Australian Government Outlines New Innovation-Driven Crypto Regulatory Framework

Australian federal government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has unveiled a new digital asset framework with a focus on innovation and consumer protection.

On Friday, the Australian Treasury released a paper that seeks to support innovation in the country’s digital asset space. It further came up with “reforms” that provide “certainty” to the industry.

“Our legislative reforms will extend existing financial services laws to key digital asset platforms, but not to all of the digital asset ecosystem,” the framework read.

The move follows a similar approach to crypto regulation in regions including the European Union and Singapore.

The statement came from Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones, and special envoy for cybersecurity and digital resilience Andrew Charlton.

“We know that digital assets and blockchain represent big opportunities for our economy, financial sector, payments industry and capital markets,” the joint statement noted.

Government’s Framework to Digital Asset Reforms

The Aussie Government revealed that it is planning to regulate digital asset platforms and payment stablecoins under existing laws.

Further, the framework would apply to digital asset platform operators and exchanges, custody services and brokerage platforms, it said.

Additionally, under the reforms, these platforms will be required to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence. Smaller-scale firms and businesses not involved in financial services are exempted from the license, the statement read.

“We want to seize these opportunities and encourage innovation at the same time as making sure Australians can use and invest in digital assets safely and securely with appropriate regulation.”

The government noted that it will initiate stakeholder feedback on the commencement dates for the reforms. The draft legislation is set to be released this year for public consultation.

Australia Identifies Crypto Innovation Opportunities

The Treasury’s Statement also included tokenization, real-world assets (RWAs), and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as part of its broader plan to modernize the financial system.

“Treasury is working with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to explore the feasibility and potential benefits of an Australian dollar CBDC.”

In September, the central bank and the Treasury released a CBDC research, highlighting that a wholesale CBDC could play an important role in enhancing the Australian markets.

Per the government, Australian Treasury, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, and RBA are planning to launch trials on the use of tokenised money, including CBDCs and stablecoins.