31% of Gen Z Australians Own Crypto According to Latest Report

The days of traditional finance are numbered, with cryptocurrencies expected to overtake fiat in Australia by 2029. A new report also reveals Australians have amassed over A$7 billion in crypto with 31 percent of the Gen Z population leading the investment charge, a figure that has doubled since January.

Overall, 17 per cent of Australians own cryptocurrency, according to the report from comparison site Finder, while a further 13 per cent said they intended to buy digital assets within the next year.

Bitcoin Is Still the Boss

The average Australian investor owns A$2,078 in crypto assets, with Bitcoin (held by 9 percent of Aussies) still the most popular currency ahead of Ethereum (8 percent), Dogecoin (5 percent) and Bitcoin Cash (4 percent).

Finder’s cryptocurrency expert James Edwards says Gen Z’s investment profile signals that traditional finance is being phased out. He makes a bold prediction for the future of crypto in Australia:

Many Aussies are now much more clear on the benefits cryptocurrencies offer, such as bitcoin being a hedge against fiat currency and inflation, plus the ability to earn interest on assets through things like stablecoins and decentralised finance on Ethereum. We should expect to see [crypto] as a dominant financial industry by the end of the decade, especially among younger generations who have never had meaningful access to traditional finance.

James Edwards, cryptocurrency expert, Finder

Crypto Investment Overtakes Real Estate Among Younger Demographics

The Finder report notes that the proportion of Australians (17 percent) who own crypto is now identical to the cohort who own two investment properties. Talking about house and property prices has long been a national pastime but it seems that investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is what Australians are really up to.

In June, Crypto News Australia reported how 40 percent of Australian millennials prefer to invest in digital assets over real estate. A survey of more than 1000 investors conducted in the same month by fund manager Vanguard Australia showed that millennials are the biggest cohort that own crypto assets.