- The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) warned citizens against buying ‘undefined financial products.’
- No protection for or compensation for losing money to crypto volatility, ASIC chair warns.
- Approximately 20% of all adults in Australia now own one type of digital asset.
The chairman of the Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), Joe Longo, recently warned Australian citizens about investing their money in cryptocurrencies. Speaking at this year’s edition of the Australian Financial Review Super and Wealth Summit, Longo disclosed that cryptocurrency in Australia lies outside the spectrum of defined ‘financial products’ because they are not covered by the present ASIC laws. This means, according to Longo, that there are no reimbursements or insurance against scams, hacks, or artificial volatility risks to be guaranteed by the government as it is with the traditional financial market.
Longo admits, following the global rise in attention on the cryptocurrency market, that it has become difficult getting citizens to heed financial advice.
Australian crypto adoption
Looking at the numbers, they reveal a growing trend in crypto purchases that confirms Longo’s fears. 17.8% of citizens already own investment in one form of digital asset or the other. 1 in every 5 men and 1 in every 7 women admitted to owning crypto making the nation rank third among the list of countries with the highest number of crypto owners.
The crypto adoption rankings which were conducted by Finders.au revealed Bitcoin to be the most owned crypto with a 65.2% adoption rate followed by Ethereum (42.1%) and Cardano (26.4%) as well as Dogecoin (23%) and Binance Coin (14.6%). Surprisingly there are more Cardano owners in Australia than in the US, or anywhere else in the world.
Commonwealth Bank Signs up for crypto
Crypto adoption, over the past few weeks, has seen a significant amount of growth following the decision of Australia’s biggest bank, Commonwealth Bank (CBA), to venture into trading crypto. CBA is looking to start off with 10 crypto assets, under a partnership deal with Chainalysis and Gemini that would make buying and selling of crypto available to over 6 million customers who already use its mobile app.
In a first-mover advantage that has been hailed by many as a right step towards earning crypto legitimately in the eyes of Australian lawmakers, CBA disclosed that the project is currently in its pilot stages and is billed for a nationwide launch in 2022.
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