Aussie Crypto Adoption Increases: Almost 20% of Australians Own Cryptocurrencies

A survey conducted by the Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve shows that over 90% of locals have heard of at least one cryptocurrency. At the same time, nearly one in every five respondents said that they own a digital asset.

Crypto Awareness Among Aussies

The Australian-based exchanged highlighted that its Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI) survey has reached out to “everyday Australians and reflects the nation as a whole,” instead of focusing on digital asset users.

The number of people who have heard of at least one cryptocurrency has skyrocketed by over 90% in a year to 91.4%. Somewhat expectedly, the first-ever crypto asset Bitcoin leads the market awareness with 89%. The difference with the second-seeded Ethereum is quite substantial, as the graph below illustrates.

Bitcoin’s popularity was equal among men and women. However, men were “3x more likely to have heard of other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, EOS, and Litecoin.”

The report said that younger generations, especially 18-24-year-olds, are “more likely to be aware of DeFi tokens” with 14.4%, while the overall figure is about 7.8%.

Almost 20% Of Aussies Own Crypto

When it came down to actually purchasing cryptocurrencies, the report’s numbers are even more compelling. The paper classified this as “one of the key indicators of Australian attitudes to cryptocurrency is actual adoption.”

18.4% of respondents answered that they own at least one digital asset – this is an increase from last year’s 16.8%. The age group between 25 and 44 has displayed the most growth in a year. For comparison, only 10% of UK citizens noted that they had purchased any digital assets, according to another study.

The adoption results reaffirmed the stance that BTC is the most popular asset for Australians as well. However, Ripple (XRP) had surpassed Ethereum and taken the second spot.

Additionally, more people have taken advantage of the 2020 bull run in the crypto market as 42.7% had reported making profits and expanding their digital asset portfolio. In contrast, 21.8% said that their wealth has decreased because of bad cryptocurrency investments.

Interestingly, 45-54-year-old citizens were “most likely to have made a profit – 54.5%.” Younger generations (18-34) seemed “more conservative in their trading” approaches – “they were least likely to have taken a loss (15%) and almost twice as likely to have broken even compared to their elders.”