Australia has been trying to be progressive in crypto adoption and regulation for a while; however, a recent study suggests the decreased interest of citizens.
According to data from a local exchange, the share of Australians possessing cryptocurrency has declined this year compared to the past year. In 2021, approximately 29% of the local population was hodling crypto, whereas the percentage for this year has deteriorated to 25.6%.
Experts have cited reasons like the prolonged bear phase, which has dominated the majority of this year, to be one of the reasons behind the decreased interest. There has been a significant decline in the global cryptocurrency market capitalization this year, as the values in November 2021 were around $3 trillion compared to $850 billion as of writing.
However, crypto’s popularity has hit its bright spot among the younger demographic groups. Figures reveal that amongst the participants involved, those lying in the age group 25-34, about 40% have admitted to having some crypto ownership. For the participants over 65 years, less than 10% admitted to having invested in crypto.
Regarding crypto awareness, Australians have shown high value, as only 8% admitted to being utterly unaware of digital currencies. About 91% admitted to being aware of crypto, amongst which all were acquainted with Bitcoin, whereas 42.9% knew about Ethereum. Hence, Bitcoin was awarded as the most recognized digital currency, followed by Ethereum, Dogecoin, Ripple, Cardano, Solana, and Tether.
Among the participants involved in the survey, the ones owning the crypto were found to be bullish on Bitcoin’s future valuation compared to the non-hodlers. The responses recorded revealed that about 5% of the ones owning it believed it to be worth $0 by 2030, whereas 18.1% predicted it to be trading between $100,000-$250,000.
About 28.4% of the non-crypto holding population believed the prices to touch $0, whereas about 10.4% could foresee it crossing the $100K levels.
There has been an increase in locals believing Bitcoin to be a store of value as compared to the past years. About 21% of the total participants this year believed it to be a store of value compared to 18% in 2019. Also, about 30% believed that the world’s leading digital asset could be considered an investment asset, compared to 25% believers of this metric in 2021 and about 20% in 2019.
Earlier this year, the Australian financial regulator ASIC also conducted a study involving 1,053 citizens at least 18 years old and engaged in trading in securities, derivatives, or cryptocurrencies between March 2020 and November 2021. According to the study, 44% of individuals asked said they owned cryptocurrency, making it the second most popular financial option.
During their electoral campaigning, the Australian government in power, i.e., the Labor Party, also vowed to be extra vigilant and pay special attention to the local cryptocurrency industry. However, their prime minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged implementing a framework that would provide an amiable scope of innovation while addressing the widespread concern of regulation enforcement.
Philip Lowe, governor of the Australian Central Bank, also opined that a private sector solution for crypto is a better option but needs to fulfill one condition. Regulators and regulatory actions must mitigate all risks.
In August this year, as an initial step in determining which cryptocurrency assets to regulate and how, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced that his office would carry out “token mapping,” or cataloging of the different types and applications of digital currency possessed within the nation. In October, the country also revealed its intention to treat Bitcoin as a digital asset and not tax it as a foreign currency.