For decades, Australians building wealth and planning for retirement have relied on property, shares, term deposits and super. But as technology reshapes how we live, shop and bank, it’s also changing how we invest.
Who would have thought that digital currencies like Bitcoin would be discussed alongside shares and super as part of a balanced portfolio?
The arrival of digital assets is one of the biggest changes in modern investing.
Bitcoin, the first and most established of them, has gradually moved from the margins of finance to the mainstream. While still volatile, it’s increasingly being incorporated into diversified portfolios and discussed within mainstream financial advice.
How Bitcoin Actually Works
At bitcoin.com.au we often explain that Bitcoin isn’t just digital money – it’s an entirely new financial network. It works differently from the money we use every day because it’s built differently.
Instead of being issued by a government or managed by a bank, it runs on a global computer network that records every transaction on something called a blockchain – a public, tamper-proof ledger open for anyone to see.
This system makes it secure and transparent. What really sets Bitcoin apart, though, is that only 21 million coins will ever exist. That built-in scarcity is one reason some investors see it as a kind of digital gold – not a replacement for the dollars in your wallet, but a new way to store value in an increasingly digital world.
Because it isn’t tied to corporate earnings or interest-rate settings, its price is driven mainly by global demand and the perception of value in a limited resource.
Unlike shares, which rise and fall with company profits, or property, which depends on interest rates, Bitcoin runs on its own global network.
For investors who have lived through market crises and corporate collapses, the transparency and immutability of blockchain data are strong attributes.
Volatility – and What It Means
Bitcoin’s price can move around more than most traditional investments, and that can be confronting at first glance.
But those ups and downs tend to matter less to investors who take a long-term view. Like shares or property, it’s not about what happens this week or next, but how the asset behaves over years. The key is balance – treating Bitcoin as a small part of a broader, well-diversified portfolio rather than something to trade on short-term swings.
No one should pretend Bitcoin’s price is stable. But volatility doesn’t automatically mean unreliability.
A small allocation – typically one to five per cent of a balanced portfolio – has been shown in several studies to improve long-term, risk-adjusted returns without dramatically increasing overall volatility.
Research from Grayscale, 21Shares and BlackRock indicates that incorporating just 1 – 5 per cent of Bitcoin into a balanced portfolio may improve risk-adjusted returns while keeping overall volatility manageable (Grayscale 2025; 21Shares 2025; BlackRock 2024).
Growing Trust Through Regulation
A decade ago, the crypto world was a regulatory grey area but the rules around digital assets are catching up.
In Australia, cryptocurrency platforms must now register with AUSTRAC, which enforces strict anti-money-laundering and consumer-protection standards.
Proposed legislation will soon require crypto platforms to hold financial-services licences, bringing them closer to traditional brokerages.
The ATO also provides clear guidance on how crypto is treated for tax purposes, and new laws will license digital-asset exchanges much like traditional financial services.
Globally, the picture is similar.
Who’s Leading the Change
Baby boomers are now the fastest growing demographic investing in cryptocurrency.
Earlier this year, a survey from Independent Reserve – the Australian cryptocurrency exchange, found that crypto ownership among Australians aged 55 and over had more than doubled since 2019, rising from 7 per cent to 16 per cent.
Among those over 65, the share quadrupled over the same period. Nearly half of investors aged 45 and over say they’ve increased their wealth through digital assets, compared with 23 per cent in 2019.
According to the ATO, SMSFs now hold over $3 billion in cryptocurrencies – a reflection of the growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a long-term store of value and potential hedge against inflation.
Education Comes First
For anyone considering Bitcoin, the first step is understanding how to buy and store it safely through exchange platforms like ours.
That means using AUSTRAC-registered exchanges, enabling two-factor authentication, and learning about hardware wallets for long-term storage.
Tax obligations also apply – Bitcoin is treated as an asset so capital-gains tax can be payable when it’s sold or traded.
Most investors start by learning before investing, often through financial advisers who may include digital-asset education in their services.
It’s about starting small and adding a little alongside more familiar assets like property and shares and seeing how it performs over time.
The Bottom Line
Bitcoin isn’t about replacing the trusted foundations of property, super or shares.
It’s about recognising that the financial world is evolving – and that a truly diversified portfolio may now include assets that operate outside the traditional system.
With better information and stronger protections in place, older Australians can learn that Bitcoin doesn’t have to be intimidating – it just has to be understood.
About: Nic Roberts is General Manager of cryptocurrency exchange, bitcoin.com.au an AUSTRAC-registered digital currency exchange
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