A decade of regret: young Australians lament missing bitcoin at $400
You know that gut-wrenching feeling of looking back and thinking, “Oh man, if only I’d done that?” Well, for young Australians, that feeling is hitting hard, especially when it comes to Bitcoin. Many are kicking themselves, convinced they could have gotten a foot in the notoriously tough property market if they’d just jumped into crypto a decade ago. Now, they feel completely locked out.
A recent survey by Australian crypto broker Swyftx, conducted by YouGov, revealed a massive dose of regret. Over 40% of Gen Z and Millennials down under said their biggest financial “if only” from the last 10 years was not investing in cryptocurrency. It wasn’t just crypto, though; missing out on property and tech giants like Apple and Amazon also stung, but crypto was number one for nearly half of those under 35.
Why all the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)? Swyftx suggests it’s partly because big players – corporations, even entire countries, and US pension funds – have started piling into Bitcoin and Ethereum. Back in 2015, Bitcoin was just chugging along, hovering between a humble $172 and $465. Fast forward to today, and that same Bitcoin is trading around $107,505 – a mind-boggling 23,019% jump!
Crypto: The unlikely hero for homeownership dreams?
According to a Swyftx spokesperson, a lot of younger folks feel like the housing market has completely shut them out. They genuinely believe that a timely crypto investment could have been their golden ticket to affording a home. And they’re not wrong to feel the pressure; Australia is the sixth most expensive property market in the world.
“Housing unaffordability on this scale is something previous generations didn’t have to grapple with,” the spokesperson explained. “Crypto is really seen as an opportunity for them to get ahead.” They also noted that younger investors are often drawn to “high beta assets” – meaning investments with higher risk and higher potential returns – and they tend to have a pretty good grasp of the asset class.
It’s not just the young ones feeling the pinch. Overall, a whopping 80% of Australians under 50 admitted they regretted some of their investment choices from the last decade.
A generational shift: crypto over stocks
The investment landscape is changing rapidly. The gap between younger investors planning to buy traditional stocks versus those eyeing crypto has actually halved since 2022. Swyftx CEO Jason Titman believes this trend means that within just two years, young retail investors in Australia will be just as likely to buy Bitcoin as they are standard shares. However, he stressed that this momentum hinges on the government getting proper investor protections and regulations in place.
“The data is consistent,” a Swyftx spokesperson confirmed, “millions more investors will jump into the market once it’s properly regulated.” They pointed to the US, where regulatory clarity is already creating a “halo effect,” with major banks like Morgan Stanley now entering the crypto space. Australia’s center-left Labor government is certainly moving in that direction, proposing a new crypto framework back in March.
Gen Z: banking on crypto for extra income
It seems Gen Z (those born between 1996 and 2010) isn’t just dreaming about crypto wealth – they’re actively using it to boost their incomes. This age group actually reported the highest profits, with 82% of them making money, averaging out to about $9,958 each. Across all Australian crypto users, 78% reported a profit in the last year, fueled by the market’s recent record highs.
“Our Gen Z clients tend to have a longer investment horizon,” the Swyftx spokesperson observed. “Anecdotally, we know they’re not overly concerned about the year-to-year ups and downs of Bitcoin and other crypto assets.” They’re in it for They’re in it for the long game the long haul.
