Written

For

The

Australian

-

Divorcing

couples

using

cryptocurrency

to

hide

assets

Here's a stat that might surprise you: during Covid lockdowns, divorces jumped 13.6 per cent in Australia. And while the numbers have since normalised, around 100,000 Aussies still call it quits each year, with four in 10 marriages ending after an average of 13 years. What's changing though isn't the divorce rate — it's how people are hiding money on the way out.

Cryptocurrency has become the modern-day version of the old "sell the boat to your mate for a dollar" trick. And it's a much harder trail to follow.

Speaking with several family lawyers for my latest column in The Australian, a clear picture emerged. Geovanna Jammo of Evolve Family Lawyers describes it as a "modern twist on a very old theme." Nadine Udorovic at Nicholes Family Lawyers is seeing crypto pop up on balance sheets more frequently. And Oliver Lacey at Doolan Wagner says it's especially common among younger couples priced out of property who've turned to digital assets instead.

The problem? Chasing crypto down the blockchain rabbit hole is expensive. Courts can order access to wallets, devices and transaction histories — but if assets have been shuffled into privacy coins, cold wallets or offshore exchanges, the trail can go cold fast. It becomes a cost-benefit calculation: is the suspected hidden pot big enough to justify the legal bill?

My take: the real lesson here isn't just about divorce. It's about financial awareness within a marriage full stop. Too often one spouse runs the finances while the other has no clue what's owned or where. That's a problem for divorce, sure — but it's an even bigger problem for estate planning. If your partner dies without sharing their crypto keys, that money is gone. Forever.

Ask questions. Stay curious about the household finances. It's not sinister — it's sensible.