1 in 9 Australians have purchased crypto in the last year

CHOICE has called on the federal government to introduce stronger protections for consumers in the crypto market.

A new survey conducted by the consumer group found that one in nine Australians have purchased crypto such as bitcoin in the last 12 months and one in five are either involved or interested in crypto trading.

Majority of respondents agreed that cryptocurrency trading should have consumer protections similar to trading on the stock market.

CHOICE senior policy advisor, Patrick Veyret, said the number is rising on the back of “aggressive marketing” which often include celebrities and social media influencers.

“The crypto market is booming, but our laws are lagging behind. More and more Australians are purchasing crypto-assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum without adequate consumer protections,” Mr Veyret said.

“CHOICE is hearing from many Australians about financial loss and other harm caused by purchasing crypto-assets that were not what they appeared to be. We’ve seen a number of recent collapses of exchanges where people have lost all of their savings with no ability to get their money back.”

He continued: “Crypto-assets can be volatile, complex and high-risk products that are causing greater harm to the community as more and more people are risking their livelihoods based on misrepresentations and marketing.”

To read more, please click on the link below…
Source: 1 in 9 Australians have purchased crypto in the last year | nestegg