According to a statement made by Australia’s Treasury on Wednesday, the country’s government has committed to establishing a framework for the licensing and regulation of crypto service providers by 2023.
Following the FTX collapse, which made the management of its Australian entities hand over regulation to licensed insolvency professionals who individually assess the financial situation, the move is part of a plan to modernize the country’s financial system.
Australia to develop appropriate custody and licensing rules
The next steps the government takes will include creating appropriate licensing and custody arrangements to protect consumers, according to the announcement.
“Unfortunately, our regulatory architecture has not kept pace with changes in the market.” “In many areas, the previous government sat on its hands. In other areas, it made announcements but didn’t deliver.”
stated the joint release by the country’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers MP and Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones
As part of its ongoing “token mapping” work, the government will evaluate which tokens or “digital assets should be regulated by financial services laws.” The country’s Treasury declared in August 2022 that it would give “token mapping” work top priority.
This work entails identifying all Australian digital asset tokens’ characteristics, including their type, underlying code, and any other distinctive technological aspects.
A consultation paper was simultaneously released for the country’s “strategic plan for the payments system,” which is scheduled to be unveiled in the first quarter of 2023, and it will include the framework for the licensing and regulation of cryptocurrency service providers.
The consultation paper, which touches on a variety of aspects of the crypto ecosystem, which includes digital wallets, stablecoins, crypto-assets, and central bank digital currencies, is open for comments until February 6, 2023.
Additionally, this entails “investigating the economic, legal, regulatory, and technological considerations associated with an Australian CBDC, as well as the policy justification for an Australian CBDC.” By the middle of 2023, the Australian central bank should have finished its CBDC pilot.
On Tuesday, word spread that Blockchain Australia’s CEO Laura Mercurio had left the organization, which supported appropriate regulation and policy.
Mercurio reportedly resigned in early September, just a few weeks after being appointed, citing “differences of opinion” with the board, according to The Australian Financial Review.