In brief
\nHostplus CIO Sam Sicilia says the retirement fund is eyeing a potential launch as early as next financial year.
\nThe fund is looking beyond Bitcoin at a wider range of digital assets, including tokenized exposure to areas like music rights.
\nIt comes as AMP Super, the first Australian fund to back crypto, exited most of its Bitcoin futures position ahead of this year’s market decline.<\/p>\n
Crypto is inching closer to Australia\u2019s retirement system, with one of the country\u2019s largest super funds now actively exploring how to offer it to members.<\/p>\n
Australian industry superannuation fund Hostplus is exploring whether to open a path into Bitcoin<\/a> and other digital assets for its members, according to a Bloomberg report<\/a>.<\/p>\n This move would put the $105 billion (A$150 billion) retirement giant among a small group of global pension funds willing to take on crypto exposure.<\/p>\n \ufeff<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as one super fund breaks ranks on crypto assets, I\u2019d say there’s a high probability the rest follow,\u201d Jason Titman, CEO of Australian crypto exchange Swyftx, told Decrypt. \u201cAround a quarter of Australians want their super funds to offer digital assets, and that number is likely to increase when the market is regulated.\u201d<\/p>\n The fund’s CIO, Sam Sicilia, told Bloomberg the plan is focused on Choiceplus, a self-directed window that lets members manage a slice of their own retirement savings, currently about 1% of the fund’s total book.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s certainly a demand from some of our members who write in and say, \u2018Why can\u2019t I have access to cryptocurrency?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A launch could come as early as next financial year, pending regulatory approval and internal product design work, Sicilia said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hostplus, which serves nearly two million members with an average age in the mid-to-late 30s, is still reviewing consumer protections and product design.<\/p>\n Sicilia said the fund’s view of crypto has evolved considerably since an earlier assessment roughly a decade ago, and that the current review covers not just Bitcoin but a broader universe of digital assets, including potential tokenized exposure to areas such as music rights.<\/p>\n Kraken Australia managing director Jonathon Miller told Decrypt the move, if implemented, is a \u201cpositive step forward for the sector.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n “We have come a long way in the last decade, and for many Australians, digital assets are increasingly viewed as a legitimate long-term investment; however, access to them, outside of SMSFs, has remained limited,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cExpanding availability through platforms like Choiceplus gives investors more flexibility in how they build and diversify their portfolios,\u201d Miller said, adding that \u201cmore choice\u201d and \u201ceasier access\u201d would benefit \u201cboth consumers and the broader market\u201d.<\/p>\n Still, volatility remains a key barrier as AMP Super, one of the few funds to experiment with crypto, recently cut its Bitcoin futures exposure to around 0.02% after a sharp downturn wiped out roughly $700 billion from the market earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had essentially no exposure during most of the recent sell-off,\u201d AMP Super head of portfolio design Stuart Eliot told<\/a> Investment Magazine last month.<\/p>\n The position dates back<\/a> to May 2024, when AMP Super added Bitcoin futures via its dynamic allocation strategy.<\/p>\n On Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt\u2019s parent company Dastan, market sentiment leans toward upside, with users seeing a 50.7% likelihood<\/a> of Bitcoin reaching $84,000 rather than falling to $55,000.<\/p>\n