In late 2021, nearly half of Australian retail investors owned cryptocurrencies and more from YouTube videos than from financial advisers, the securities watchdog said on Thursday. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC survey of 1,053 retail investors, conducted last November, found 44 per cent of holdingcryptocurrencies, making it the second most popular investment after Australian shares.
A quarter of investors who hold cryptocurrencies said it was their only investment.
The data will add to the pressure on Australia's new Labor government to emphasize consumer protection as it takes over a years-long study started under the previous conservative government to look at whether and how to regulate digital assets.
Last year, statistics about high rates of Australian cryptocurrency ownership were dismissed as implausible by a top central bank official.
41 per cent of respondents went to a social media outlet for investment information, with 20 percent of the respondents naming Alphabet Inc's Youtube and 11 percent 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 we are concerned about the number of people who reported investing in unregulated, volatile cripto-asset products.
Since they have become increasingly mainstream and are heavily advertised and promoted, there are limited protections for cryptocurrencies-asset investments. 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 cryptocurrencies' prices tumbling and sending some businesses into bankruptcy.
In the same month, the survey conducted by ether andBitcoin hit record highs. Both of them have slid about two-thirds since then, while the Australian stock market is down about 6 per cent.