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Key points
- Almost every Australian has some awareness of crypto
- At least 25% of Aussies trust digital currencies
- 40% expect to own crypto in the next 5 years
2022 hasn't been off to the greatest start for crypto investors.
The world's top crypto by market cap, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is down 20% since 1 January. The Bitcoin price currently stands at US$38,231 (AU$54,466).
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) has been doing it even tougher. The Ethereum price is currently at US$2,685. That's down 29% so far in 2022.
But according to a new survey commissioned by Australian cryptocurrency exchange CoinSpot, that's unlikely to deter millions of Aussies from investing in crypto over the coming years.
What did the CoinSpot Crypto Awareness Survey reveal?
Among its key findings, the survey revealed that Australians' awareness of crypto assets has hit 97%.
Along with increased awareness, "trust, ownership, risk appetite and legitimate investing for wealth building" all increased down under, with some strong growth witnessed among older cohorts.
While still a minority, 22% of respondents said they'd bought, sold, swapped or traded crypto over the last 4 years.
As for trust, 27% of Aussies said they trust crypto completely, "especially when it comes to navigating financial and economic concerns" and hedging against inflation. Adding to that, 42% said they think the risks of digital assets will decrease over time and that they'll become more widely accepted.
The number of respondents saying they expect to own crypto in the next 5 years reached 43%. That figure has more than doubled since 2020, when only 20% had the same expectations.
Not just for fun anymore
Another big shift among respondents came around the question of whether they were investing for enjoyment, with 10% fewer saying this was the case than in June 2021. Since then, 8% more Aussie investors said they're investing in crypto for business and 6% more are employing it for personal use.
Additionally, 55% said they invest with a long-term focus. And some 40% are "willing to accept moderate to high levels of financial risk" when investing in crypto.
Generation X joining in the crypto charge
Some of the biggest changes in responses since 2020 came from those belonging to Generation X.
Awareness of digital tokens (knowing a "fair bit" or a "little bit") among this cohort increased from 34% in 2020 to 61% in the 2022 survey.
Trust among the Gen X group also increased markedly, up from 46% in 2020 to 61% today.
Commenting on the survey results, Tim Wilks, marketing executive at CoinSpot, said:
The younger generations will always be early adopters of tech, which we've seen in previous iterations of this report. From the data it appears as though we are reaching an inflection point in mainstream adoption when the historically more conservative/risk averse generations start to jump on board in larger numbers.
From institutional investors, private offices, corporates, to everyday Mums and Dads, the appeal and opportunity that exists with crypto is becoming better understood.
