Coinbase and OKX, two of the largest digital asset exchanges, are now targeting Australia’s self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs). The two are introducing services that will allow Australians to diversify their holdings by adding crypto assets to their portfolio.
While SMSFs already hold crypto assets, they are quite modest at A$1.7 billion as of March 2025. Compared to the SMSF holdings of $1.05 trillion, according to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Coinbase and OKX are hoping to entice more SMSFs to invest in digital assets. The outlook is already encouraging, as the value of crypto assets in the SMSF sector has grown sevenfold since 2021.
“Self-managed super funds might just make a single allocation and set it and forget it. We are working on an offering to service those clients really well on a one-off basis—to have them trade with us and stay with us,” Coinbase’s Asia-Pacific Managing Director John O’Loghlen confirmed.
This is being seen as a significant move in steering pension funds into cryptocurrencies, and it shows how the industry is edging further into mainstream finance.
In Australia, SMSFs are the best starting point, as they give individuals control over how they invest their funds. The sector holds 25 per cent of the country’s super assets, and its growth could prompt mainstream pensions to enter the digital assets industry.
“It does make sense that we’re probably seeing a bit more interest in crypto in the self-managed super fund space first,” said Fabian Bussoletti, technical manager at the SMSF Association. “Perhaps the larger funds will catch up over time.”
SMSF-geared platforms
Coinbase is set to launch a dedicated SMSF service in the coming months, according to a Bloomberg report. This service will make it easier for Australians to hold crypto, and it will also help investors establish new SMSFs by referring them to third-party providers such as accountants and law firms.
Coinbase reports that it already has 500+ investors waiting to join the service. Based on a poll conducted among those on the waiting list, about 80% want to launch a new SMSF, with 77% planning to invest up to A$100,000 in digital assets.
The upcoming SMSF platform follows the launch of a similar product by OKX in June 2025. The two platforms facilitate crypto investment by offering tax reporting tools and compliance tools to ensure SMSFs stay within Australia’s strict pension rules. The main goal is to simplify crypto investment without introducing compliance risks for Australians who prefer to have assets like Bitcoin as part of their long-term financial planning.
Crypto as an alternative to under-review US exposure
This report comes a few months after Reuters reported that Australia’s pension funds are already questioning their US overexposure. They are now rethinking their long-held strategy of investing in US assets following the turbulent months of Washington’s economic policies.
Nearly 60% of Australian super funds are in equities, which is quite high by global standards. Half of that is mostly abroad, with the US taking a huge chunk at 71%.
“That’s been a very good place to be investing over the last couple of years,” said John Pearce, chief investment officer of UniSuper, in April.
“Like every other fund, we are questioning our overexposure. U.S. It would be fair to say that we’ve hit peak exposure and will be reducing over time,” he said.
To add to this, the Australian dollar has been steadily gaining against the USD this year, which translates to a drop in the gains from the US market when measuring the value in the AUD.
Cameron Systermans, head of multi-asset Asia-Pacific at Mercer, warns that “if there were to be a durable uptrend in the Aussie dollar, that would be a bit of a pain trade, I think, for a lot of the asset owners in Australia. And it might force them to really reassess whether that still makes sense.”
While this hasn’t resulted in any major moves, a clearer pathway for SMFS into digital assets could prove quite attractive in diversifying pension holdings.
The U.S. crypto precedent for retirement accounts
Australia’s pension-related developments follow in the footsteps of the US, which has been dealing with crypto-related pension savings for several years.
In 2022, Fidelity Investments allowed its members to add Bitcoin to their 401(k)s, with a possible investment percentage of up to 20%.
However, the U.S. Department of Labour (DOL) was quick to express concern, urging fiduciaries to use “extreme care” with crypto investments.
This caution seemed to slow down the adoption of crypto assets in 401(k) plans; the fiduciary was withdrawn in May 2025. The DOL was quick to point out that the move wasn’t a crypto endorsement, but it still gave sponsors more freedom on how to allocate their resources.
Fast forward to August 7, and President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Democratising Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors”. The order directed the DOL to review its existing retirement plan controls, and it essentially paved the way for alternative assets like Bitcoin to be included in 401(k) retirement plans.
The move generated considerable optimism in the market and rallied an ongoing Bitcoin climb, although the political reaction was mixed. However, what can’t be denied is that it gives plan sponsors and individuals more choice and an opportunity to take advantage of digital assets in their long-term investment plans.
When praising the order, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer stated, “The federal government should not be making retirement investment decisions for hard-working Americans, including decisions regarding alternative assets.”
Australia as a testing ground
Australia’s pension scheme is the fourth-largest by asset value in the world, ranking behind only those of the US, Canada, and the UK. It’s also one of the fastest-growing, alongside the US.
Now, combine this with the fact that 25% of the scheme is under the control of SMFSs, and this makes the country the best testing ground for whether pension schemes can transition to digital assets without regulatory concerns.However, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is urging Australians to be cautious, especially against crypto investment scams.
