Share this article
Australia Takes Aim at Cryptocurrencies With New Money Laundering Bill
Australia is moving to introduce a new bill that would extend the country's anti-money laundering laws to cover domestic cryptocurrency exchanges.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 6:50 a.m. Published Aug 17, 2017, 10:04 a.m.
Australia is moving to introduce a new bill that would extend the country's anti-money laundering (AML) rules to cover domestic cryptocurrency exchanges.
In a statement this morning, the Ministry of Justice announced that the legislation would seek to bring exchanges within the jurisdiction of the Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the country's chief financial intelligence office.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The effort dates back to mid-2016, when the government released a broad-ranging statement on financial technologies.
As the government explained today:
"The bill will ... close a regulatory gap by bringing digital currency exchange providers under the remit of AUSTRAC; strengthen AUSTRAC's investigation and enforcement powers; increase police and customs officers' search and seizure powers at the border; and provide regulatory relief to industry through the deregulation of low-risk industry sectors."
Australian lawmakers reaffirmed their intention to develop a new law of this nature last year. At the time, the Attorney-General's Department's indicated its support for such a move, calling for existing statutes to receive a legislative update.
It remains to be seen whether the measure – for which a release date has not been revealed – will face opposition once lawmakers begin debating it. As reported by CoinDesk, at least a few legislators in Australia want to see bitcoin named an official currency, indicating that at least some may push back against the AML effort.
The move comes months after Australia ended a much-maligned "double tax" on bitcoin purchases, a policy shift that was long sought by members of the country's cryptocurrency community.
Australian Parliament House image via Shutterstock
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
XRP's 9% surge leads crypto as bitcoin climbs to 6-week high near $95,000
Bakkt, Figure and Hut 8 were among numerous crypto-related stocks posting double-digit percentage gains.
What to know:
- Bitcoin jumped more than 3% on Monday to its highest level since mid-November, nearing the key $95,000 mark.
- XRP led the crypto rally with a 9% gain after breaking resistance on strong volume.
- It's a good start to 2026, but bitcoin isn't out of the woods yet, said one analyst.
Top Stories
