Australia is gearing up for Crypto Regulations

SNEAK PEEK

  • The management of crypto assets will be examined by Australia’s new government, which has been under the leadership of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese since May 23.
  • A “token mapping” program was one of the 12 recommendations in a senate inquiry report from the previous year that Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced.
  • To help future regulatory choices, the token mapping project aims to “establish how crypto assets and related services should be governed.”

After three months in power, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) officially revealed its intentions regarding crypto legislation.

One of the 12 suggestions in a senate inquiry report from the previous year on “Australia as a Technology and Financial Center,” which Treasurer Jim Chalmers released, was a “token mapping” initiative. The business community enthusiastically embraced the report, eager to see if the ALP administration would accept it.

The goal of the token mapping exercise is to “identify how crypto assets and related services should be managed” and inform future regulatory decisions. It is anticipated that it will be completed before the end of the year.

Jim Chalmers, Australia’s Treasurer under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, stressed in a statement today the significance of thoroughly comprehending the cryptocurrency markets before formulating legislation.

Chalmers claimed that while the previous administration dabbled in regulating crypto assets, it quickly moved on to options without fully comprehending what was being controlled. The Albanese Government, he continued, is adopting a more serious approach to determining what is in the ecosystem and which threats should be examined first.

Chalmers’ predecessor as treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, pledged to “bring cryptocurrencies out of the shadows” by putting in place a comprehensive legal framework in December 2021. However, Frydenberg and the rest of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s administration lost the May federal election.

According to the Albanesian government, its approach to cryptocurrencies will be more nuanced, cautious, and research-based than that of the previous administration.

According to a statement issued today, the Albanese government’s token mapping project seeks to identify significant regulatory gaps, advance work on a licensing framework, examine novel organizational structures, examine custody obligations for third-party custodians of crypto assets, and provide additional consumer safeguards.