Users aged 18 to 24 accounted for about half of all new registrations on Indian crypto exchange ZebPay in the first half of 2026, even as nearly two-thirds of its users made no trades at all during the six months. The figures come from ZebPay’s report “The State of Crypto in India: H1 2026 Review & H2 Outlook,” shared with the media on Tuesday, September 22, which says the platform added more than 120,000 new users between January and June 2026.
The report was shared with The Crypto Times and has not been published as a public document at the time of writing at 17:17 IST. The figures below are ZebPay’s own platform data and have not been independently audited. ZebPay, founded in 2014, is registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND).
ZebPay, founded in 2014, is one of India’s oldest crypto exchanges and is registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND).
Young Money Arrives, and It Is Buying
The report labels the 18 to 24 age group as Generation Z (Gen Z). According to ZebPay, this cohort made up around 50% of new registrations in H1 2026. Its buy volumes were nearly 10 times higher than its sell volumes, and Solana (SOL) was its most preferred digital asset.
That skew stands out against other recent data. CoinSwitch’s Q1 2026 report found that investors aged 18 to 25 made up just 19% of its user base, with the 26 to 35 group holding the largest share at 48%. Those two data sets are not directly comparable. The Crypto Times reported at the time that India’s crypto market appeared to be getting older.
The two data sets measure different things. CoinSwitch’s figure describes its overall user base, while ZebPay’s describes new sign-ups, and the age brackets differ slightly. Read together, however, they suggest that the existing investor base may be ageing while the flow of new entrants still leans young.
Most Users Held, Few Traded
The report found that 63% of users held crypto without making a single trade in H1 2026. Another 29% traded while continuing to hold assets.
The report does not explain why so many users stayed inactive. The finding should, however, be read alongside India’s tax rules. Under guidance from the Income Tax Department, gains from Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) are taxed at a flat 30%. A 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) applies to qualifying transfers, and losses cannot be set off against gains.
Industry executives have long argued that this structure makes frequent trading on Indian platforms costly and pushes active traders offshore. The Union Budget 2026 left both the 30% rate and the 1% TDS unchanged. Industry executives have long argued that this structure makes frequent trading on Indian platforms costly. That is an industry view, not a finding of the report. The high share of holders may reflect both long-term holding and the cost of trading.
Users active in all six months generated around 21 times the trading volume of users active in only one month. Because the first group was active for six times as many months, that works out to roughly 3.5 times the volume per active month. That per-month ratio is an arithmetic inference from ZebPay’s headline multiple, not a figure the report itself states.
Smaller Cities, Bigger Tickets
Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets together represented around 62% of new registrations. Tier-3 markets contributed nearly 21%, which implies Tier-2 markets accounted for about 41% and Tier-1 cities for the remaining 38%. Those splits are derived from the report’s headline figures; ZebPay did not publish a full city-tier table. The report also does not define how cities were assigned to tiers.
ZebPay said Tier-3 markets were the only segment to record an increase in average spot order size. Spot orders are trades in which an asset is bought or sold for immediate settlement, as opposed to derivatives. The report does not disclose the size of the increase or the base figures.
The pattern matches a broader shift The Crypto Times has tracked, with smaller Indian cities contributing a growing share of new crypto users across platforms.
Bitcoin Loyalists Lead, Memecoins Draw Crowds
ZebPay grouped its users into investor archetypes:
- Bitcoin Maximalists, investors focused mainly on Bitcoin (BTC), formed the largest group at 30%.
- Legacy Altcoin Holders followed at 17.3%.
- Diversified Explorers followed at 15%.
The report shared with The Crypto Times does not define how users were sorted into these groups.
By spot trading activity, Tether (USDT) ranked first. Tether is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. It was followed by Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), XRP and Solana.
Layer-1 assets accounted for close to 90% of categorised trading volume. These are the native coins of base blockchains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. Memecoins, tokens driven largely by internet culture and community interest, recorded the second-highest trader participation. The report does not specify what share of volume memecoins represented.
Around 85% of active users took part in spot markets, and about 72% used two or more platform features.
The SIP Factor
The half-year also marked the arrival of automated investing on the platform. ZebPay’s Crypto Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) lets users make recurring purchases of Bitcoin and other crypto assets at fixed intervals. The feature went live on Android and web on January 8, 2026, and on iOS on January 12, 2026. The material shared with media does not say how many users adopted SIPs or how much volume they generated.
The report shared with The Crypto Times does not say how many users adopted SIPs or how much volume they generated. It is therefore not possible to judge how far the feature contributed to the holding trend.
What the Company Says
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rahul Pagidipati said Indian investors are “demonstrating a more informed and disciplined approach,” with a focus on diversification and long-term wealth creation.
Chief Operating Officer (COO) Raj Karkara said the report “reinforces a trend we’ve been observing for some time.” He added that users are engaging with a wider range of products.
What the Data Leaves Out
The release gives percentages but no absolute figures for trading volume, active users, or ZebPay’s total user base. That makes it difficult to measure the platform’s scale against the wider market.
The report also does not define how cities were assigned to tiers. Despite the “H2 Outlook” in its title, the material shared with The Crypto Times contains no forecasts for the second half of the year.
The findings reflect activity on a single exchange at a time of regulatory uncertainty. On September 16, the chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance said the government is not accepting virtual digital assets. A week earlier, FIU-IND had ordered the takedown of 15 offshore crypto apps over Anti-Money Laundering (AML) non-compliance.
Also Read: New UPI Charges From October 15: Will Crypto Buyers in India Pay 0.4% More?
