A new report from crypto exchange Gemini has found that 18 per cent of Australians are now crypto owners, including 43 per cent who made their very first investment during 2021.
While Australia’s adoption rate was found to be in line with developed countries and regions (17 per cent), other parts of the Asia-Pacific region recorded higher levels of ownership including Indonesia (41 per cent), Singapore (30 per cent), Hong Kong (24 per cent) and India (20 per cent).
“Crypto adoption reached a true tipping point last year, becoming an established economic driver and a valued investment across the globe,” said Gemini COO Noah Perlman.
“We expect to see the influx of crypto investors continue into this year with concerns about inflation in the U.S. and globally driving interest.”
Both Brazil and Indonesia recorded the highest rates of adoption (41 per cent) out of the 20 regions analysed by Gemini, well ahead of the United States (20 per cent) and Europe (17 per cent) as well as the global average (23 per cent).
Of the Aussie crypto investors surveyed, 71 per cent said that they planned to hold their investments for the long term and 54 per cent said that crypto was a good way to diversify their assets.
Meanwhile, 53 per cent of Aussies cited fear of losing money as a major barrier to crypto adoption.
“Education also remains a global barrier to adoption, and providing investors additional resources is key to bringing new users into the crypto ecosystem, especially women who make up a majority of the crypto curious audience,” said Mr Perlman.
40 per cent of respondents globally said that more educational resources would make them feel more comfortable to invest in crypto.
Regulation was highlighted as a major concern by non-owners of crypto, of whom 39 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region said there was legal uncertainty surrounding crypto.
Gemini also found that Australia had the lowest rate of female crypto ownership in the Asia-Pacific and one of the lowest rates globally.
Women made up 27 per cent of crypto investors in Australia, below the average of 47 per cent globally and 33 per cent for developed countries and regions.
More than half of crypto in Indonesia, Israel and Nigeria are women compared to 33 per cent in Europe and 32 per cent in the United States.
However, of the 39 per cent of Aussies who said they were considering an investment in crypto during the next year, 48 per cent were women.
Jon Bragg
Jon Bragg is a journalist for Momentum Media's Investor Daily, nestegg and ifa. He enjoys writing about a wide variety of financial topics and issues and exploring the many implications they have on all aspects of life.
