According to Investment Trends, almost two million Australians have been exposed to cryptocurrency, with 1.56 million continuing to hold the digital asset.
The research firm’s 2022 Australian cryptocurrency user report surveyed over 3,700 adults to gauge the rate of cryptocurrency adoption in Australia.
Irene Guiamatsia, head of research at Investment Trends, noted that one in 10 Australians had invested in crypto before, “underscoring the fast-growing popularity of an asset class in existence for less than two decades”.
Despite the notable growth in Australia, 2022 saw an estimated 390,000 people leave the asset class, alongside other OECD economies who presented higher crypto adoption levels.
In the US, one in five adults gained exposure to the asset class, driving crypto adoption to near-mainstream levels.
While 10% of crypto users took exposure through derivatives and listed instruments, the majority bought and sold coins on dedicated exchanges for the asset class.
“The conscious effort to diversify provider exposure appears to strengthen with experience. This has piqued our interest as we have observed the exact opposite trend in retail stocks/ETFs investing,” Guiamatsia said.
Consciously diversifying their mix of providers was common for users who steered clear from an “all eggs in one basket” approach, thus accessing a broader range of cryptocurrencies.
The collapse of FTX, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges which went bankrupt in 2022, exacerbated users’ desire to diversify.
“Some degree of skittishness in the immediate aftermath of the FTX event was to be expected, particularly as BTC price dropped below the psychological threshold of $20,000.
“Perhaps more insightful is the fact that many users have been relatively unphased, albeit calling for greater transparency from providers.”
The asset class additionally came under the spotlight when the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released its 2023 enforcement targets. The corporate watchdog listed “investor harms involving cryptocurrency assets” as a top priority.
