Coinbase Eyeing the Australian Pension Market

Despite all the criticism and scepticism, cryptocurrency has emerged as one of the most solid investment vehicles on the planet. Bitcoin, for example, was a top-performing asset of the 2010s and with new wins like the spot ETF, it is even more attractive than ever before.

Now, Coinbase is looking to offer more crypto options to Australians according to new reports. In an interview with Bloomberg, Asia-Pacific Managing Director John O’Loghlen stated that Coinbase is developing a new service that targets self-managed pensions in Australia. With this new service, those who manage these pensions can add crypto to their portfolios.

Coinbase Coming to Australia

Retirement is a major issue when it comes to consumers’ finances and those who choose to manage their pension funds often have more flexibility. Cryptocurrency is such a high-profile asset class and many people, Australians included, have gotten more involved in the asset class.

There are those who choose to invest in crypto presales or trade already-launched tokens speculatively. There is also the option of gambling with crypto. As Michael Graw writes, people are turning to cryptocurrency casinos in Australia to increase their crypto holdings so clearly there is demand for them.

From those who turn to an anonymous casino to others who become part-time crypto traders, it seems there is no stopping the crypto train in Australia.

While O’Loghlen did not give a lot of details about the upcoming service, it will not exactly be the first of its kind. More centrally managed pension funds are beginning to include crypto assets in their portfolios, which lends more legitimacy to the asset class. Now, self-managed ones are getting the same treatment.

It is interesting and also timely that Coinbase is targeting self-managed crypto funds for this purpose. Crypto is known for being a good store of value and a hedge against inflation in the long run.

All these make for good investments for a pension fund and Coinbase wants to bring these benefits to the Australian market.

“Self-managed super funds might just make a single allocation, set it and forget it, We are working on an offering to service those clients really well on a one-off basis—to have them trade with us and stay with us,” O’Loghlen said in his interview.

Also discussed was the issue of ETFs and the attention they have been getting from investors. For some, an ETF is a more attractive way to invest in cryptocurrency and it was speculated that this new service is trying to encroach on this market. Since the spot Bitcoin ETF was approved, billions of dollars have been spent on various funds, including some investors taking money out of other crypto investment schemes.

With the recent approval of the spot Ether ETF, this trend will not likely stop anytime soon. But O’Loghlen has said that Coinbase isn’t looking to take away business from these other funds. Instead, he says, they have created a ‘rising tide’ that everyone in the space can benefit from and more interest from self-managed fund owners.

There is certainly a huge market in Australia as, according to the Australian Tax Office, about $664 million in self-managed funds have been allocated to crypto as of 2024, which is a huge leap from its previous figure. The fact that crypto assets are being so widely considered for pensions also shows how far it has come in the public eye.

There was a time when crypto was considered a scam or a worthless investment and now, people are trusting their future finances with it. Regardless of how Coinbase’s new venture performs, that is a win for the industry.

Conclusion

The beauty of the crypto sector’s growth is that we are constantly finding new ways to invest in various assets. From the ETF to whatever service Coinbase is launching in Australia, consumers are spoiled for choice.

All these investment options mean that various cryptos will continue to see a demand, which boosts their market price. The use of these tokens in pension funds means that they are expected to remain valuable long into the future once the funds mature. If this happens, the crypto industry will continue to thrive for decades to come and not fizzle out as some critics have predicted.

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