A new poll has found that the more Australians invest in cryptocurrencies than in gold and silver…. But only by a tiny margin.
A survey of over 2000 Australian investors has discovered that cryptocurrency is a much more popular investment compared to silver and gold but it has quite a ways to go to catch up into shares.
On the other hand, the stock market is undoubtedly the favored in option for investors, with 63.6% holding shares directly and 28.8% investing in exchange-traded funds or restricted funds. Property is also a popular investment (25.8%), although 18.8% said they spent in”collectibles”.
Australian crypto investors greatly favor Bitcoin and Ethereum, using 83.2% holding Bitcoin and 42% holding Ethereum, followed by Ripple with 28.5 percent, Litecoin with 18%, and Bitcoin money with 12%.
The research revealed that almost one-third of the cryptocurrency investors made their first investment following the COVID-19 triggered market crash of March 2020. This research is backed up by yet another poll from October 2020, which demonstrated that 39% of respondents had discovered Bitcoin more appealing after the pandemic started.
Despite most cryptocurrencies rallying to all time highs lately , 51% of Aussie investors said they had no intention of selling their crypto shortly, with 31% planning to exit after three years of holding. Of the 49% that are wanting to market or take earnings, one in five shareholders intend to reinvest the capital back into crypto.
The largest demographic of crypto investors (36.3percent ) in the survey were aged between 25-34 with, followed closely by those aged between 35-44 at 30.1%. Men accounted for 63 percent of all crypto investors, and one in four earned an income of over $100,000 each year.
BTC Markets CEO Caroline Bowler noted an increasing number of elderly Australians are investing in crypto, together with investors 60-plus doubling in number over the past couple of years to constitute 10% of the customer base:
“At the past 12 months, we’ve noticed a change from 25-45-year-old men to a much wider age group, especially early retirees who are considering diversifying their investment portfolio and are catching up with this fastest-growing asset category.”
The study is broadly consistent with other surveys, including one in December that found nearly one in five Australian adults possessed crypto in 2020.