Australians Swap Bricks for Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency has climbed ahead of property on the list of Aussies’ favourite investments, a new report from market research firm CoreData has revealed.

CoreData’s 2025 Crypto Investors white paper found that 12% of Australians now own some variety of crypto, up from 11% last year. The results are based on a survey of 740 Australians from Feb-Apr 2025.

That compares with just 6% who own an investment property in 2025, marking a sharp decline for investment property ownership, which had a 13% ownership rate last year.

The report reveals crypto is now acting as a kind of gateway asset, with 22% of respondents who own multiple asset types saying they got started investing through crypto. CoreData suggests this trend may lead to a generation of investors with altered risk tolerance due to their early exposure to the notoriously risky and volatile crypto market.

Some interesting insights from CoreData’s survey:

• Crypto is most popular among relatively wealthy men in their 30s, with 71% of Aussie crypto holders being under 40, and 77% being male. 
• The correlation between income and crypto ownership is quite strong — those earning over AU$100,000 a year have a one in four chance of owning crypto, while those earning under $100k have just a one in 10 chance of owning crypto.
• Fifty-two percent of respondents said their reason for investing in crypto was a belief in its future value; 40% said they were interested in the tech; and 22% said a belief in the philosophy behind crypto contributed to their investment choice.

Overall, most respondents were confident crypto would ultimately perform well, with 84% expecting crypto to outperform traditional assets in the long term.

Investor advocate and Digital Wealth Group founder, Sydel Sierra, said she isn’t surprised by Aussies’ embrace of crypto.

“It’s just too hard to argue with the returns. Bitcoin’s compound annual growth rate over the past year is 75%; to put that in perspective, S&P 500’s return in that same period was 15%.”

Related: Australia’s Crypto Sector Welcomes New Rules, but Pushes for Clearer Guidance

Crypto Advice Still Lags, Despite Increasing Popularity.

Despite now being Aussies’ third-favourite investment, CoreData found that getting professional financial advice for investing in crypto in Australia is still difficult. Only 11% of the 250 financial advisers surveyed said they have crypto products on their approved products list.

“The vast majority [of financial advisers] do not provide advice on crypto, creating a gap for investors seeking professional guidance,” CoreData said. 

And yet many Australian crypto investors would like to have access to professional advice on their crypto investments: seven in ten crypto holders said “they would be interested in crypto advice if it were available.”

Investors who have financial advisers tend not to receive advice on their crypto investments. CoreData found two-thirds manage their crypto investments outside of the portfolio overseen by their adviser.

Related: Over 40 % of Aussie Gen Z & Millennials Regret Skipping Crypto — See It as Big 10-Year Miss

The white paper found, perhaps ironically, that Australian financial advisers actually invest in crypto at higher rates than the general population — 21% said they currently hold crypto, a further 13% said they’re considering investing, and 8% said they’ve held crypto in the past. However, this also leaves a majority of financial advisers (58%) who seem to have little interest in crypto and would likely struggle to provide any meaningful advice to a potential investor.