Millions of Australians are more likely to purchase cryptocurrency after the government legislates changes to regulate the volatile assets.
YouGov data shows more than four million Australians who do not own cryptocurrency are more likely to purchase the digital assets when they are regulated.
It comes as Labor has released draft laws for its digital currency legislation.
This law would require digital asset platforms to secure a licence under the Australian Financial Services legal regime.
This could push some investors to purchase cryptocurrency as many who have never invested in the assets said a lack of rules in the sector was off-putting.
It would also boost the number of investors in the digital assets from one in five Australians to about two in five Australians.
Jason Titman, the CEO of Australian cryptocurrency exchange platform Swyftx, said the new rules could boost the local market above $130b a year.
“The new laws will have two big impacts,” Mr Titman said.
“Licencing rules will protect clients from poorly run crypto exchanges and bring an influx of new investors and businesses to the market.
“The research is very consistent, Australian investors want the market regulated and they’ll start allocating to digital assets as soon as Canberra passes crypto laws.”
He said legal changes could lead major institutions to make the cryptocurrencies easier to purchase for everyday investors.
“We expect legislation to have a big bang impact, with a lot of growth and innovation in the local market,” Mr Titman said.
“We know some local banks will offer spot trading in crypto-assets when the market is regulated and we’ll certainly see more investing into products like bitcoin ETFs.”
The value of major cryptocurrencies have surged in the past year as the digital assets became more normalised for investors.
Bitcoin is up a staggering 104 per cent over the past 12 months, while Ethereum has climbed almost 88 per cent and XRP has skyrocketed about 450 per cent.
Many of Australia’s allies have either implemented laws to regulate cryptocurrencies or have plans to.
The European Union’s cryptocurrency regulation laws started applying in full from the end of 2024.
The US passed legislation in July tackling stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies that aim to maintain a relatively stable value, and is working on wider market structure laws.
Increased legal certainty surrounding the digital assets has led to an uptick of investment in cryptocurrencies.
Major US bank Morgan Stanely said it is just months away from offering cryptocurrencies to retail customers.