Over $1bn of super invested in crypto as prices boom

“A relatively high percentage of cryptocurrency users in Australia are experienced traders, so this isn’t necessarily a ‘must-fix’ today issue,” he says. If the cryptocurrency market continues to expand, there will be many new investors who will want financial advice, he says.

While the volatility could lead some to worry whether crypto is an appropriate asset to hold in a super fund, Tania and Mark (surnames withheld) are comfortable with the risks.

The small-business owning couple, who are clients of Swyftx, have spent hundreds of hours studying crypto assets and have recently established a self-managed super fund in which most of the exposure is to bitcoin.

The couple, who are in their mid-50s, invest in residential property and own their own home and hold crypto assets outside of super. While bitcoin has wild swings, over the longer term, the trend is up, the couple says.

“We see it as diversification from traditional finance and real estate and into another asset class,” Mark says. “We see it as digital gold.”

“I would never suggest to anyone what they should do with their money and, for most people, particularly when close to retirement, you would likely not do what we are doing,” Mark says.

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Security of their crypto is top of mind, given that several digital exchanges have been attacked by fraudsters, for example. The couple have their crypto stored in an encrypted “cold wallet”, which means it is not connected to the internet and is therefore less vulnerable to scammers.

Jonathan Philpot, wealth management partner at HLB Mann Judd, says bitcoin’s volatility is more than ten times that of global sharemarkets.

The volatility is driven by “pure speculation”, he says. “There’s no doubt crypto will be part of the future, but it will likely be in the form of a digital currency that is controlled by governments,” he says.

Anyone who has too much in crypto will likely see their super balance dip substantially in any 12-month period, Philpot says.

Bitcoin does not pay income and in retirement when you are drawing income from your pension account, you want a portion of your retirement nest egg invested in income-paying investments, he says.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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