Australia Takes Crypto Interest into Financial Framework

Australia Prepares to Regulate Crypto Firms

The Australian Department of Treasury has submitted a new draft proposal that would require crypto firms in the country to hold a financial services license. The amendment aims to bring cryptocurrencies under the supervision of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

The draft proposal would require crypto businesses, such as digital asset platforms (Digital Asset Platforms - DAPs) and tokenized custody platforms (Tokenized Custody Platforms - TCPs), to be regulated under the same rules as other financial intermediaries. Thus, licensing and consumer protection regulations would also apply to these businesses.

Daniel Mulino, Deputy Treasury Secretary, made the draft legislation public last Thursday. Mulino said this step was taken to regulate crypto products under existing financial services rules.

Mulino said, "The final legislation will introduce a new framework for digital asset businesses in Australia. This will be achieved through a specific extension of existing financial services laws," he said.