tak Lee, CEO and Managing Partner of Hashed Emergent said, “India's crypto derivatives market is undergoing a structural shift. When over 60% of new traders are under 25 and regions like Eastern India are growing at 6x, it tells us this is no longer a niche, metro-driven phenomenon. Derivatives are becoming the entry point for a new generation of digitally native investors, and the data suggests we are still in the early innings of this adoption curve.”
The data is a part of Hashed Emergent India Web3 Landscape Report. It is a pan-India analysis based on 2 lakh crypto futures traders on Pi42 over the past year. It captures trading patterns across India with data spanning the timeline of January 2025 through December 2025.
