As per the latest Australian crypto law, it will formulate a licensing structure for the digital currency exchanges and will think of launching a retail CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) as a part of the largest overhaul of its A$650 billion a day payment sector in a century’s quarter. Let us have a look at some of the Australia cryptocurrency news.
Australian Crypto Law: Important Declaration
The nation will also widen the laws of its payments to cover the providers of the online transaction like Alphabet Inc’s Google and Apple Inc along with “buy now pay later” providers like the Afterpay Ltd, ending their run of functioning without any direct supervision. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said,
“If we do not reform the current framework, it will be Silicon Valley that determines the future of our payment system. Australia must retain its sovereignty over our payment system.”
The conservative government of Australia is placing itself at the front of worldwide efforts to rein in large technology entities, while going for a more inclusive approach than nations like China and India, which have criminalised digital currency. The list of Australian crypto coins includes ADA-AUD, XRP-AUD, DOT1-AUD and many more.
The use of cryptocurrency and non-cash methods of payments has burst in Australia during the pandemic as the lives of the people shifted online.
Nearly 55 million non-cash payments are done in Australia each day, as per the government info, with nearly half the population using their phones to do their payments. The amount of Australians transacting in digital currency has increased by 63% so far this year, compared with the previous year. This is why the latest Australian crypto law is under planning.
Frydenberg asserted that the government would start consultation in the beginning of 2022 on setting up a licensing structure for digital currency exchanges, enabling the sale and purchase of crypto assets by users in a regulated scenario.
The government would also discuss regulating businesses that hold cryptos on behalf of users, and on the feasibility of a CBDC (central bank digital currency).
A spokesperson for Afterpay, which has approved a buyout from Square Inc, which is the payments firm of Twitter Inc founder Jack Dorsey, said it supported
“Any approach that takes into account consumer benefits from the innovation and competition Afterpay has brought to the market”.
Apple dropped to comment while Google had no instant comment.
Gerard Brody, who is the chief executive of the Consumer Action Law Centre, stated on the new Australian crypto law that regulating cryptocurrency exchanges would identify those entities
“are now holding significant sums of peoples’ money and investments.Regulating BNPL entities would address the significant risk of debt and financial stress associated with these products,”
Conclusion: Global Moves On The Australian Law
The move by Australia in its new Australian crypto law was a “timely and sensible response,” stated Chloe White, who is a former federal government adviser on digital currency who now operates Genesis Block, a consultancy firm that offers industry advice on the regulation of digital asset and policy development. This is a serious cryptocurrency legal issue. He in an email added,
“There will be a lot of enthusiasm from industry participants to be involved in working through the details”,
The approach of Australia is in line with U.S. regulators, who have stated that they wish to create a regulatory structure that will allow financial institutions to facilitate ownership of crypto assets for users.
