Aussies Still Prefer Bitcoin, But Not By Much: Kraken

Crypto exchange Kraken said Tuesday it has conducted an analysis of millions of Australian wallets, revealing changing trends in trading behavior and asset preferences.

According to the analysis, Bitcoin remains the most actively traded crypto by Australian users, accounting for 27% of all trading volumes within the country between May 2023 and May 2024, slightly above the global average of 26%.

Solana (SOL) has also gained traction, making up 10% of trading volumes, compared to 7.8% globally.

In response, Kraken introduced a SOL/AUD trading pair in June 2024.

Jonathan Miller, managing director of Kraken Australia, said the introduction of new trading pairs such as SOL/AUD is a direct response to the demands of Australian customers, and that Kraken will continue to adapt its offerings to the needs of each market.

Ethereum comes in third place, making up 9.6% of trading volumes for Australian clients, which is slightly lower than the global rate of 9.9%.

The country’s preference for digital assets remains high, according to a recent analysis conducted by comparison site Finder. Out of 26 million, 17.7% of the population owns crypto. This is well above the global average of 11.4%, Finder says.

Memecoins

The analysis by Kraken also revealed a growing interest in emerging memecoins among Australian investors.

Roughly 2.65% of Australian Kraken clients hold PEPE, nearly double the global average of 1.5%, the exchange said.

Similarly, Solana-based meme coin Dogwifhat (WIF) is held by 1.58% of Australian users, compared to 0.45% globally, and BONK by 1.5% versus 0.67% globally.

This contrasts with global trends favoring more established memecoins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shibu Inu (SHIB), with DOGE held by 6.65% of Australians and SHIB by 3.89%, both lower than their global counterparts.

Ethereum, meanwhile, dominates the portfolios of Australian clients, representing 49.3% of the average crypto asset balance, significantly higher than the global average of 29.25%.

Individual asset holders include 35.6% for Bitcoin, 29.8% for Ethereum, 11.8% for Solana, 11.88% for Cardano, and 11.83% for Polkadot.