The latest Roy Morgan research into Australians’ investments shows 5%, or over 1 million Australians aged 18+, now own at least one cryptocurrency. Leading cryptocurrencies include the well-known Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as more niche names such as Ripple, Cardano, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Solana, Binance Coin, Litecoin, Cronos, Polygon and many more.
What were the findings of Roy Morgan’s study?
Over two-thirds around 742,000 (69%), of Aussie crypto investors are men compared to only 332,000 (31%) who are women thus a big gender difference on investments in crypto.
The majority of cryptocurrency investors are under 35; Analysing cryptocurrency investors by age shows people aged under 35 are most likely to be holders of cryptocurrencies with over one-in-ten people in this age group investing in cryptocurrency. Of all ‘crypto’ investors 391,000 (36% of all investors) are aged 25-34 and 248,000 (23%) are aged 18-24.
Aussies aged 35+ are less likely to invest in crypto but still comprise over 40% of the total market including 296,000 aged 35-49 (28% of all investors) and 138,000 aged 50+ (13%).
Older Aussies aged 50+ have the biggest average crypto investments; Although they are less likely to be cryptocurrency investors, older Australians aged 35 and older are still significant parts of the cryptocurrency market in Australia due to the size of their average investments.
Aussies aged 50+ have the largest average crypto investment at an average value of around $56,200. This size of average investment means the value of all crypto holdings for people aged 50+ is around $7.6bn – higher than any other age group and over 35% of the market.
In contrast, although they are most likely to be investors in the market, Aussies aged 18-24 have an average crypto investment of only $2,600 meaning the total value of all crypto investments for this age group is only $630m – about 3% of Australians total crypto market.
The profiles of Aussies aged 25-34 and 35-49 are similar; People aged 25-34 have an average investment of $18,200 while for those aged 35-49 it is slightly higher at $21,600. Because they are more likely to be investors in crypto, the size of the market for those aged 25-34 is slightly larger at $7bn (32%) than for those aged 35-49 at $6.4bn (30%).
Analysis by gender shows men’s average investment of $23,400 is nearly twice as high as the average investment for women of $12,800. This difference means men hold total crypto investments of $17.4bn (81% of the market) compared to only $4.2bn (19%) for women.
What are Roy Morgan’s executive thoughts on the study?
Michele Levine, the Chief Executive Officer at Roy Morgan Research, says cryptocurrencies have been in the news heavily in the last few years as Australians look for alternative investment opportunities during a time of increasing upheaval in international markets.
“The last few years have seen a big increase in the number of Australians who are now invested into various cryptocurrencies. The most well-known crypto is of course Bitcoin which has a total market capitalisation of over $830 billion – more than twice as large as the second largest Ethereum with a market capitalisation of around $400 billion,” Levine said.
“The latest research into Australia’s crypto investors shows over 1 million Australians aged 18+ now have an investment in crypto – at an average value of just over $20,000.”
“Unsurprisingly younger Australians are more likely to be invested in the crypto market with around 12% of people aged 18-24 and 11% of those aged 25-34 owning cryptocurrency compared to only 6% of people aged 35-49 and around 2% of those aged 50+.”
“This breakdown of the market means around 640,000 crypto investors, almost 60% of the market, are aged under 35 compared to 430,000 aged 35+ (40% of the market). However, these figures hide a reality – older investors invest far more money on average than younger investors and nearly two-thirds of the market by total value is held by those aged 35+.”
“Investors aged 50+ have an average investment of around $56,200 AUD compared to only $2,600 for those aged 18-24. This means older Aussies aged 50+ hold total investments valued at $7.6bn – over 12 times as much as the $630m held by those aged 18-24.”
“There is an additional $7 Billion held by those aged 25 -34 (average investment of $18,200) and $6.4 Billion held by people aged 35-49 (average investment of $21,600),” Levine said.
“There’s something else about the market that aligns with the notion of ‘nerds on computers’ – it is that Australia’s crypto market is heavily male dominated. Over two-thirds of Australian crypto investors, 742,000 (69%) are men compared to only 332,000 (31%) women.”
“The average size of men’s investments, $23,400, is almost twice as high as the average investment for women of $12,800 meaning men hold over 80% of Australia’s ‘crypto’ investments by value at $17.4 Billion compared to only $4.2 billion (19%) for women.”
“Investing in crypto is a novelty for many Australians and as our latest research shows only around 1-in-20 Australians currently hold a crypto investment. This small penetration of crypto investors shows there is still the potential for huge growth in the market over the next few years as more Australians become exposed to this form of investing,” Levine concluded.
