Who is using bitcoin in Australia?

If you’re wondering who are the major bitcoin users in Australia, they are white males under the age of 34 living on the eastern seaboard, according to research undertaken last month.

The research, carried out by Bitcoin.com.au, shows millennials are adapting to bitcoin, the peer-to-peer (P2P) digital currency, just like other systems of “collective commons” such as Uber and Netflix, which provide greater savings and efficiency to customers.

Most of those Australians surveyed said they were using bitcoin for the purpose of investment. With the price of one bitcoin rising more than 500 per cent in the past 12 months (August 2016: $US600; August 2017: $US3200), it’s historically been a good investment.

The research, undertaken last month, captured a snapshot of nearly 1200 active users involved in the bitcoin ecosystem, either as participants or observers.

Only a very small proportion of those surveyed held more than 25 bitcoins (3 per cent), while 70 per cent of participants were holding less than one bitcoin. Perhaps given that data, it is unsurprising that very few, less than 10 per cent, use bitcoin daily.

We also delved into why people liked bitcoin and for the vast majority, the reason is investment. Users highlighted the values of no central authority, transaction privacy and global acceptance as key reasons why they owned bitcoin.

Interestingly, transaction costs were not seen as a key factor, suggesting that users are willing to pay a premium for services that protect their privacy.

This was reflective of participants’ views of the major risks of this new payment network — 50 per cent of participants regarded hacking and theft as bitcoin’s biggest risk, while only 5 per cent believed anonymity was a serious risk.

Rupert Hackett is the founder and CEO of Bitcoin.com.au and board director for the Australian Digital Commerce Association.

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Source: Who is using bitcoin in Australia? – The Australian