WazirX Enters Crypto Futures Trading, Aims for 50% Revenue Contribution

WazirX Revamps Platform with Futures Trading and Lower Fees

Crypto exchange WazirX is set to revive user activity and regain market share nearly seven months after restarting its platform following a $230-million hack. The exchange will begin offering futures trading on May 13, with 36 tokens available in the initial phase and a leverage of up to 10X, which could be scaled to 100X eventually.

Key Features of WazirX's Futures Trading

• Initial phase will feature 36 tokens
• Leverage of up to 10X, potentially scaling to 100X
• Maker fee of 0.02 percent and taker fee of 0.04 percent, the lowest fee among Indian crypto exchanges with no volume threshold required
• Users can access futures directly with Indian Rupees (INR) without converting to USDT
• Initial margin requirements will be Rs 1000-2000, with an upper limit of around Rs 1-2 lakhs

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WazirX's move is aimed at competing with rival exchanges that generate nearly 90-95 percent of their revenue from futures trading. According to Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX, the exchange projects that futures trading could reach 50 percent of its revenue.

Impact of TDS on Crypto Trading in India

The 1 percent Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on crypto trading has led to a significant shift in Indian users' crypto trading strategies to futures trading. Shetty noted that daily trading volumes on spot exchanges are less than $10 million, while WazirX's daily trading volumes are around half a million to $1 million, representing a 5-10 percent range of the market share.

India's Growing Market for Crypto Futures

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Research by WazirX suggests that there is at least $3-4 billion traded every day in crypto futures in India, with the top two or three players accounting for 70-80 percent of the market share. Monthly trading volumes of crypto futures in India are estimated to be around $80 to 100 billion.

According to Shetty, futures trading is about 5-10X of the spot volumes globally, while in India it is at 50-80X of the spot volumes due to smaller trading volumes in spot.