Australian Retirement Funds Have ‘Missed the Rally’ in Crypto This Year

Australian self-managed retirement funds held A$3.02 billion (US$1.9 billion) in cryptocurrencies at the end of June, but fresh data suggest they largely sat out this year’s digital-asset rally.

These vehicles, known as self-managed superannuation funds, are private pension accounts that allow Australians to manage their own retirement savings instead of entrusting them to large industry or retail funds.

Together, these funds account for about a quarter of the country’s $4.3 trillion (US$2.8 trillion) superannuation pool, according to data released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority last week.

Such a scale makes SMSFs a crucial component of household wealth for Australians.

However, the current crypto footprint through these funds remains small next to over A$1 trillion managed in Australia’s pension system, according to the country’s tax office report released Wednesday.

Within SMSFs, listed shares remain the largest holding at $296 billion (US$193.1 billion), followed by cash and deposits at $171billion (US$111.6 billion), property at $105 billion (US$68.5 billion), and unlisted trusts at $133 billion (US$86.7 billion).

Crypto in SMSFs surged from $1.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) in March 2024 to $3.1 billion (US$2 billion) by June that year, then held steady at the current figure of roughly $3 billion (US$1.9 billion).

Despite the increase, crypto makes up less than 0.3% of SMSF assets pegged to be over $1 trillion (US$652.5 billion), and an even smaller fraction of Australia’s $4.3 trillion (US$2.8 trillion) pension system.

The limited share reflects how SMSFs are “cautious by design,” Jeremy Kinstlinger, co-founder of Sydney-based liquidity and execution services provider Argamon Markets, told Decrypt.

“Until crypto feels mainstream and well regulated, it’ll remain a small part of retirement portfolios,” Kinstlinger said.

Asked about the slowdown, Kinstlinger said SMSFs followed crypto’s all-time highs early last year but have pared down since then.

“In early 2024, crypto surged to all-time highs and SMSFs followed the trend,” Kinstlinger explained. “But after that peak, most stepped back and haven’t re-entered, which meant they missed the rally into the second half of the year.”

The restrained take-up in SMSFs contrasts with the wider regional momentum, as Asia-Pacific crypto volumes reached $2.36 trillion (US$1.5 trillion) in the year to June, up 69% after growing 27% the previous year, according to a 2025 crypto adoption report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.