Crypto ownership surges in Australia

The number of Australian people owning crypto has risen to 28.8% – up from 18.4% in 2020.

A survey by the Independent Reserve’s Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI) also showed that 89% of investors said they had made money or broken even – up from 78% in 2020.

Independent Reserve CEO Adrian Przelozny said cryptocurrencies had performed better than any asset over the past year and admitted he wasn’t surprised by the rise of crypto ownership in Australia.

“I think it’s quite natural that more and more people get interested in an asset class that’s clearly outperforming the rest of the market,” he said.

While Przelozny feels the figure of crypto ownership will only grow with time, he acknowledged the importance of regulation, with 26.6% of people surveyed saying they’d buy crypto if industry regulation was improved.

“I do think that once regulation comes on board, we’ll see a whole new class of investors into this space,” he said.

“And I think that’s what we’ve seen in other jurisdictions, like over in Singapore.”

Rise of Australia’s women in crypto

The IRCI survey found that the number of women who currently, or have previously, invested in crypto rose from 10.3% in 2020 to 20% in 2021.

The survey also revealed that 56.7% of women surveyed said they would enter the crypto market should they receive advice from friends and family.

Karen Cohen, Deputy Chair for the Board of Blockchain Australia, said the decrease of riskiness in investing in crypto had led more women to make that leap.

“I think that it tells you investing in crypto is less risky and is just one of many different ways you can invest,” she said.