Australian Pension Giant Hostplus Eyes Bitcoin and Crypto for Retirement Accounts

TLDR

• Hostplus, Australia’s third-largest pension fund, is considering offering Bitcoin and other crypto to its 2.2 million members
• Crypto could be available via its ChoicePlus self-directed option as early as next financial year
• The plan needs regulatory approval and resolution of consumer protection issues
• AMP was the first Australian super fund to gain crypto exposure, via Bitcoin futures, in 2024
• SMSF registrations rose 69% year-on-year in 2024–2025 as members sought crypto access elsewhere

Hostplus, one of Australia’s largest pension funds, is exploring whether to offer Bitcoin and other digital assets to its members. The fund manages over $105 billion in assets and has nearly 2.2 million members.

Chief Investment Officer Sam Sicilia confirmed the fund is in the design phase of adding crypto to its ChoicePlus option. ChoicePlus lets members self-manage a portion of their retirement savings.

The ChoicePlus option currently accounts for just 1% of Hostplus’s total assets. Any crypto offering would sit within this self-directed portion of the fund.

Sicilia said crypto has matured since Hostplus first looked at it roughly a decade ago. The fund is now considering not just Bitcoin but a broader range of digital assets.

Those assets could include tokenized exposures tied to areas such as music rights, according to Bloomberg.

Digital asset offerings could arrive as early as the next financial year, Sicilia said. However, regulatory approval is required before anything can go live.

Why Members Are Going Elsewhere for Crypto

Because major super funds have not offered crypto, many Australians have turned to Self-Managed Super Funds. SMSFs are set up and run by individuals rather than large institutions.

SMSF registrations jumped 69% year-on-year during the 2024–2025 financial year, according to Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets.

OKX Australia CEO Kate Cooper said in February that a growing number of SMSFs are being set up specifically to invest in digital assets, because members cannot access crypto through large super funds.

AMP was the first major super fund to move into the space. In May 2024, it gained indirect exposure to Bitcoin through futures contracts.

The Broader Retirement Crypto Picture

Australia’s total superannuation assets were worth around $4.5 trillion Australian dollars at the end of September 2025.

In the United States, President Donald Trump signed an executive order last August allowing 401(k) plans to include crypto. Indiana has also passed legislation permitting crypto in certain state retirement plans.

Hostplus’s average member age is in the mid-to-late 30s, which may partly explain the appetite for digital asset exposure within the fund.

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