Australian Crypto Investors Waiting for Regulations: Swyftx Reports
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A recent report by crypto exchange Swyftx revealed that many Australian investors are sitting on the sidelines and will remain so until there are clearer regulations, highlighting concerns about security and consumer protection in the absence of firm laws.
Investors Waiting for Regulatory Clarity
According to the Swyftx national survey, many Australians are hesitant to invest in digital currencies without proper legal protection, as it is estimated that between two to six million Australians could potentially enter the crypto market once clearer regulations are established.
About one-third of respondents said they would be more inclined to invest in crypto if laws were in place to regulate the market. This uncertainty has created a wall of investors waiting for clearer rules before entering the crypto space.
From the survey’s 2,229 adult respondents, 43% of those surveyed said they don’t know enough about how crypto works, while 20% have never owned crypto. The survey also showed that 41% of the respondents expressed a lack of trust in the crypto market due to the absence of regulation.
The number of Australian adults who said they owned cryptocurrency grew by 2% between July 2022 and July 2023, reaching 23%, according to the survey.
'Australian crypto investors ‘sitting on the sidelines’ for clearer laws: Swyftx CEO.
Most respondents said they didn’t know enough about how crypto works or were too concerned about regulation to consider investing. Source: Swyftx' pic.twitter.com/2QEfSMjINX
— BRUCE WAYNE (@wolfstreet007) September 11, 2024
Currently, around 3.9 million Australians own cryptocurrency, according to Swyftx, with a further 1.3 million considering entering the market within the next 12 months.
However, the number of digital asset owners in Australia dropped from 23% to 20% despite Bitcoin reaching a record high of over $73,000 in mid-March 2024.
Regulation is Key to Boosting Adoption
Reacting to the recent survey, Swyftx CEO Jason Titman believes that crypto adoption in Australia will remain sideways until the government introduces clear laws governing the sector.
According to him,
“The reality is that there are a finite number of investors who are willing to take on the risk of entering an unregulated market. At some point, without regulation, adoption is going to slow.”
Titman emphasized that regulation is crucial to encouraging more people to invest in the market. He added that regulation would lead to more investment, utility, security, and interest in the sector.
He predicted that once regulations are in place, the crypto market in Australia could see exponential growth, similar to other regions where crypto regulation is active.
Notably, the survey estimated that the total number of digital asset owners dropped from 23% to 20%, but there was an 11% increase in the usage by Gen Z. It also showed that 82% of current Australian crypto investors reported making a profit over the past year, with an average gain of $9,600.
Titman is positive about the future of the Australian crypto market, but he stresses the importance of clear regulations to provide security for investors and encourage further adoption. “The evidence coming out of Australia strongly supports the idea that the international crypto economy will grow once it’s regulated,” he said.
Crypto is legal in Australia as it is described as a property subject to tax. However, as there are no obvious regulations for digital assets in the country, interest in crypto assets like Bitcoin continues to grow as experts like Robert Kiyosaki advocate for investment in Bitcoin.
