You got to know when to HODL 'em… Aussies favour Ethereum, then Bitcoin, over other cryptos: Kraken Australia

Kraken Australia has released an anonymised, aggregate analysis of millions of wallets on its crypto exchange platform. And the data reveals… Aussies really like Ethereum.

More than Bitcoin as it turns out and considerably more than the vast, riskier playing field of 10,000 or so “altcoins” currently vying for the cryptoverse’s attention.

And the data, which you can see in a bit more detail below, is a little eyebrow-raising for Jonathon Miller, managing director of Kraken Australia…

“The analysis is surprising given Australia’s reputation for risk-taking in the global gambling scene,” said Miller, adding:

“Our analysis suggests the increased appetite for risk you’d expect from being one of the world’s biggest gambling markets does not appear to extend into Australian crypto investment strategies.”

Kraken, one of the world’s oldest and most respected global crypto exchanges, shared its analysis with Stockhead this morning via email and was keen to stress that it contains no individual or specific client data – “it’s an averaged summary of total holdings to create hypothetical ‘average user’ wallets”.

According to Kraken, the findings indicate Australians hold more Ethereum compared to average crypto users across the globe and adopt a more conservative strategy when constructing a crypto portfolio.

This, notes the exchange’s notes, is “seemingly in contrast to the nation’s reputation for gambling, with studies suggesting Australia leads the world in both gambling availability and losses”.

Key findings: Ethereum top asset for HODLers

According to Kraken’s analysis…

• the average Australian crypto wallet consists of 78% Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) when grouped together, with the remaining 22% dedicated to other altcoins.

• This differs from the global average, where 64% is dedicated to ETH and BTC, and 36% to smaller altcoins.

• In the Australian crypto-investing landscape, ETH, however, significantly outperforms BTC, with the typical wallet allocating 59.4% to the No.2 crypto asset, compared with BTC’s 17.7%.

• The typical global wallet has more of a balance of the two assets, with 34.5% ETH and 29.9% BTC.

• Here’s the full breakdown for crypto wallets using Kraken in Australia…

Asset	% of Typical Balance
ETH	59.36%
BTC	17.67%
USDT	4.21%
DOT	3.23%
USDC	2.65%
ADA	1.70%
XRP	1.48%
MATIC	0.98%
SOL	0.93%
DOGE	0.58%
Other	7.21%

• Compared with the global breakdown…

Asset	% of Typical Balance
ETH	34.59%
BTC	29.97%
DOT	3.89%
USDC	3.50%
ADA	2.88%
USDT	2.80%
DOGE	2.02%
XRP	1.30%
SOL	1.22%
XMR	0.96%
Other	16.87%

‘Australians are early adopters of Ethereum and web3’

“Whilst it’s not conclusive, our data suggests Australians are early adopters of Ethereum and web3,” Miller explained further.

“It’s a theory that is backed up by the fact that Australia is home to several industry-leading Ethereum projects such as SNX [Synthetix], Illuvium, and Immutable.

“These projects have significant global followings within their respective communities, but establishing in Australia reinforces that we are a front-runner of the web3 revolution. Given our relative size, that’s something to be proud of.”

A quick Q&A with Kraken Australia MD Jonathon Miller

Hi Jonathon. Regarding the Aussie gambling mentality you mentioned, are you of the opinion that many crypto investors view Ethereum (ETH) being on a par with BTC as an investment that warrants accumulating and HODLing?

Wallets with a dominant share of ETH and BTC suggest that people view these as “blue-chip” assets and core components of the crypto ecosystem. The relative risk of each must ultimately be determined by the individual investor.

How are you reading the broader crypto market sentiment right now? Hopeful, fearful or just extremely cautious?

There has been a resurgence in activity because of the major milestones platforms like Ethereum have reached in 2023 but I would characterise current sentiment as “cautiously optimistic”.

What did you make of the Pepe-led memecoins surge and froth lately… does that reflect a bored market itching for something to happen?

Kraken has been paying close attention to the innovation on all networks for many years, including Bitcoin.

The recent development of Ordinals is a playful innovation, and as a result, there have been a spate of projects that have reignited interest in not just NFTs but the memecoin space as a whole.

These kinds of trends will ebb and flow over time – it’s the “fun” side of crypto – and it will always have its place in our industry.

At the time of writing, the author of this piece holds Bitcoin and Ethereum (about 35% of his total crypto allocation into each) and way too many highly speculative altcoins and NFTs to go into right now.