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Swyftx is excited to announce its second quarterly Industry Report, diving into the world of crypto as it unfolded through Q4 2025.
It was a challenging period for the digital assets industry, with price growth stunted by macroeconomic concerns and leverage tumbling.
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Still, there was a lot to take from the quarter that was, with several narratives dominating community discourse while adoption bubbled away behind the scenes.
This blog will walk through some of the report’s key findings. To sink your teeth into all of the data, the stories, the charts; you can read the full report.
Altcoin ETF Narratives
The addition of altcoin ETFs to traditional US stock markets wasn’t the coup d'état some hoped, with most assest trading sideways through Q4. However, it laid the foundation for a potential boost in altcoin adoption across a range of investors.
The origins of institutional uptake in cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin was a key story in December, following the introduction of spot XRP and SOL ETFs. Though the value of these digital currencies stagnated, ETF flows were consistently positive.
The slate of XRP ETFs, in particular, got off to a hot start – these funds didn’t record a single day of negative flows in their first 6 weeks of trading. At the time of writing, XRP spot funds have over $1 billion USD in assets under management.
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October 10th: A retrospective
October 10th was a watershed day for the crypto market.
Earlier that week, Bitcoin had surpassed yet another 2025 all-time high ($125k USD) – but the shift in sentiment was rapid and dramatic.
October 10th saw the crypto market endure its single biggest day of liquidations in history, totalling $19b USD in leverage wiped.
Several catalysts were at play: tight monetary conditions, an all-time high in open derivatives interest and macroeconomic concerns.
This culminated in 24-hour losses of 30%+ across the total crypto market cap, with some altcoins nosediving as much as 80%.
Though the market partially recovered, it was historic moment that drastically shifted investor mood for the rest of 2025.
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The generational divide
In a demographic flip, Gen X traders overtook Millennials in Q4 2025 to become Swyftx’s highest-volume crypto traders.
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Despite the drop-off, Gen Z Australians aged 26-29 registered volumes similar to younger Millennials (30-35), while those aged 24 and under were typically under-represented. In fact, the average trade volume for 26-year-olds was more than double that of 24-year-olds. This suggests that younger Australians are not necessarily retreating from the market, but are instead transitioning into a less altcoin hype-driven, more long-term focused adoption pattern as they move into their professional careers.
Ethereum's popularity sinks
Swyftx is home to a strong number of Aussie SMSF investors, which have traditionally adopted more of a ‘buy-and-hold' strategy compared to their retail counterparts. This is evidenced by the SMSF buy/sell ratio (2.37:1) being much higher than the overall platform ratio (1.2:1).
As we expected, Bitcoin was by far the most-traded crypto asset among SMSF accounts on Swyftx. However, in a turning of the tides, Ethereum’s grasp on the top weakened – to the point it fell out of the top three assets by SMSF trading volume. Its position was supplanted by rival DeFi ecosystem Solana, while XRP reprised its #2 ranking.
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Swyftx End of Quarter Industry Report Q4 2025
Swyftx’s End of Quarter Report features writing from ambassadors and prominent industry players David Bird (ASX Trader) and Jason Pizzinno (The Investor Accelerator), looking at the year to come.
Lead Market Analyst Pav Hundal is another key contributor, unpacking the macroeconomic environment that led to a rocky Q4 for the crypto market.
The report also features unique internal platform data that you simply can’t find anywhere else.
Whether you're navigating the macro shifts or looking for local insights, these perspectives provide a clearer picture of the road travelled, and how this may shape the road ahead.
Read the full End of Quarter Industry Report