- The most recent YouGov poll published last week suggests that neither major party will be able to form a majority government following this year’s federal election.
- The most recent annual Crypto Survey from cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx found that around 3.9 million Aussies hold crypto with 59% of them saying they would vote for the most pro-crypto candidate.
- Both major parties are promising to provide much needed regulation for the industry to spur innovation and protect investors, but both have poor records around digital assets.
With an incredibly tight federal election race almost underway, the results of two recent surveys indicate that Aussie crypto voters could, for the first time, play a pivotal role in determining who takes the reins of power.
A poll from YouGov published last week showed that the most likely outcome of the election is that the coalition wins 73 seats, just short of the 76 required to form a majority government. The latest data from YouGov shows a 78% probability of a hung parliament.
The most recent annual Crypto Survey from Brisbane-based cryptocurrency exchange, Swyftx, found that a whopping 3.9 million Aussies currently own at least one cryptocurrency, and of those, 59% claim they would vote for whichever party is more pro-crypto.
Speaking with Sky News, Swyftx CEO Jason Titman said the emergence of crypto-focussed voters in Australia adds a new dynamic to the political landscape of the nation:
For the first time in our political history we’re about to enter a federal election with a crypto voting bloc that’s big enough and motivated enough to swing the result.
Jason Titman, Swyftx CEORelated: Coalition Pledges to Fast-Track Crypto Regulation, Echoing Trump’s Deregulatory Zeal
Crypto Voting Bloc Significant for Aussie Politics: Swyftx CEO
The Swyftx survey shows over 2.3 million voters say they’ll vote for the most pro-crypto candidate. It’s potentially enough to decide who gets to govern.
Titman said many of these crypto-motivated voters are in the crucial battleground electorates in the suburbs of our major cities, potentially further increasing their political impact:
Bitcoin investors are typically more affluent Aussies aged under 50 and they’re ensconced in the inner and outer suburbs of our big cities—key political battlegrounds.
Jason Titman, Swyftx CEOThe Swyftx boss added that what the industry and the crypto voters themselves want is regulatory clarity and improved investor protections, saying “as an industry, we know our customers want clear rules that protect local investors and support competition and innovation. No one wants the status quo.”
Labor Potentially Vulnerable on Crypto
There’s a sense that the Labor government hasn’t prioritised crypto regulation and Australia is now falling behind compared to other jurisdictions.
Many of the world’s traditional finance hubs like Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai have been particularly aggressive in creating favourable environments for the digital assets industry. With the election of Donald Trump, we’re starting to see even the US — long one of the most hostile jurisdictions to crypto — seemingly embrace it.
The Coalition is looking to win key crypto votes by targeting Labor’s apparent foot-dragging. It’s promised to quickly implement “fit-for-purpose” crypto regulation if it wins government with Shadow Financial Services Minister and Shadow Assistant Treasurer, Luke Howarth telling Sky News:
If we are fortunate enough to form government, the Coalition will work quickly to put in place fit-for-purpose regulation which keeps Australia up with the rest of the world.
Luke Howarth, Shadow Financial Services Minister and Shadow Assistant TreasurerIt must be said, though, that the Coalition hasn’t historically taken much interest in crypto either, failing to make much progress on digital asset regulation during their last term in office.
Labor has said it “is acting methodically to ensure that consumers are adequately protected and innovation can flourish and we’ll have more to say in due course”.
Related: RBA Cuts Interest Rate, Pours Water Over Hopes of Future Cuts as Bitcoin Stumbles
Hopefully, throughout the campaign, Australia’s crypto-focussed voters will get a clearer sense of which party will actually be better for the digital assets industry. Whatever happens, let’s hope whoever becomes the next PM doesn’t launch a memecoin and rug-pull their supporters.
AlboWifHat anyone? Or perhaps MrPeteTatoHead token?
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