It seems plenty of Aussie crypto investors have been “buying the dip” and have apparently been forking out more than ever, according to the 2022 Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI).
Unless you’ve been hiding under an EtherRock (admittedly tricky as it’s an NFT), you’ll appreciate just how bubble-bursting 2022 has been for crypto. What was close to a 2.5 trillion USD industry at the start of the year, is now struggling to hang on to a US$850 billion total market cap.
We won’t go into all the reasons why that’s the case in this article, but if you didn’t know, just look up the market-roiling and confidence-destroying Terra Luna, Celsius and FTX, for starters. It’s complicated, though, because it’s also been a breakout year for institutional and mainstream interest in the space.
Well, we knew this was one of the wildest rides in the financial world. Despite the negative price action, though, and perhaps for some because of it, there appears to be increasing interest from Aussie crypto purchasers compared with last year.
Independent Reserve has flagged the following data-led observations as headlines from its latest report:
• Despite Aussie crypto ownership rates being down overall, according to the report, those who are buying are “seizing the opportunity to ‘buy the dip’, investing more than ever before”.
• In 2022, people investing $500 or more per month in crypto rose 10.3% to 17.3%.
• However, 36.1% of Aussies said a lack of regulation and consumer protection was the main reason they didn’t invest in crypto this year, up from 24.8% in 2021.
Regulations: ‘the time for action is now’
On that last point, we know now that regulations are coming – globally and locally – and sooner than first anticipated. Crypto industry bosses are hoping they’re well considered enough and not knee-jerking innovation-stifling regulations that overreact to the FTX collapse and fallout.
“Our 2022 IRCI findings highlight the increasing need for a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for digital assets that fosters trust and investment in Australia’s financial and payment systems,” noted Independent Reserve CEO, Adrian Przelozny.
“The Albanese Government has a unique opportunity to enable Australia to be a world-leading digital economy and society,” he continued. “The introduction of stronger regulation and policy change will drive investment, provide certainty to the sector and ultimately, increase consumer protection. The time for talk is over, the time for action is now.”
‘Interest and investment in crypto remains high’
Conducted annually, and now in its fourth year, the IRCI is a national survey providing a measure for Australian attitudes towards awareness, trust, adoption and confidence in cryptocurrencies.
The report is a cross-sectional survey of more than 2,000 “everyday Australians”, according to Independent Reserve, which is a cryptocurrency order book exchange and OTC trading desk with more than 200,000 customers from Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
Some other key findings from the report include:
• While 92% of Australians have heard of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin enjoys the highest levels of brand awareness. Some 90.80% of respondents have heard about Bitcoin.
• On the whole, crypto ownership rates decreased from 29% to 26%.
• Ownership among respondents aged 35-44 is up from 38% in 2021 to 46 % in 2022.
• Ownership among 45-54-year-olds grew from 25.3% to 27%, and for 55-64-year-olds ownership grew from 9.7% to 11.4%.
• And not only are older generations dipping their toes in, female ownership has also increased for the second year running – up from 20% to 21.4%.
Przelozny added: “Our 2022 survey results reflect the period of global market uncertainty we’re currently experiencing.
“Crypto has a reputation for being volatile and we have seen this volatility increase recently as the industry market capitalisation has decreased globally.
“Despite this volatility, the 2022 IRCI data clearly demonstrates that Australians’ interest, and investment in crypto remains high and continues to gain momentum.