A growing number of SMSFs are investing in cryptocurrency and making larger initial investments, as well as trading currencies online, according to a digital asset trading platform.
BTC Markets stated it had conducted an analysis of data on its trading platform for the 2021 financial year and after comparing the data to the previous financial year, found SMSFs had increased their engagement with cryptocurrency across a number of metrics in the past year.
According to the “BTCM Investor Report”, the number of SMSFs using the BTC Markets platform rose by 95 per cent in 2020/21 and the average SMSF investment had increased into the hundreds of thousands of dollars compared with earlier investments in the tens of thousands.
“Their [SMSF investors] average portfolio sizes on our platform have increased substantially, rising by 145 per cent,” the report stated, adding average trade sizes had grown exponentially, rising by 427 per cent in the 2021 financial year.
It also stated SMSFs traded more frequently in 2020/21 than the previous financial year, with average daily trades rising by 40 per cent, and SMSF investors were purchasing currencies that were less well known.
“We have noticed that SMSF investors are comfortable making significant purchases outside of the more well-known cryptocurrencies into projects such as Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Satoshi Vision, indicating their confidence and commitment to research,” BTC Markets chief executive Caroline Bowler said.
These currencies were ranked in the top four for SMSFs on a month-by-month basis, with BTC Markets adding the increased commitment from SMSF investors and their longer-term investment outlook showed a bullish view on cryptocurrency and a trade-off between short-term volatility and expectations of growth overall.
“These data points tell us that the growth potential for SMSF crypto-investors is considerable,” the report said.
“It demonstrates a committed investor, allocating relatively significant amounts of individual portfolios to the asset. That once educated, they are confident to stay the course with their investment thesis.”
