1M Aussies to enter crypto in next 12 months – Swyftx survey

About one million Australians will buy cryptocurrency for the first time in the next 12 months – bringing total crypto ownership in the country to over five million – according to a newly released survey.

The findings came from the second annual Australian crypto survey by Australian crypto exchange Swyftx, which was conducted by research firm YouGov.

The survey questioned 2,609 Australians over the age of 18 in early July, with 548 of the survey sample identified as current cryptocurrency holders.

The report said so despite the current “Crypto Winter” which has seen approximately $2 trillion in assets wiped from the digital asset market over the past year, Australian crypto ownership has grown 4% year-on-year, reaching 21% in 2022.

According to the report, this number is set to increase by another one million new crypto owners by 2023, while at least a quarter of Australians plan to buy crypto in the next 12 months, with Millenials, Gen Zers, Aussie parents and those in full-time employment most likely to buy.

This finding is largely in line with recent data from a bitcoin processor suggesting that the crypto winter is not holding back widespread adoption and comments from crypto exchange CoinJar’s chief content officer Luke Ryan who claims that sports sponsorship is helping to legitimize crypto in Australia.

Commenting on the bullish figures for crypto adoption and ownership, Swyftx’s Head of Strategic Partnerships, Tommy Honan told Cointelegraph:

“Based on current growth trajectories in the use of digital assets, we expect that half of adults under the age of 50 in Australia will own or have owned crypto within the next one to two years.”

However, Honan said there were also many variables that make forecasting adoption “incredibly difficult,” adding:

“The expectation is that we’ll see crypto move into the regulated space next year, and all things being equal, you’d expect that to trigger growth in adoption, but that’s not a given.”

Honan said the rate of adoption could slow over the next 12 months before recovering as market conditions improve.

“The bear market has knocked confidence […] Confidence can take the stairs up and the elevators down, so we’ll have to wait and see how quickly the market takes to stabilise,” he said.

According to the survey, a lack of proper regulation was revealed as the biggest deterrent to investing in crypto for those who have yet to do so, along with a lack of knowledge about how crypto works, and general market volatility.

Related: Institutional Investors Heading Towards a Crypto Tipping Point – Apollo Capital

This finding is reinforced by recent comments from former Credit Suisse chief risk officer CK Zheng, who believes the next crypto bull run will be a result of “regulatory clarity” in the US.

Commenting to Cointelegraph Swyftx co-CEO Ryan Parsons said the report shows there is a clear demand among Australians to buy and use crypto, but that a “significant factor” for crypto hesitancy remains regulation.

“The drumbeat for defined rules is growing and will continue to grow if the use of digital assets increases at the current rate. As this report shows, there is a clear demand among Australians to buy and use crypto. It is imperative that we meet this demand in a responsible manner.”