Australia’s crypto industry may generate $68.4bn for economy by 2030: EY report

Cryptocurrencies and related digital assets may generate as much as $68.4bn for the economy and employ 205,700 Australians by 2030, according to a new report.

Australian politician Senator Andrew Bragg in his office at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Australia’s crypto workforce could explode by 17 times its current numbers, according to a report launched by senator Andrew Bragg, who is responsible for helping deliver the federal government’s landmark crypto and digital payments reforms.

Cryptocurrencies and related digital assets could generate as much as $68.4bn for the economy and employ 205,700 Australians by 2030, according to the report by advisory and accounting firm EY.

The report, commissioned by Australian crypto miner Mawson Infrastructure Group, found that while Australia does not yet have fit-for-purpose regulatory systems to promote certainty for new businesses, the nation is in a prime position to benefit from upcoming crypto reform.

“Cryptocurrencies and digital assets are rapidly emerging industries and will be a big part of our future economy,” Senator Bragg said in Sydney on Tuesday.

“Australia’s new crypto plan could boost the sector’s national economic footprint 30-fold over the next decade. This year I chaired the Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre. In October the Select Committee handed down its Final Report.

“Last week Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced the government’s support of this plan with the largest shake up of payments in 25 years, and Australia will be a world leader thanks to the Treasurer’s plan.”

The Treasurer‘s plan, announced last week, includes a market licensing regimen for digital currency exchanges and potential changes to the application of Capital Gains Tax for crypto investors. As well as a change to the Corporations Act that would recognise Decentralised Autonomous Orgnisations – or DAOs – which are often the model for how crypto companies operate.

Bitcoin has hit the mainstream in 2021. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP)

The Reserve Bank of Australia and Treasury will also consider the feasibility of a central digital currency.

Mawson Infrastructure Group is building Australia’s largest bitcoin mining operation, to be located in Byron Bay. The mine will use 100 per cent renewable energy.

Mawson’s chief commercial officer Nick Hughes-Jones said the government’s plan was “terrific” and would spur investment and jobs locally.

“Our potential as a country is huge. We’re pretty good traditional miners, we’ve got huge iron ore operations up in the Pilbara, and there’s no reason we can’t be good digital miners,” he said.

“I just think there is an education piece still to go obviously, but Senator Bragg has done a great job of providing incentives to bring some of these operations home again.

“We have 100 per cent renewable energy out of our first site, and we’re working with Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners which has got 17 gigawatts of onshore wind, solar and battery storage projects across the US, UK and Australia so they have been an incredible party for us to continue to work with and grow the crypto mining industry out here domestically.”

The crypto executive said that bitcoin ‘speaks for itself’ as a store of value, and its meteoric rise has been a reaction to global issues around financial defecits and inflation.

“With bitcoin someone can send $10 from Australia to El Salvador for example in the blink of an eye at almost zero cost, so as a network for transmitting capital, it’s fantastic,” he said. “I think you’ve got to differentiate between bitcoin the asset and bitcoin the network, and we’re only at the beginning especially when thinking about it as a network.

“There are going to be a lot more applications coming through over time.”

Despite some recent losses, bitcoin is poised to end the year more than twice as valuable as it was in December 2020, with cryptocurrency well and truly hitting the mainstream in 2021.

The most traded crypto, bitcoin, hit an all-time high of over $US68,000 last month after starting the year at just under $US30,000. The crypto industry overall swelled to a total market capitalisation of more than $US2 trillion this year.