What the Australian Crypto Convention revealed about the next phase of digital assets

The recent Australian Crypto Convention in Sydney has become a useful gauge of how Australians are thinking about digital assets. Block Earner has been a sponsor of the event since its inception, and each year gives us another reference point for how attitudes, expectations and levels of understanding evolve. This year’s conference offered a clear signal: the market is maturing in ways that are practical, data-driven and grounded in real use-cases.

One of the most telling indicators was the demographic shift. The crowd was broader and more balanced. More women, more couples, and more diversity. This matters. It suggests that crypto is no longer viewed as a niche interest or a speculative pursuit for young, more risk tolerant investors. Instead, it is moving toward a mainstream financial product that appeals to people thinking about long-term savings, personal finance, and practical utility. When a demographic broadens, it usually means the asset class is beginning to settle into the wider economy.

The conversations we had across the two days also showed a more grounded view of Bitcoin. Many attendees openly discussed the price decline, yet the tone was neither alarmist nor speculative. If anything, there was a common view that Bitcoin is currently underpriced, with plenty of ‘buying the dip’ talk, although expressed in a way that reflected realistic expectations, not hype. It is worth noting that you would expect positive market sentiment at a conference focused solely on the asset class. People connected short-term price movements with broader structural factors such as global rate settings, institutional adoption, liquidity settings and global regulatory shifts. This reflects a more informed user base.

A major signal of maturity came from the discussions around new crypto-backed financial products. There is clear, growing momentum behind products that use digital assets as collateral, particularly lending. For Block Earner, interest in Crypto-Backed Loans continues to increase, and our crypto-backed mortgage waiting list has now reached approximately $550 million in demand. This is not theoretical demand; it reflects people seeking credit solutions linked to assets they already hold, provided the terms are transparent and the risk controls are clear. Attendees viewed our products as practical financial tools, not speculative instruments.

The theme of appropriate risk management sat alongside this. The old idea of ‘set and forget’ is disappearing quickly. Attendees wanted to understand buffers, collateral ratios, custody arrangements and the trade-offs between different lending structures. Conversations were centred on frameworks and risk settings rather than short-term rates, or returns. This shift is important: people are now evaluating crypto products using the same logic they apply to traditional financial services.

Security was still a significant topic throughout the event, but the way people approached it reflected a deeper level of understanding. Rather than generic concerns, attendees asked targeted questions about how their assets are safeguarded when held with platforms like Block Earner. They wanted clarity on operational processes and custody architecture. Sessions and discussions covered institutional-grade measures such as multi-signature controls, sharding, cold-storage arrangements and the operational firewalls between consumer products and custody infrastructure. The level of scrutiny was high, and it demonstrated users now see security as part of informed participation, not as an afterthought.

This focus on security supports the broader pattern we observed: a market that is increasingly serious about how it engages with crypto. People are moving away from purely speculative behaviour and towards long-term, risk-managed involvement. They want clear structures, predictable settings and transparent operations.

All these factors taken together, in combination with the demographic shift, all point in the same direction: Australia’s crypto market is entering its next phase. It is moving from experimentation to implementation. And from abstract enthusiasm to informed participation.

For platforms like Block Earner, this evolution is both encouraging and necessary. A market that demands transparency, strong risk systems and well-designed products is a market that can sustain long-term growth. The signals from Sydney indicate crypto-backed financial services are moving into the mainstream.