A publicly listed company, SelfWealth, will become the first online share trading platform to offer crypto trading services in Australia.
This came after the company partnered with the local cryptocurrency exchange, BTC Market. The move means that the 120,000 customers of SelfWealth will now be able to invest in crypto using the platform.
SelfWealth Offers Crypto Investments
According to the CEO of BTC Markets, Caroline Bowers, investors will be able to invest in five crypto assets starting from the second quarter of 2022.
However, the finalization of the offerings depends on the approval of AUSTRAC, the leading financial regulator in the country.
None of the parties involved also disclosed which crypto assets will be available for the investments. But one can expect that top assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum would be included in the offering.
SelfWealth also announced the partnership on its Twitter page and claimed it’s a result of its customers’ high demand for exposure to the crypto industry.
The CEO, Cath Whitaker, stated that the company carried out exhaustive due diligence before picking its crypto partner.
According to her, “In BTC Markets, we have found a partner that we want to open up to our 120,000 active investing members.” She added that the decision to partner with BTC markets is to make cryptocurrency investing as seamless as possible.
Interest in Crypto Remains High
SelfWealth is the fourth biggest online brokerage platform in Australia. The company has a similar operation to Robinhood and is worth $8 billion.
It first showed interest in cryptocurrency last July, when a report showed that 30% of its users have crypto in their portfolio while 38% think of adding crypto later on.
On its part, BTC Markets is also one of the biggest crypto exchanges in Australia. According to the exchange, more than 300,000 Australians have traded over $21 billion worth of crypto on its platform.
Partnerships between regulated financial organizations and crypto platforms further show the growing mainstream adoption of the space.
Several online brokerage companies have added crypto to their offerings as the demand for variety increases. A good example is Robinhood which started offering Dogecoin trading in 2021.
Since then, companies like StockTwits and others have also pivoted into offering crypto-related services to their customers.