Why 75% of APAC Investors Still Avoid Crypto: New Data Upends Adoption Myths

As many as 25% of internet-connected adults in the Asia-Pacific region own cryptocurrency, based on research conducted jointly by Australian crypto research firm Protocol Theory and CoinDesk.

The APAC 2025 State of Crypto Report involved a survey of over 4,000 people across 10 countries, conducted in the final quarter of 2025. While the level of adoption identified in the report is encouraging, it also means 75% of people across APAC who could be investing in crypto are choosing not to do so.

Speaking on the Tapping into Crypto Podcast, Protocol Theory’s founder and CEO, Jonathan Inglis, said the research found the main thing keeping people out of crypto isn’t a lack of technical knowledge, as many crypto firms believe. He said roadblocks include fear around volatility, scams and perceived UI complexity.

Most people associate crypto immediately with being just a very volatile asset class, and that kind of prevents a lot of people from taking that initial plunge because they don’t want to lose all their money.

Jonathan Inglish, Founder and CEO of Protocol Theory

Inglis said about 41% of respondents cited risk of loss and volatility as the main reasons they haven’t invested in crypto. A further 36% said a lack of trust was keeping them from investing in digital assets: “Basically, they’re concerned about scams, they’re concerned about fraud et cetera,” Inglis said

The third major reason, cited by around 33% of respondents, for staying away from crypto was a perception of high levels of complexity, making people feel like one false move or accidental transaction could see them lose substantial sums.

According to Inglis, many inside the crypto industry continue to believe that a lack of technical education is the main thing keeping people from investing in crypto, but he says that view is largely mistaken. Inglis said that generally users don’t care much about how crypto works on a technical level, instead he said they care about how it can be useful to them.

“The way that a lot of companies are trying to accelerate crypto adoption is by educating people on what blockchain is, what web3 is, how it works,” Inglis said. “I think that’s approaching it the wrong way, people don’t really care that much.”

The education should really more be about articulating the value proposition — how does it actually help them, how does it actually solve their problem or reduce friction? And how to get started, how to use it safely.

Jonathan Inglish, Founder and CEO of Protocol Theory

In addition to explaining the value of crypto to users, Inglis said that crypto companies need to continue to refine user interfaces and tighten integration of their products into existing financial products and services.

“If we can continue to make these products and tools and platforms easier for people to use, easier for them to incorporate into their existing financial habits and routines…and the more we can communicate and articulate the clear benefits to them, that’s probably what’s going to get most people across the line.”

Related: Australia Tightens Crypto Oversight as APAC Volumes Triple in Three Years

Consumers Keen for Crypto Regulation, Says Inglis

Inglis said there’s broad support for increased regulation of the crypto market among the general public. Perhaps surprisingly, given Bitcoin’s libertarian roots, the study found support for regulation was actually significantly higher among crypto users, at 77%, than it was among non-users, at 62%.

“Famously, crypto users have been a bit anti-institution, anti-authority, because the core premise of crypto is kind of decentralisation and what not. But what’s really interesting is crypto users are actually more supportive of regulation than non-users are,” Inglis explained.

While this finding may at first seem counter-intuitive, Inglis said it actually makes sense.

Crypto users, they’ve been through it — a lot of them have experience — a lot of them were victims of FTX, or they felt the effects of that in some way, so they’ve seen what crypto can be at its worst when it’s left completely unregulated and improperly supervised.

Jonathan Inglish, Founder and CEO of Protocol Theory

Inglis said that this finding reflects the high level of demand among crypto users for regulation to protect users from the worst of the crypto market, whilst also allowing it to continue to innovate and grow. “It’s about regulating in such a way that it protects consumers and allows this industry to flourish but it doesn’t stifle innovation,” he said. 

Inglis believes continued progress on regulation and a growing integration of Web3 into the existing financial infrastructure are likely to see crypto continue to grow and become more mainstream over the next decade.

Related: Australia’s Regulator Trains Its Sights on Crypto’s Regulatory Grey Zones

Commenting on Australia specifically, Inglis said the hostility of the four major banks towards crypto is unlikely to continue indefinitely in the face of such huge demand for access to crypto.

I’m very interested to see what the big four banks here in Australia do. Historically they’ve been quite averse towards the industry, almost hostile, but people are asking for this, Aussie consumers are asking for this.

Jonathan Inglish, Founder and CEO of Protocol Theory

“There’s 4.5 million Australians right now who already hold crypto and there’s roughly 10 million Australians that don’t yet own crypto but they’re open to it or they’re actively considering it right now,” Inglis said. “That is a massive market, you’re talking about essentially two-thirds of adults within Australia. I don’t know how you can turn a blind eye to that.”

If the major banks do decide to embrace crypto, Inglis believes they are likely to see a significant flow of older Gen X and Boomer capital into crypto through these higher trust financial institutions.

“The 50+ demographic, they control a lot of the nation’s wealth…they’re curious, they want to participate and get involved in this new emerging asset class.”

“The reason adoption is so low [among older age groups] is not because of a lack of interest, it’s because they don’t really know how or they’re concerned about scams and trust. But if a company like AMP can come along and have regulated, portfolio managed exposure to something like Bitcoin, people are lining up for it.”