The Australian Government has started taking steps to regulate crypto exchanges. The government’s proposal requires platforms that wish to obtain an Australian Financial Services License to have a specific asset threshold. Accordingly, an individual threshold of 1,500 AU$ (948 US Dollars) and a total threshold of 5 million AU$ (3.2 million US Dollars) have been set.
The reason for this step is cited as the increased need to protect consumers due to failures and security vulnerabilities in digital asset service platforms.
Crypto exchanges in Australia generally view the Treasury’s new proposal positively. However, some are concerned that being included in the current financial services license regime could confine the crypto industry into a structure similar to the traditional financial sector.
What Do the New Regulations Bring?
According to the proposals presented in the Treasury’s consultation document dated October 16, it is planned to regulate crypto exchanges within the framework of current financial service rules. There is also a provision for introducing new guidelines for all Australian companies dealing with digital assets.
Among these guidelines are the determination of storage software standards and the obligations to be followed during token trading. At the same time, additional obligations are planned to be introduced for activities such as trading operations, staking, tokenization, and fundraising.
