Nearly half of Australian retail investors owned cryptocurrencies in the late 2021 and more got their information from YouTube videos than from financial advisers, according to the securities watchdog. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC survey of 1,053 retail investors last November showed 44 per cent holding cryptocurrencies, making it the second most popular investment after Australian shares.
A quarter of investors who hold cryptocurrencies said it was their only investment.
The Australian Labor government will have to focus on consumer protection as it takes over a years-long study, started under the previous conservative government, on whether and how to regulate digital assets.
It legitimises widely known statistics about high rates of Australian criptocurrencies ownership last year, which were dismissed by a top central bank official as implausible.
The survey also showed 41 per cent of respondents went to a social media outlet for investment information, with 20 per cent naming Alphabet Inc's Youtube and 11 per cent naming Meta Platforms' Facebook.
According to the survey, just 13 per cent of their information came from a financial adviser or broker.
ASIC Chair Joe Longo said that they were concerned about the number of people who reported investing in unregulated, volatile crypto-asset products.
There are limited protections for cryptocurrencies-asset investments because they have become more mainstream and are heavily advertised and promoted. There is a strong case for regulation of cryptocurrencies to protect investors. Since the survey, interest rate hikes have spurred investors to exit speculative assets, sending prices of cryptocurrencies to tumbling and sending some businesses into bankruptcy.
In the same month, the survey found that ether andbitcoin, the two most popular cryptocurrencies, hit record highs. Both of them have slid about two-thirds since then, while the Australian stock market is down about 6 per cent.