Strategic Rationale: Why invest in Oceania?

Oceania – encompassing Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands – presents a high-potential region for Cardano’s growth. Several factors make it uniquely attractive:

Rising Crypto Adoption

Public uptake of cryptocurrency in Oceania is among the highest globally. In Australia, 32.5% of the population (≈6.3 million people) have owned crypto as of 2025, a figure expected to nearly double by year-end 2025. Young adults (25–34) lead this trend (over half own crypto), and female participation (a strategic gap for Cardano) is growing rapidly. This mainstreaming of crypto signals a ready market for Cardano-based solutions. Significant developments in data sovereignty, economic identity, RWA’s are underway and tailored DAO solutions by indigenous teams in Aotearoa have led the open-source community contributions to Cardano’s Atala PRISM protocol, now called Identus.

Tech-Savvy, Connected Communities

Australia and New Zealand boast highly urbanised, educated populations with excellent internet and smartphone penetration. Both countries have vibrant developer communities and tech sectors. Meanwhile, the Pacific Islands, though smaller in population, are eager for financial innovation. The region has even served as a testing ground for Meta, Google, Amazon, and world-first blockchain projects by NGOs and local governments. For example, Oxfam’s “Unblocked Cash” pilot in Vanuatu reached 35,000 villagers with aid delivered via a stablecoin on blockchain , demonstrating grassroots receptiveness to blockchain solutions in remote communities. The regions aspirations align with the state aims of Cardano; make the world work better for all and achieve the highest potential of human collaboration.

Supportive Institutional Interest

Governments and enterprises in Oceania are increasingly exploring blockchain’s potential. New Zealand’s agencies (e.g. MBIE, the Finance & Expenditure Committee, and the Reserve Bank) have published policy papers on blockchain’s role in business regulation. The newly formed NZ Social Investment Agency has been created specifically to redevelop how $millions of public money are deployed as part of its democracy’s social fabric utilising capabilities made possible using new digital identity, MVR, ADM, predictive and distributed ledger technologies. The Australian Federal Government (via the Department of Industry, Science and Resources) funded the National Blockchain Roadmap, highlighting blockchain’s role in supply chains, credentials, and finance. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) continues to regulate digital asset products under a watchful but permissive lens, enabling licensed players to explore blockchain-powered offerings responsibly. Multiple state governments (e.g. New South Wales and Victoria) have funded digital identity and verifiable credential pilots using blockchain, often in partnership with universities and digital innovation hubs.

Across industries

From agriculture to arts and finance – the region is piloting distributed ledger tech to improve transparency and efficiency. Agribusinesses are using blockchain for supply chain traceability (e.g. to certify organic exports), aligning with Oceania’s focus on quality and sustainability. This institutional openness provides fertile ground for Cardano adoption in real-world use cases.

Strategic Gateway and Scale Sandbox

Oceania’s mix of advanced economies (Australia/NZ) and developing island nations makes it an ideal sandbox for scalable Cardano solutions. Successful models proven here – whether in decentralised finance for underbanked communities or traceability for exports – can be refined in a manageable environment and then scaled globally. Moreover, Australia and New Zealand’s strong trade and cultural links to Asia and the West position Oceania as a bridge for Cardano’s global outreach.

In summary, Oceania combines high crypto literacy, supportive stakeholders, and pressing use-case needs (financial inclusion, transparent trade, etc.) in a region that can showcase Cardano’s impact on a global stage. This strategy capitalizes on those strengths to accelerate ecosystem growth in 2025–2026.