This month, Kraken released an anonymised aggregate analysis of the composition of millions of wallets on the platform.

The deep dive offers unique insight into Australia’s increasingly sophisticated crypto landscape, a market that’s not only maturing rapidly but also gaining mainstream acceptance.

Importantly, the analysis contains no individual or specific client data; it analyses trading activity and an averaged summary of total holdings to create hypothetical ‘average user’ wallets.

 

A Snapshot of Findings

Australians are no strangers to venturing ‘off the beaten track’, a trait useful when navigating this ever-evolving asset class.

While Bitcoin maintains its leading status, data shows that Australians are ahead of the curve when it comes to embracing emerging digital assets. Kraken’s Australian clients are more likely to hold new memecoins than the exchange’s global client base.

It is no surprise that Aussies remain responsive to the latest crypto market trends, given our track record for embracing the digital currency. Australia currently boasts the highest rate of crypto ownership (23% of adults) among developed nations (surpassing both the UK and US).

 

Bitcoin Leads Trading While Solana Gains Ground in Australia

Over a 12-month period (May 2023 to May 2024), Bitcoin remained the most actively traded cryptocurrency by Australians on the exchange, accounting for 27.07% of trading volumes – a figure slightly above the global average outside of Australia (26.46%).

Similarly, Solana saw increased interest from Australian traders, representing 10.02% of trading volumes compared to 7.81% for non-Australian clients.

Ethereum came in third, accounting for 9.66% of trading volumes for Australian clients, compared to 9.93% globally.

 

Aussies in Favour of Emerging Crypto

Australian investors have an interesting point of divergence regarding memecoins in their portfolio. In contrast to global trends that favor more established memecoins like DOGE and SHIB, Aussies are more likely to invest in newer memecoins, such as PEPE, WIF, and BONK.

It is great to see the enthusiasm Australians are showing towards new memecoins. While some may say they are simply embracing the fun and unpredictable nature of these assets, it’s likely that many are actually responding to significant changes in the market.

A study by crypto data aggregator CoinGecko found that the top memecoins outperformed every other category of crypto assets during Q1 of 2024, while many other non-meme coins lagged behind due to supply unlocks and negative sentiment surrounding low-float tokens.

Once perceived as just a novelty, acceptance of the asset class’ important role in crypto portfolios has grown throughout this market cycle, as evidenced by rising institutional adoption.

 

Aussies lead in new memecoin adoption

Across the board Aussie users seem to take quicker to novel memecoins:

  • PEPE: 2.65% of Aussie Kraken users vs 1.49% globally
  • WIF: 1.58% of Aussie users vs 0.45% globally
  • BONK: 1.50% of Aussie users vs 0.67% globally

Interestingly, they show less interest in established memecoins:

  • DOGE: 6.65% of Aussie users vs 12.40% globally
  • SHIB: 3.89% of Aussie users vs 5.49% globally

 

Portfolio Value: Ethereum Still Dominates Down Under

Despite the increasing popularity of new offerings, Ethereum continues to dominate holdings on Kraken, making up 49.31% of the average Australian crypto balance, outpacing the global average of 29.24%.

Asset AU Balance Ratio Global(ex-AU ratio)
Ethereum 49.31% 29.24%
Bitcoin 26.13% 39.73%
Solana 5.43% 5.53%
Polka Dot 3.28% 2.37%

 

However, when looking at how many Aussies hold each cryptocurrency (as opposed to the above, which is an average summary of total holdings), a more balanced picture emerges:

Asset Australian User Ratio Global (ex-AU) User Ratio
Bitcoin 35.68% 35.17%
Ethereum 29.79% 29.47%
Cardano 11.88% 15.57%
Polkadot 11.83% 12.96%
Solana 11.79% 10.54%
Ripple 10.56% 14.93%

 

Australia remains a vibrant and critical market for Kraken. Introducing new trading pairs, such as SOL/AUD, is a direct response to the demands of our Australian clients and we’ll continue to adapt our offerings to each market’s unique needs.

The data indicates Aussies have balanced crypto portfolios, combined with Australia’s high crypto adoption rate this reflects the sophistication of the cryptocurrency ecosystem which has evolved here.

As it matures, balancing regulation and innovation will ensure Australia maintains its leadership in a market projected to be worth more than $3 trillion in global trade by 2030.

 

Written by Kraken managing director for Australia and rest of world Jonathon Miller.

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Kraken, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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