Blockchain technology company DigitalX has revealed that demand for cryptocurrency is increasing in Australia.
Reports indicate that some of the country’s wealthiest families have been buying up digital assets. This is supposedly their alternative investment to get returns, as opposed to stocks or bonds.
As a company that assists families with the purchase of digital assets, DigitalX is up close and personal with this trend. As an exchange, it deals with established coins such as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), BINANCE coin (BNB), cardano (ADA), and polkadot (DOT).
The trend comes amid reports that cryptocurrency is becoming mainstream in Australia. And it’s not just the country’s elite investing in crypto that’s suggesting it. At the end of April, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) revealed it could launch the country’s first ever crypto-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). Upon launch, the ETF would allow Australian share portfolios to contain cryptocurrencies.
The crypto climate in Australia
Now, recent data asserts that around 26% of Australians own and trade in cryptocurrency. Half of that percentage invest and trade solely in BTC.
While the ASX and the Australian elite could not ignore it forever, reports indicate that not everyone is not totally on board with cryptocurrency in the country. On account of number of crypto-related scams, which are only on the rise alongside the number of crypto-based transactions. According to one report, $16.5 million AUD were lost in cryptocurrency scams in Q1 2021 in Australia.
One of the most recent cases involved 28-year-old Alexandre Raffin, who sued crypto company Modern Assets Australia, claiming they breached their duty of care. Raffin alleged that the company was to provide him with the South Korean cryptocurrency Klaytn (KLAY). The deal fell through, but Modern Assets put Raffin in direct touch with the seller afterwards. This resulted in the same seller stealing Raffin’s money sometime later.
In other Australian crypto news, at the end of March, reports stated that BTC’s market capitalization exceeded the total value of the physical cash in Australia. Including banknotes and coins. This was when BTC surpassed the $1 trillion market cap threshold.
