Australia's third-largest pension fund Hostplus is exploring a direct crypto offering for its roughly 2.2 million members. The fund manages approximately AUD 150 billion (USD 105 billion) and aims to provide access through its existing ChoicePlus platform. An earliest launch date is the Australian financial year starting in July.
This would make Hostplus the first major APRA-regulated pension fund in Australia to offer its members direct crypto trading. Previous efforts in the Australian superannuation market were limited to indirect exposure through futures. According to Bloomberg, the plan is in the design phase. Regulatory approval from the Australian financial regulator ASIC is still pending.
Subscribe to our newsletter
The best articles of the week, directly delivered into your mailbox.
ChoicePlus as the crypto channel within the pension fund
Hostplus plans to run its crypto offering through ChoicePlus, a self-directed investment window within the regulated pension fund. The platform already allows members to independently invest in Australian equities (ASX 300), ETFs, listed investment companies, and term deposits. Requirements include a minimum balance of AUD 10,000 and an annual management fee of AUD 168. Minimum buy orders start at AUD 1,500.
ChoicePlus currently represents around 1 percent of total AUM, roughly USD 1 billion. As such, the platform positions itself as a simpler alternative to Self-Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs), but remains within the APRA regulatory framework. Members bear the investment risk themselves yet benefit from the fund's institutional oversight. Unlike a fully self-managed SMSF, they avoid the administrative burden of compliance and reporting.
Beyond Bitcoin, Hostplus is also evaluating additional cryptocurrencies and tokenized music rights as potential asset classes for ChoicePlus. CIO Sam Sicilia is responding to growing demand within the membership base. Notably, the average age of Hostplus members is in the mid-to-late 30s, significantly younger than at traditional pension funds. Their affinity for digital assets is correspondingly high.
Regulatory framework and growing demand
Approval from the Australian financial regulator ASIC is the central hurdle for this initiative. Starting March 31, 2026, all digital asset platforms in Australia must hold a DAP license. ASIC published initial regulatory guidance on crypto assets in the fund sector in December 2024 with Consultation Paper 381. A few days later, the authority revised Regulatory Guide 133 and explicitly included crypto assets for the first time.
Still, the demand is not an abstract market phenomenon but concretely measurable. Around 25 percent of Australians want to access crypto assets through their pension fund, according to industry reports. Self-managed fund figures also confirm this trend. SMSFs held AUD 1.7 billion in crypto assets as of 2025. That represents a sevenfold increase from 2021, when holdings stood at roughly AUD 243 million. At the same time, new SMSF registrations rose 69 percent year-over-year in 2024 to 2025. Many Australians are thus setting up their own pension vehicles solely to gain crypto access. Hostplus aims to serve exactly this demand within its existing, regulated framework. Compared to an SMSF, the advantage lies in lower costs and less administrative effort for individual members.
From AMP to Hostplus: Australia's crypto pension history
Hostplus is not entering entirely uncharted territory. AMP Ltd. became the first major Australian super fund to invest AUD 27 million in Bitcoin futures in May 2024. That corresponded to 0.05 percent of AUM at the time. However, AMP subsequently reduced the position to 0.02 percent and largely exited before the 2026 market downturn. Even small crypto allocations in pension funds require active risk management.
Yet the Hostplus approach differs fundamentally from the AMP model. AMP relied on indirect exposure through futures within the fund portfolio, and the decision rested with fund management, not with individual members. Hostplus, by contrast, plans a direct offering where members independently decide whether and how much to invest in crypto. This model resembles a brokerage account more than a traditional pension allocation. Ultimately, the member, not the fund, bears the downside risk.
AUD 4.5 trillion superannuation market in focus
Australia's superannuation system is one of the largest mandatory pension systems in the world. In total, the market comprises AUD 4.5 trillion (USD 3.15 trillion). Employers are required to contribute 12 percent of wages. Despite these enormous sums, crypto assets have remained a rarity in the institutional Australian pension space. Traditional super funds invested almost exclusively in equities, bonds, real estate, and private equity.
Should the Hostplus model prove successful, it could serve as a template for other APRA-regulated funds. Institutional crypto investments are gaining momentum globally. In the US, Bitcoin spot ETFs are recording strong inflows. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, select providers already offer tokenized assets. With the ChoicePlus model, Australia could chart its own path. Crypto access within existing pension structures would not alter overall fund allocations. This lowers systemic risk while still giving members freedom of choice.
