Bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency in Australia, with 9% of Aussies currently holding it.
One in six Australians now owns cryptocurrency, with the total value of their holdings adding up to $8 billion, in keeping with a recent survey.
The total report of the Finder Consumer Sentiment Tracker was posted online on September 2. It’s a monthly ongoing survey of 1000 nationally representative Australians conducted by Qualtrics.
The most popular cryptocurrency within the nation remains Bitcoin, with 9% of Australians presently holding it. Around 8% of Aussies indicated that they own Ethereum, 5% own Dogecoin, while Bitcoin Money is held by 4% of the inhabitants, in keeping with the survey.
Researchers said they were surprised to find that 35% of respondents believe that Bitcoin will eventually be transacted more widely than traditional currency — meaning that one in three Australians believe Bitcoin will take over from fiat currency by 2050.
The proportion of Bitcoin true believers grew to 52% amongst Gen Z respondents. Additionally, 50% of all respondents indicated that they imagine Bitcoin is a legitimate investment.
Men were twice as likely as women (23% vs. 11%) to personal crypto. However, the trends favor women, with the proportion of women owning crypto growing from just 7% in January, while the proportion of men fell from 29%.
Of those that indicated that they owned cryptocurrency, the largest proportion said that they did so in order to diversify their portfolios (30%). One quarter (24%) of Aussie holders said they purchased crypto simply “because it’s going up.” This figure fell from 45% in January.
Around 49% of respondents aren’t considering crypto at all, responding that “nothing would make me need to put money into cryptocurrency,” whereas 32% of crypto abstainers indicated that they would “rather buy shares or have money in savings.”
Total, the biggest deterrent to buying crypto is its volatility and perceived risk. Surprisingly more males than girls (50% to 37%) were reluctant to buy crypto for these causes according to the survey.
Another significant barrier to entry for Australians is the difficulty in understanding how crypto works. 28% responded that they would invest in cryptocurrency if they understood how it all worked, whereas 18% mentioned they might make investments if they understood how to really put money into it.
Finder’s analysis was highlighted earlier in the year when it reported that 56% of Australians believe Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the founder of Bitcoin.
The report additionally demonstrates the impact of world social media influencers on crypto sentiment. More than half of Australians (52%) tend to get news from social media platforms like Twitter, where many cryptocurrency market influencers will be found.
