Australian Senator Andrew Bragg has introduced a new private invoice to parliament proposing regulations for the cryptocurrency industry in the country.
The Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2023 aims to protect consumers and promote investment by recommending regulatory changes to stablecoins, exchange licensing and custody requirements.
If passed, the bill would require an Australian Securities and Investments Commission license or foreign license for anyone operating a cryptocurrency exchange, custodial service or stablecoin issuer in Australia.
In addition, the bill also outlines various obligations and requirements for exchanges, custodial services, and stablecoin issuers, such as minimum reserve requirements, segregation of client funds, and reporting of holdings. of customers.
โ Senator Andrew Bragg (@ajamesbragg) March 28, 2023
"lose the race"
On his website, Senator Bragg said: โAustralia is losing the race to regulate digital assets.
โThat is why I have introduced a Private Senators Bill, the Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2023.
โWhen Labor came to power, they had the opportunity to complete the world leading regulatory process initiated by the previous Liberal Government.
โIn October 2021, the Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Center made 12 recommendations related to the regulation of digital assets.
โOf these recommendations, 11 were adopted by the previous administration, and on March 21, 2022, Treasury began public consultations on custody and license requirements.
โThese measures provided a foundation for Labor to complete these regulatory reforms.
"In contrast, the Minister for Labor and Financial Services, Stephen Jones, has not been interested in regulating digital assets."
I have now introduced the Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill in the @AuSenate.
A link to the invoice and explanation of reasons are attached.https://t.co/pkjuNfvE0G
โ Senator Andrew Bragg (@ajamesbragg) March 29, 2023
Criticisms of the token mapping query
There is currently an ongoing public consultation in Australia on the classification of cryptocurrencies and various digital asset platforms, services and tokens, with the "token mapping" Consultation document published in February that provides basic definitions for the cryptocurrency sector.
The regulatory framework for crypto service providers is part of an overarching strategic plan for all payment systems in Australia, due to be released this quarter.
However, this is expected to face potential delays which may extend beyond 2023.
Criticizing the initiative, Senator Bragg added: โInstead of using the consultations already done, Labor and Jones decided to restart the process in May 2022.
"Since November, all we've gotten from Mr. Jones is a thin pamphlet on token mapping."
