Cryptocurrency earns “mainstream” status as adoption accelerates

Approximately 12 per cent of Australians now own cryptocurrency according to new research from CoreData, confirming the controversial asset class has risen to the same level of “mainstream” as exchange traded funds (ETFs) and international shares.

The research indicated that ten per cent of Australians held ETFs and nine per cent held international shares, while 38 per cent of total investors held some form of cryptocurrency.

Of those, 90 per cent also have other investments but 25 per cent emphasised that cryptocurrency was their first exposure to investing, as the research confirmed younger generations became much more “financially engaged” due to the popularity of digital assets.

“Cryptocurrency has moved from the fringes into the portfolios of everyday Australians, ” Anna Vennonen, Research Consultant at CoreData, said.

“They are also a powerful gateway investment, with many investors who started in crypto, expanding their portfolios into other asset classes.”

The research also suggested that despite accelerated adoption in recent years, several drawbacks still remained in place that stopped other investors from dipping into the crypto space including security concerns (59 per cent), volatility (52 per cent) and regulatory uncertainty (48 per cent).

Even with these broader concerns in mind, 67 per cent of crypto holders said superannuation funds should allocate to the asset class and 41 per cent of self-managed super fund (SMSF) holders also invest in crypto – with half suggesting that the opportunity to invest in crypto was the reason for establishing an SMSF.

The asset class has also invaded the financial space, with 71 per cent of crypto holders indicating financial advice related to cryptocurrency, tax, diversification and yield generation is in high demand.

This comes as only 11 per cent of financial advisers feature crypto products on their approved product lists (APLs) according to CoreData’s Adviser Pulse Check, despite 21 per cent of advisers having a personal holding in the asset class.