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Millions of potenial Australian crypto investors are “sitting on the sidelines” until regulations around the market are clearer, says the head of a local crypto exchange.
Jason Titman, the CEO of Swyftx, told Cointelegraph that his firm predicts between two to six million <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/australia-rise-crypto-crimes" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Australians will enter</a> crypto when “the dust has settled on regulation.”
A Swyftx <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://swyftx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/swyftx-cryptocurrency-survey-2024.pdf" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">survey</a> found nearly a third of respondents would be more likely to buy <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/what-is-a-cryptocurrency-a-beginners-guide-to-digital-money" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">crypto</a> if it were regulated, while 41% said they didn’t trust crypto without regulation.
Of the survey’s 2,229 adult respondents, 20% had never owned crypto, while 43% of those surveyed said they don’t know enough about how crypto works.
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 <img alt="Australian crypto investors ‘sitting on the sidelines’ for clearer laws: Swyftx CEO" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/0191dfa7-f444-7985-b60c-31830fb8f90e">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Most respondents said they didn’t know enough about how crypto works or were too concerned about regulation to consider investing. Source: Swyftx
 </figcaption>
</figure>
“We have a wall of investors right now sitting on the sidelines waiting for the security of consumer protections,” Titman said.&nbsp;
<blockquote>
 “When national markets are regulated you will get more investment in the sector, more utility, more security and more interest.”
</blockquote>
Swyftx estimated from its survey that there are 3.9 million <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/31-percent-young-australians-hold-crypto-asx-survey" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Australians who own crypto</a>, while a further 1.3 million are considering entering the market in the next 12 months.&nbsp;
Swyftx’s survey also found crypto <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/hsbc-australia-bank-block-payments-crypto-exchanges" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">usage in Australia has fallen slightly</a> despite Bitcoin <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/">rallying</a> to an all-time high of $73,750 in March of 2024.&nbsp;
<figure>
 <img alt="Australian crypto investors ‘sitting on the sidelines’ for clearer laws: Swyftx CEO" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/0191dfa9-f874-758f-99e0-6c7c48355bee">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 An estimated 3.9 million Australians currently own cryptocurrency, compared to 4.5 million in 2023. Source: Swyftx
 </figcaption>
</figure>
The overall number of people who own digital assets also dropped from 23% to 20, but one age bracket, Gen Z, saw an 11% increase in usage.&nbsp;
Most investors also reported making a profit over the last 12 months, with roughly 82% claiming to have made gains. Swyftx estimates the average profit was $9,600.&nbsp;
<h2 id="strong-adoption-sideways-until-laws-in-place-strong">Adoption “sideways” until laws in place&nbsp;</h2>
Titman expects crypto adoption will “track sideways” until the country moves on regulations.
“The reality is that there are a finite number of investors who are willing to take on the risk of entering an unregulated market,” Titman said. “At some point, without regulation, adoption is going to slow.”
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/aussie-regulator-build-outcome-based-crypto-policies" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Aussie corporate regulator to build ‘outcome-based’ crypto policies</a>
“The evidence coming out of Australia strongly supports the idea that the international crypto economy will exponentially grow when it’s regulated. We think a regulated industry is almost certainly how we hit one billion global crypto owners.”
Currently, cryptocurrencies are <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/an-overview-of-the-cryptocurrency-regulations-in-australia" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">legal in Australia</a> and are subject to laws treating them as property. Those who cash out profits on their investments must disclose the transaction to tax authorities.
The government has <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/australia-treasury-crypto-exchange-financial-services-license-regime-consultation" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">pledged to introduce exchange regulations</a> and custody, but there are still no firm rules. &nbsp;
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/bitcoin-price-all-time-highs-donald-trump-election-sec-gary-gensler-felix-hartmann-hall-of-flame/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin will ‘start ripping’ as Trump’s polls improve: Felix Hartmann, X Hall of Flame</a>

Australian crypto investors ‘sitting on the sidelines’ for clearer laws: Swyftx CEO

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