Written

For

The

Australian

-

If

bitcoin’s

good

enough

for

AMP

then

should

you

get

into

it?

When AMP — yes, that AMP, the 175-year-old pillar of Australian wealth management — throws $27 million at bitcoin, you have to sit up and ask: has crypto finally graduated from the fringe to the financial mainstream?

That's the question I've been chewing on. Bitcoin now commands a $2.7 trillion market cap, and the current cycle has seen prices rocket more than 500 per cent since early 2023. History suggests the peak may still be ahead, but it's also on the horizon — early buyers inevitably start locking in profits, and the music stops.

I spoke with Justin Arzadon at Betashares, who makes a fair point: the Trump administration's supportive tone on crypto regulation, combined with potential Fed rate cuts, creates genuine tailwinds. And the "wild west" era is fading as regulators tidy up the space. But his more important warning is one I fully back — this is not a get-rich-quick asset. Anyone treating it like a punt at the casino usually walks out with empty pockets.

If you're considering an allocation, my view is it belongs in the alternatives bucket of your portfolio — small, satellite, not core. That's exactly how sophisticated institutions like AMP are treating it.

Practically, there are a few ways in. You can buy direct through a crypto exchange (choose carefully — some vanish overnight) and store coins offline in a cold wallet. You can spread bets across the top 20 coins equally, avoiding stablecoins like Tether that just track the US dollar. Or, the simplest path, buy an ASX-listed bitcoin ETF from providers like DigitalX (BTXX) or VanEck (VBTC) at around 0.49 per cent per year. For broader exposure, the Betashares Crypto Innovators ETF returned over 140 per cent in the past year.

Is this a digital revolution or a modern Dutch tulip mania? Honestly, I don't know. What I do know is that ignoring it entirely is no longer a serious position.