'Have a Go' Australian Traders Top Global Charts for Meme Coin Holdings: Kraken

Australians appear to be trading on curiosity and culture as much as conviction, according to a new analysis by crypto exchange Kraken.

The company’s latest wallet report, based on an anonymized dataset covering millions of wallets between August 2024 and August 2025, shows Australians leaning heavily toward Ethereum and smaller tokens while reducing exposure to Bitcoin and older altcoins.

For the average Australian wallet, Ethereum takes up roughly 33% of the cache, nearly double the global ratio of 19%. Bitcoin remains the most commonly held digital asset, with more than 36% of Australian users holding some BTC compared to about 34% globally, per Kraken’s findings.

Yet by value, Bitcoin accounts for a smaller share of local portfolios, with the average BTC balance at AU$17,409, well below the global average of AU$29,830.

Those numbers suggest Australian crypto holders are taking broader bets across decentralized finance and alternative ecosystems, spreading risk across newer assets rather than concentrating in Bitcoin.

Kraken attributes the shift to the country being “more densely populated with professional traders than other regions” it operates in.

Australia’s “speculative streak”

But the trend’s underlying character, says Jonathon Miller, Kraken’s managing director for Australia, might be more about consumer psychology.

Kraken’s report shows Australians are a bit more likely than global users to hold Solana (13.79% vs. 11.93%), which spawns meme coins faster than other chains, owing to the popularity of so-called meme coin factories such as PumpFun.

Australian crypto investors are also significantly more engaged in meme coins such as WIF, PEPE, BONK, and FARTCOIN, than the global average, the Kraken findings show.

Miller attributes this to the Australian “larrikin spirit” at work: a cultural disposition toward irreverence and play, though one that some might read as proof of the market’s immaturity.

“I think it's fair to say Australians have always had a bit of a speculative streak, we're willing to have a go,” Miller said.

When it comes to crypto investing, such an attitude could translate into a “readiness to engage with new and unconventional assets,” he added.

“Aussie culture and sense of humour may play into our propensity to engage with meme coin offerings just as much as potential gains. Many see these tokens as a low-stakes way to engage with crypto communities and trends,” he said.

That said, Miller cautioned against making generalizations. "It's always a bit dangerous to try to extrapolate things like user intentions from the cold data of average wallet analysis,” he said.

In May, figures for global adoption were published by crypto exchange Gemini, showing that most meme coin owners also hold Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Some 31% of U.S. holders bought meme coins before going after other larger cap assets. Australian meme coin buyers ranked second for the same stat by a narrow margin.