Young, high-earning, digitally savvy: Always-on investors are changing markets

Not so long ago, investing had a rhythm. Markets opened at 9.30am, closed at 4pm, and whatever happened in between was tomorrow’s problem. So what’s changed the rhythm of investing? A big part of the answer lies in cryptocurrency.

Since Bitcoin’s creation in 2009, crypto has traded around the clock. There is no opening bell, no after-hours pause, and access is available from anywhere at any hour. At the same time, a younger generation of Australians has grown up expecting instant access to almost everything: messaging, streaming, shopping, banking. It was only a matter of time before they expected the same from investing.

This combination of always-open markets and digitally native investors has given rise to a new kind of participant: the always-on investor.

On the CMC Invest platform, Bitcoin is currently the seventh most-traded instrument when ETFs are excluded, overtaking NVIDIA, CBA and TSLA (Tesla). Once considered a fringe trend, crypto is now helping redefine the shape of Australian retail investing.

CMC Invest data shows this shift is translating into real behaviour. The number of clients making at least one crypto trade climbed 87 per cent from 2024 to 2025, while opt-ins to access crypto increased 19 per cent year-on-year – a strong signal of growing adoption across the client base.

As participation rises - so does activity. Overall crypto trade count on CMC Invest jumped 89 per cent year-on-year, driven largely by Bitcoin and Ethereum, which recorded increases in trade volumes of 104 per cent and 107 per cent respectively.

Today’s always-on investor monitors markets throughout the day, across time zones, and across asset classes. They expect real-time data and the ability to move quickly. When a major story breaks on a Saturday night, waiting until Monday morning feels increasingly out of step with modern investing habits. Technology made this possible; crypto simply accelerated it.

Weekend trading is one example of this shift. The share of weekend trades on CMC Invest rose 13 per cent year on year for Bitcoin and 16 per cent for Ethereum, reinforcing that investing behaviour is no longer confined to traditional market hours.

Younger Australians are also broadening their approach to wealth creation, increasingly using a mix of shares, ETFs and cryptocurrency to invest on their own terms. With cost-of-living pressures persisting and home ownership moving further out of reach for many, investing is becoming a more accessible and flexible pathway to building financial security.

No longer purely a retail story, some superannuation funds are beginning to explore digital asset exposure, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) evolving regulatory framework means crypto has evolved beyond market curiosity, now part of live policy conversation.

This shift is most pronounced among younger, higher-earning, digitally confident Australians – precisely the cohort that will define retail investing for the next two decades.

Research commissioned by CMC Invest from Investment Trends found that most crypto holders are active traders, not passive holders.