As more and more Aussies invest in cryptocurrency, one digital currency has emerged as the top option for buyers Down Under.
The number of Australians investing in cryptocurrency is on the rise and one digital currency has emerged as the top pick for buyers Down Under.
The 2021 Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI) has offered insight into Australia’s cryptocurrency habits, revealing more than a quarter of citizens now own some form of crypto.
The IRCI is a national survey that has been running for three years and aims to provide a benchmark for the awareness, trust and confidence that everyday Australians have in digital currencies.
Just under 29 per cent of Aussies now own or have owned crypto, up from 18.4 per cent in 2020.
Unsurprisingly, bitcoin is still the most popular and well-known cryptocurrency, with 21.1 per cent owning it and 89.1 per cent of Australians saying they have heard of bitcoin.
In second place in ethereum, with 11 per cent of people owning the cryptocurrency, up from 5 per cent in 2020.
The massive growth in crypto ownership is largely being driven by the positive experience of those who own crypto, with 89 per cent saying they have made money or broken even, up from 78 per cent last year.
Independent Reserve CEO Adrian Przelozny said 2021 had been a “bumper year” for the cryptocurrency industry “with new products like ETFs hitting the market and providing more alternative investment opportunities for Australians”.
“But the sector still desperately needs regulation to catch up and provide greater security for both investors and cryptocurrency businesses,” he said.
“Our IRCI results this year support this, with 28.6 per cent of Australians who don’t currently own crypto telling us they would invest if there were better consumer protections in place.”
Another 26.6 per cent of people who responded to the survey said they would buy cryptocurrency if industry regulation was improved.
Mr Przelozny said the rise in buyers meant crypto had now gone “mainstream” in Australia.
“Although Australian regulators and government agencies may have taken a while to get their heads around cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, Australians themselves have sped ahead and we’re really seeing that in past year as an asset class, crypto has gone from the fringe to the mainstream,” he said.
The survey also found that more women were investing in crypto, with the number of women who own or have owned cryptocurrency doubling this year from 10.3 per cent to 20 per cent.
According to IRCI, this uptake was primarily influenced by being convinced to invest by family and friends who own crypto.
Unsurprisingly, the 24 to 34-year-old age group is the most trusting of cryptocurrency, with 27.6 per cent saying they bought in to get rich.
Those who remain unconvinced by the trend towards digital currency are most likely to be in the 65-and-over age group.
The survey results come amid the collapse of prominent Melbourne-based crypto trading platform, myCryptoWallet.
The company, which once boasted it had 20,000 customers, called in administrators on Friday to close the book on a troubled existence that featured tech setbacks and a period of inactivity following a dispute with major bank NAB.
ASIC documents show myCryptoWallet and its 28-year-old founder Jaryd Koenigsmann appointed Brisbane liquidators SV Partners to wind the company up, making it the second crypto company in two months to fail.
The Australian reported on Tuesday that furious myCryptoWallet customers were unable to access their funds, with some taking to social media platforms claiming a $40,000 loss.
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