Australian crypto exchanges are cautiously optimistic about the new licensing system
Australian crypto exchanges have hailed plans from the Australian Treasury.
In a consultation paper on October 16, the Treasury proposed a new set of proposed rules, regulating cryptocurrency exchanges under existing financial services laws, as well as introducing several new guidelines for all Australian companies operating in digital assets.
Speaking at the Australian Financial Review's Crypto Summit event on October 16, Australian Treasury Secretary Stephen Jones focused on three key areas of the new regime: providing a framework for industry growth and innovation, allowing regulatory certainty for crypto service providers and ensuring that consumers and their assets are protected on a day-to-day basis. They stay.
Australian crypto exchanges will be regulated under pre-existing financial services laws, according to the latest consultation paper from the Treasury. https://t.co/V1Dr8DeZF8
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) October 16, 2023
Caroline Bowler, CEO of BTC Markets, told Cointelegraph that she is pleased to have reached a new “key milestone” in the regulatory process and sees the regulations as a positive development for the broader crypto industry in Australia.
“It's a good next step for the Australian economy. Digital assets are the future of financial services. It is important that the country keeps pace with our international peers with a strong regulatory framework,” Bowler said.
Similarly, Adrian Przelozny, CEO of the Independent Reserve, thanked the federal government for its recommendations to promote strong regulation and policy change, telling Cointelegraph that these new proposals could help restore confidence in the crypto sector.
“We strongly believe that these changes will boost investment, provide certainty to the sector and ultimately increase consumer protection.”
Swyftx's general counsel, Adam Percy, agreed with most of the Treasury's proposals, saying it should ensure that crypto investors can safely access the benefits of blockchain technology while still allowing room for innovation.
However, Kraken Australia managing director Jonathon Miller told Cointelegraph he was concerned the new rules would force the crypto industry into a TradFi-shaped box.
“Australia is in an unfortunate situation right now where our regulation has taken too long, so we're shoehorning crypto into existing financial services regulation,” Miller said.
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Still, Miller acknowledged that the consultation paper is a step towards providing much-needed regulatory certainty, particularly for crypto companies operating on Australian soil.
He added: “We are behind our global peers in implementing a crypto framework, so I appreciate the need to have something local to give certainty to platforms like ours.”
Lim Hennessy, a partner at Clyde & Co – an international law firm assisting in the consultation process – said the new proposal from the Treasury “makes sense” for Australia's crypto industry.
Hennessy explained that the new rules will help the country catch up with powers like the European Union in their efforts to better regulate crypto.
Additionally, the Australian Financial Services (AFS) said the licensing system could be too complicated, meaning local cryptocurrency exchanges and digital asset service providers would need to start developing their applications now.
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