Over 40% of Australian Gen Z and Millennials say they regret not investing in cryptocurrency a decade ago, with a new survey from Australian crypto broker Swyftx suggesting they see it as one of the biggest missed opportunities of the last 10 years.
The study, conducted by YouGov and released on Thursday, surveyed 3,009 people, finding that almost half of the under-35s surveyed regret missing the crypto boat.
This was followed by regret for not buying property and not buying shares in big technology companies such as Apple and Amazon.
Part of the FOMO is likely because of the structural buying of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) by corporations, sovereigns and US pension funds, according to Swyftx.
In 2015, Bitcoin hovered between $172 and $465 during the tail end of a bear market. It has since gained 23,019% and is trading for $107,505 on Thursday.
Crypto seen as a way to solve housing crisis
A Swyftx spokesperson told Cointelegraph that many younger people now feel locked out of the property market and believe crypto could have offered them a chance to afford a home.
Australia is ranked as the sixth most expensive market for property in the world, behind Switzerland, South Korea, Luxembourg, Austria and Norway, according to Australian Property Investor Magazine.
“Housing unaffordability at this scale is a predicament other generations didn’t face and crypto is seen as an opportunity to get ahead.”
“A lot of younger investors want high beta assets in their portfolios, and the data we have indicates they generally understand the asset class pretty well,” the spokesperson added.
Overall, 80% of Australians under 50 said they regretted the investment choices they had made over the last decade.
Younger Australians swapping to crypto over stocks
The gap between younger investors who plan to purchase stocks and those who want to buy crypto has also halved since 2022.
Swyftx CEO Jason Titman stated in the report that the data suggests younger retail investors in the country will be just as likely to buy Bitcoin as standard shares within two years, but the momentum will depend on the government introducing proper investor protections and regulations.
The Swyftx spokesperson said regulation in Australia and other markets would likely be key to unleashing a “big bang of investment.”
“The data we have is consistent, and it tells us that millions more investors will enter the market when it is regulated,” the spokesperson said.
“We can already see the halo effect of regulatory certainty playing out in the US where you have major banks like Morgan Stanley entering the market.”
Related: Australians still feel bank ‘friction’ despite years of crypto progress
Australia’s government, under its ruling center-left Labor Party, proposed a new crypto framework regulating exchanges under existing financial services laws in March.
Gen Zs topping up income with crypto
Gen Z, people born between 1996 and 2010, aged between 29 and 15, have also reported using crypto as a way to supplement their incomes.
The age group also reported the highest profits, with an average of $9,958 among the 82% of investors who made a profit.
Overall, 78% of Australian crypto users reported making a profit from their trading activities in the last year, driven by new record highs across the market.
“Our Gen Z clients have longer investment horizons and anecdotally we know that they’re not overly concerned about the annualized volatility of Bitcoin and other crypto assets,” the Swyftx spokesperson said.
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