More than half of Australian crypto owners are assessing how they can use their digital assets without selling them to cover home deposits, car loans, and other major outgoings.

More than half of Australian crypto owners (61%), equating to around 2.8 million Aussies, are considering using their idle crypto as security for loans in the next year to cover big life purchases, research from Australian blockchain-powered fintech company Block Earner reveals today.

Over one in four (26%) Aussie crypto owners who are considering a crypto-backed loan would put the cash towards a home deposit, while 26% also said they’d use the liquidity to buy a car. 25% say they’d use the money to pay for a holiday and one in 10 (11%) said they’d use it to pay for a wedding.

There are over 4.6 million Australians who own crypto in 2023, many of whom are holding onto their assets waiting for the value to increase over the long term. However, the need for liquidity to reach major life milestones is also becoming more evident, with inflation and interest rates at a decades-long high, and Australian savings levels dangerously low. 

The need for a safety net in lieu of the bank of Mum and Dad is becoming increasingly evident, with millennials and Gen Zs amassing a combined average of just $20,000 in savings. Yet with the average home deposit sitting at $283,000 in Sydney and $207,000 in Melbourne, Aussies have to save for nearly nine years to break into the market.

Block Earner’s research not only highlights the need for increased financial pathways for young Australians, but it also establishes the utility of digital assets in enabling this cohort to achieve financial freedom, faster. With over 4 million Australians currently holding digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, accessing liquidity through a crypto-backed loan could take them from asset to apartment in just a year.

Charlie Karaboga, co-founder and CEO at Block Earner said: “Currently in Australia, there is no credit provider offering personal loans where crypto can be used as collateral. This glaring gap in the market renders crypto assets illiquid, leaving over 4 million crypto holders with no choice but to sell their assets if they need to release cash.

“As real wages stagnate and inflation impacts all levels of income earners, Australians are looking for new and flexible ways to secure their financial futures. They’re doing this by taking paths currently untraversed by traditional lenders, who are yet to recognise crypto as an asset class on net worth calculations.”

Study methodology

Research was commissioned by Block Earner and administered by YouGov. It was conducted in May 2023 among a sample of 1,060 Australian crypto owners aged 18+ (representative of the population).