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Self-Managed Super Funds are a type of retirement portfolio that allows trustees to make their own decisions over its included assets. This extends to cryptocurrencies, which may be included in an SMSF as part of its investment strategy.
The increased presence of crypto across the financial markets has made it a more popular investment across all demographics – particularly Gen Xers and Zoomers.
According to a 2024 Swyftx study, nearly 1/3rd of Aussies from Generation Z own some sort of digital currency.
With cryptocurrency adoption rates climbing across the nation, crypto SMSF holdings appear to be mirroring this trend.
Cryptocurrency: The Fastest-Growing Asset Class in SMSFs
According to the most recent report from the Australian Tax Office (ATO), approximately AUD $1b worth of digital assets are held in crypto Self-Managed Super Funds.
Considering this data came in March 2024, before Bitcoin burst past US $100k following the election of Donald Trump, it’s likely this number is higher at the time of writing.
Even so, the ATO’s latest update demonstrates 400% five-year growth in SMSFs between 2019-24.
This makes crypto the ‘largest growing asset class’ among Self-Managed Super Funds, per Koinly’s Danny Talwar.
As crypto allocation among SMSFs quadrupled, the value of stocks in retirement portfolios ‘only’ grew 28% over the same timeframe. Meanwhile, bonds and other debt assets actually fell in terms of allocation.
Growing Interest in Cryptocurrency Among Newer SMSF Investors
An interesting 2024 report from Vanguard shed some light on the interest in crypto among modern investors. Data shows that, of all Australian SMSFs, crypto makes up an average of 1% of the retirement portfolio.
However, among newly-formed SMSFs, 7% of the retirement fund comprised digital currencies.
This suggests that more and more people are creating SMSFs for the primary purpose of investing in digital assets for retirement.
The 2024 Annual Australian Crypto Survey conducted by Swyftx uncovered a similar trend, with 27% of respondents looking to add crypto to their retirement portfolios – self-managed or otherwise. This was a 12-month increase of 2% across all demographics surveyed.
Gen Z investors in particular are drawn to cryptocurrency, with an impressive 1-year, 16% rise in ownership aimed at retirement.
This likely means many of the new, crypto-heavy SMSFs are being built by younger investors.
Bitcoin Dominates SMSF Asset Allocation
The latest data shows more people are choosing to buy Bitcoin as part of their Self-Managed Super Funds.
BTC dominated the digital asset news cycle for most of 2024, kicking things off with the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in March.
This led to an influx of institutions snapping up Bitcoin, granting would-be super investors confidence in the asset’s viability.
In addition, the advent of a US Strategic Reserve holding Bitcoin has coincided with growing interest among Self-Managed Super Fund investors.
Unsurprisingly, 2025 data from Swyftx shows that 20% of SMSF account trade volume comes from Bitcoin transactions. Ethereum (11.5%) and Solana (7%) rounds out the top three.
Interestingly, MATIC/POL ranks 7th in terms of SMSF account trade volume across Swyftx. This is especially noteworthy when you consider the project ranks outside the top 40 by market capitalization as of March 2025.
As you’d expect, the disparity between Bitcoin and its contemporaries is even bigger when it comes to SMSF ownership.
On Swyftx, BTC holdings are nearly 800% larger than that of Solana (rank second) and Ethereum (rank third). Bitcoin makes up essentially half of all assets held in SMSF accounts – a trend that has only strengthened following regulatory tailwinds for the world’s first cryptocurrency.
Summary
Cryptocurrency is steadily becoming one of the most sought-after growth assets for Australian retirement portfolios.
While the amount of cryptocurrency held in SMSFs is much lower than other assets such as stocks and bonds, its growth since the start of the decade has been eye-catching.
Since the start of the decade, adoption among crypto SMSFs has ramped up. Bitcoin in particular has gained visibility across institutions and Governments, a trend that may be contributing to broader interest among SMSF investors.
Swyftx
