Self-Managed Tremendous Funds (SMSFs) registrations in Australia climbed practically 70% within the 2024–2025 monetary 12 months, with a lot of these new accounts arrange for one particular function: shopping for Bitcoin and different crypto belongings.
That surge displays a rising frustration — retirement savers need digital asset publicity, and many of the nation’s large tremendous funds haven’t been providing it.
Strain From Members Mounts
Hostplus, which manages greater than $96 billion in belongings for its members, is now transferring to alter that.
The fund’s chief funding officer, Sam Sicilia, confirmed it’s weighing a plan to provide members entry to Bitcoin and different digital belongings by way of its ChoicePlus funding choice — a self-directed stream that lets individuals form their very own retirement portfolios.
Hostplus ranks third amongst Australian pension funds by member rely, in line with monetary comparability web site Canstar.
Stories point out the providing may very well be accessible as quickly as the subsequent monetary 12 months, pending regulatory sign-off and the decision of shopper safety necessities nonetheless being labored by way of.
“There’s actually a requirement from a few of our members who write in and say, ‘Why can’t I’ve entry to cryptocurrency?’” Sicilia stated.
The fund ranks third in Australia by member rely and fifth by whole belongings. Its membership of two.2 million provides any coverage shift important attain throughout the nation’s retirement system.
A Hole The Large Funds Left Open
Till now, Self-Managed Tremendous Funds have been the primary path for Australians wanting crypto of their retirement financial savings. These are accounts arrange and run by people — a hands-on different to standard institution-managed funds.
The sharp rise in SMSF registrations tracked by crypto trade BTC Markets factors to what number of savers have been prepared to tackle that administrative burden simply to realize entry to digital belongings.
BTCUSD now buying and selling at $71,125. Chart: TradingView
Kate Cooper, the Australian chief govt of OKX, lately stated {that a} rising variety of new SMSFs are being created particularly to carry digital belongings — as a result of the choice merely doesn’t exist inside the foremost funds.
Hostplus wouldn’t be the primary large tremendous fund to enter this area. AMP made that transfer again in Might 2024, including Bitcoin publicity to its technique by way of futures contracts. Hostplus is following a path that has not less than one set of footprints on it already.
Picture: Da-kuk by way of Getty Photographs
Design Part Nonetheless Has Hurdles
The plan shouldn’t be finalized. Sicilia stated regulatory clearance remains to be wanted, and the fund is ready to attend for it.
“We’d like to get regulatory tick-off, even when it means ready one other six months,” he stated, including that six months shouldn’t be a significant delay for an establishment constructed round long-term investing.
Australia’s whole superannuation pool stood at roughly $4.5 trillion AUD on the finish of the September 2025 quarter — a quantity that underscores how a lot weight any shift in fund conduct carries for the broader monetary system.
Featured picture from MarkRubens/Getty Photographs, chart from TradingView
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