A Senate committee in Australia has made a number of proposals to address the lack of proper regulations for the cryptocurrency space. The lawmakers believe the country needs new rules for its fintech and digital asset industries to be able to compete with jurisdictions that are already attracting some of its own crypto firms.
Senate Committee Calls for Accommodating Crypto Rules in Australia
The rapid expansion of the crypto space has caught many governments by surprise, but while other nations are already providing market participants with some regulatory clarity, Australia is yet to introduce more specific rules for related industries. According to the Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre, which has published a new report on the matter, updated regulations should allow the country to drive innovation.
The committee has put forward a set of recommendations for dealing with issues in key areas affecting the competitiveness of Australia’s tech, finance, and digital asset sectors. The problems, identified by interested parties, concern the regulation of cryptocurrencies and similar assets, the “de-banking” of fintech and other innovative companies, and the current policy environment for digital banking institutions, or the so-called “neobanks.”
As a first proposal, the Australian senators have told the government to establish a licensing regime for digital currency exchanges that covers aspects such as capital adequacy and auditing. The authors of the report note that current rules are limited and only require these trading platforms to register with the country’s financial intelligence agency, Austrac, despite the fact that they often process billions of dollars in crypto assets. The lack of certainty is said to be a challenge for businesses, investors, and consumers. The committee remarks that:
Two prominent Australian-founded digital currency exchanges (DCEs) have recently gained regulatory licenses
