SelfWealth to Become Australia’s First Brokerage Firm With Crypto Offerings

SelfWealth, an Australian brokerage firm, has partnered crypto exchange BTC Markets to bring crypto-related serviced to its users. After approvals from Australian financial watchdog AUSTRAC, SelfWealth will become the first online share trading firm in the country to have offerings for crypto investors. The move aims to provide one platform for the trading of varied assets, including cryptocurrencies for Australian citizens. SelfWealth is expected to roll out its crypto services in the second quarter of 2022, the exact date of which remains undecided or undisclosed.

“Currently, moving between popular investment types usually requires access to multiple trading platforms and for investors to move money multiple times. We want to make investing in cryptocurrency as seamless as possible,” CryptoPotato quoted SelfWealth CEO Cath Whitaker as saying.

During their market analysis, the brokerage firm realised that over 30 percent of its clients were engaging in crypto trading.

SelfWealth has over 100,000 active users, it announced last year when they were nearing the milestone mark.

As part of its initial crypto services, the platform will allow users to trade in five cryptocurrencies, names of which have not been announced as of now.

The top two biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap, Bitcoin and Ether are likely to be included in the list, a report said.

Existing clients of SelfWealth will not be required to make fresh accounts to its upcoming crypto services.

The number of crypto investors in Australia rose to 28.8 percent last year from 18.4 percent in 2020, a report called the 2021 Independent Reserve's Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI) had said last year.

Australian exchange BTC markets has also reportedly claimed that more than 300,000 Australians traded over $21 billion (roughly Rs. 1,56,768 crore) worth of crypto on its platform in recent times.

The Australian authorities are backing the idea of making the country a crypto hub.

In November last year, Jane Hume, the Digital Economy Minister of Australia, validated the crypto space saying that it is not a “fad”, and suggesting the government to be open to upcoming tech innovations.

Earlier in October, a finance committee tabled a report in the Australian parliament, focussing on new licensing regimes, tackling environmental problems related to crypto mining, and addressing the growing issue of debanking.

Mastercard also joined hands with Australian trading platform CoinJar last year in order to introduce cryptocurrency-linked credit, debit, and prepaid cards for both individuals and businesses across the Asia Pacific region.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.