Website launches bitcoin 'treasure hunt'

Finder.com.au is giving away bitcoin. Photo / 123RF

Finder.com.au has launched a bitcoin "treasure hunt", with the comparison website giving away 40 "tokens" worth a combined $4000.

Each token is worth 0.004 bitcoin, valued at $100 each at bitcoin's current price of nearly US$19,000 ($27,163). They are hidden on various pages within the website, but users have to create an account and log in to be able to claim them.

A clue is provided to help users find each one. "Some coins are harder to find than others, but if you get in quick you might grab one," said Finder.com.au co-founder Fred Schebesta.

"We wanted to give something back to our users. It's Christmas time, the time for giving. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are the biggest disruption of currency we might see in our lifetime, and we wanted to help everyone understand what it is and get involved."

Schebesta said it was the number one growth area in traffic for the site, which has created a number of in-depth guides to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, including comparisons of various exchanges.

"When Netflix launched in 130 countries we had a huge amount of traffic then, Pokemon was equivalent, when Amazon launched that was pretty popular — but those were just launches, this is sustained," he said.

"I think this is the hottest and probably one of the most important things Australians right now can familiarise themselves with. It's going to change the way we transact, bank, store wealth."

According to a survey of more than 2000 people conducted by the website, 7 per cent of Australians have invested or traded in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, and a further 20 per cent have considered it.

Fifty per cent were sceptical about cryptocurrencies, however, and 23 didn't even know what they were. Gen Y were the biggest fans, with 14 per cent having purchased or invested, compared with just 2 per cent of Baby Boomers.

West Australians were the most crypto-savvy, with 81 per cent aware of cryptocurrency, while Queenslanders were the least likely to have heard of cryptocurrencies on 74 per cent.