Coinbase, OKX Unlock Australia’s $2.8 Trillion Pension Pot for Crypto — Bloomberg

Since the signing of the 401(k) Act in the U. S., crypto exchanges worldwide have been eyeing retirement savings as a major on-ramp for digital ￰3￱ to a Bloomberg report , Australia’s $2.8 trillion pension pool, known locally as superannuation, has emerged as one of the largest targets, with Coinbase and OKX rolling out products aimed at steering retirement funds into crypto. Superannuation, Australia’s mandatory retirement savings scheme, totaled $2.7 trillion as of September 2024, up from $1.2 trillion a decade earlier, with an average annual growth rate of 8.2%. This dwarfs the A$2.5 trillion market cap of all companies listed on the Australian Stock ￰4￱ projects the sector will expand further, reaching $11.2 trillion by 2043 in nominal terms (about $7 trillion in today’s value).

The massive size of this pool indicates why global exchanges view superannuation as a critical entry point. coincidentally, the push into pensions also comes at a time when the super system is both seeking yield and grappling with its ￰5￱ Bowtell, chair of IFM Investors, which manages $230 billion in assets worldwide, described the sheer magnitude in a report, stating that $3.2 billion flows into the system weekly, requiring constant investment ￰6￱ funds already span infrastructure ranging from ￰7￱ roads to Canadian ports, but liquidity challenges and global risks mean funds are increasingly looking abroad for diversification. However, Deutsche Bank strategist Lachlan Dynan warned that this global reach could expose the system to shocks, especially if large-scale foreign exchange hedging leads to cash calls during ￰8￱ the pandemic proved super’s flexibility, with Australians withdrawing $38 billion early without destabilizing ￰9￱ this backdrop, crypto appears more appealing as an alternative asset class, particularly for self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), which give individuals direct control over their investments.) May 16, 2024 “It does make sense that we’re probably seeing a bit more interest in crypto in the self-managed super fund space first,” said Fabian Bussoletti of the SMSF Association in the Bloomberg report, noting that larger funds may eventually ￰10￱ is preparing to launch a dedicated SMSF service with more than 500 investors already on its waiting ￰11￱ to Asia-Pacific managing director John O’Loghlen, 80% of these potential users intend to establish a new SMSF, and 77% plan to invest up to A$100,000 in digital assets.

OKX, which launched a similar product in June, has already seen demand exceed expectations, according to Australian CEO Kate ￰12￱ exchanges plan to streamline SMSF creation by linking investors to accountants and legal ￰13￱ no minimum balance is required, administrative costs mean SMSFs are generally viable only for larger accounts, positioning these offerings more for buy-and-hold investors than for active ￰14￱ now, AMP remains the only major pension provider with disclosed crypto exposure. However, with growing momentum in SMSFs and rising demand for diversification, Coinbase and OKX are betting that mainstream super funds will eventually follow suit.

AMP, one of Australia's leading superannuation funds, has allocated $27 million of its portfolio to Bitcoin. #Bitcoin #AMP ￰0￱ — ￰15￱ (@cryptonews) December 12, 2024 If so, Australia’s massive pension system could become one of the most influential global gateways for institutional crypto ￰16￱ Emerges as Test Case for Crypto in Retirement Portfolios Amid Regulatory Crackdown Despite growing momentum, Australia’s experiment could hinge on whether crypto can overcome persistent regulatory ￰17￱ country’s regulators—including ASIC, AUSTRAC, the tax office, and the central bank—have consistently urged caution. “These are highly volatile products, and overexposure can lead to substantial losses,” ASIC warned in an emailed statement, urging Australians considering crypto within SMSFs to seek professional financial ￰18￱ the same time, regulators have intensified ￰19￱ month, AUSTRAC ordered Binance’s local arm, Investbybit Pty Ltd, to appoint an external auditor over money laundering and terrorism-financing ￰20￱ exchange has 28 days to nominate a firm for AUSTRAC’s review. @binance faces mandatory audit in Australia over serious AML and terror financing concerns amid nationwide enforcement campaign. #Binance #Australia ￰1￱ — ￰21￱ (@cryptonews) August 22, 2025 This fits into a broader pattern of global ￰22￱ the U.

S., OKX agreed to pay $500 million earlier this year for unlicensed transactions, while Coinbase was fined in the ￰23￱ servicing high-risk ￰24￱ has itself escalated its oversight through a nationwide campaign targeting non-compliant exchanges and money laundering ￰25￱ December, it established a task force to investigate suspicious activity associated with crypto ATMs, scams, and ￰26￱ also contacted 427 registered digital currency exchange providers that appeared inactive, warning them that they could face ￰27￱ is stepping up efforts to tighten oversight of cryptocurrency exchanges, warning that inactive platforms risk deregistration. #Australia #Crypto ￰2￱ — ￰28￱ (@cryptonews) April 29, 2025 A forthcoming publicly searchable register will allow consumers to verify whether exchanges are properly ￰29￱ fear dormant registrations allow criminals to piggyback on legitimacy while operating fraudulent ￰30￱ has also stepped up its digital enforcement, shutting down an average of 130 scam websites per ￰31￱ date, it has disabled more than 10,000 malicious sites, including 7,200 fake investment platforms and 1,500 phishing ￰32￱ regulator also secured court approval to wind up 95 companies tied to international “pig butchering” fraud , which left nearly 1,500 victims with losses totaling $35.8 ￰33￱ compliant operators have come under pressure.

Melbourne-based exchange Cointree was fined $75,120 for failing to file suspicious matter reports on time, with AUSTRAC stressing that such delays hinder law enforcement’s ability to trace illicit ￰34￱ regulatory caution remains firm, the investor push into crypto-SMSFs ￰35￱ Australian Tax Office, however, has issued a reminder that shows the policy dilemma: “The objective of superannuation is to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement.” ​