Australian superannuation fund Remainder Super is set to get the first retirement fund in the country to invest in cryptocurrencies.

The fund has more than $46.8 billion worth of assets under management and around one.8 million members. Superannuation is the equivalent of a 401k or Individual Retirement Account in the United States and is compulsory for all employees. Until at present, the $2.iv-trillion sector has been extremely cautious about cryptocurrency.

During Rest Super'southward annual general coming together on Tuesday, the house'due south main investment officeholder, Andrew Lill, told members that the company sees digital assets as an "important part" of its portfolio moving frontward just will proceed "carefully and cautiously," noting that:

"Information technology's still a very volatile investment, and so any allocation exposure we make to cryptocurrencies is likely to be part of our diversified portfolio as initially a fairly small-scale resource allotment that may, over time, build."

Lill went on to add his view that offer members exposure to crypto and blockchain tech could provide a "stable source of value" amid a time in which investors are flocking to crypto as a hedge confronting fiat-based inflation.

"I do think that, in an era of inflation, it could be a potentially adept place to invest," he said.

Following the CIO'due south speech, a Rest spokesperson clarified in a argument that information technology is "certainly considering cryptocurrencies as a way to diversify our members' retirement savings [but] will not be investing in the immediate hereafter."

"We are currently conducting extensive enquiry into the asset course prior to making any decisions," the spokesperson said. "We are also considering the security and regulatory aspects of investing in this class."

The comments are in contrast to those from Australian Super this week, with the CEO of the $167-billion fund, Paul Schroder, stating on Monday that "we don't see cryptocurrency equally investible for our members."

Last calendar month, information technology was reported that state-owned investment fund Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) was looking at gaining crypto exposure. However, the firm told Concern Insider this calendar week that the reports were "incorrectly implied" and played down whatever digital nugget-adoption moves.

QIC head of currency Stuart Simmons too said while he expects superannuation funds to adopt crypto in the future, information technology'south "probably going to represent a trickle, rather than a flood."

The give-and-take comes at a potentially bullish time for the Australian crypto market, following the evolution of extensive regulatory proposals in October by a Senate committee every bit part of a button to develop the nation into the next crypto hub, along with Democracy Bank of Commonwealth of australia's (CBA) move to provide crypto trading via its banking app before this month.

Related: Australian Senator says DeFi is 'not going away any fourth dimension soon'

While the state awaits to meet what major traditional finance firm will be the side by side to embrace crypto, the CBA CEO Matt Comyn stated earlier this week the bank was more motivated by FOMO every bit opposed to being worried about risks associated with digital avails.

"We encounter risks in participating, merely we see bigger risks in not participating," he said.