SelfWealth to offer cryptocurrency trading through BTC Markets
SelfWealth will join forces digital currency exchange BTC Markets to enable members to buy and sell cryptocurrency – a first for the Australian online share trading sector.
The partnership sees two of Australia’s most innovative tech companies come together with SelfWealth members expected to be trading cryptocurrency alongside ASX, US and soon, stocks on the Hong Kong exchange.
SelfWealth CEO Cath Whitaker (pictured) said Australia’s most popular low-cost share trading platform undertook a rigorous selection process to ensure the exchange partner is best suited to the SelfWealth community.
“And in BTC Markets we have found a partner that we want to open up to our 120,000 active investing members,” she said.
“Currently, moving between popular investment types usually requires access to multiple trading platforms and for investors to move money multiple times. We wanted to make investing in cryptocurrency as seamless as possible.”
BTC Markets was one of the first and is one of the largest digital currency exchanges in Australia. 325,000 Australians have traded more than $21 billion on the BTC platform.
BTC Markets CEO Caroline Bowler said, “Our research tells us that Australians view crypto trading as a way to build wealth and secure their futures. We are pleased that our partnership provides access to that opportunity, alongside traditional financial markets.”
Ms Whitaker said the move into cryptocurrency trading had its genesis in a survey of SelfWealth members which found 30% were already investing in cryptocurrency and 38% were intending to invest more in the future.
Additionally, it is a major attraction for younger investors with Glow research showing that 20% of those Australians intending to invest in cryptocurrency were aged 18 to 24.
Ms Whitaker said the SelfWealth community had already shown interest in the sector with a large uptake of the Betashares Crypto Innovators ETF (ASX: CRYP) when it launched in November.
SelfWealth is Australia’s fourth-largest online broking platform with nearly 120,000 active members. It holds $8 billion in assets and has saved its members more than $50 million in brokerage fees, compared to using bank-run share trading platforms.
