Australia finally passed a critical piece of digital assets legislation through both houses on Wednesday, as per a disclosure by the Australian parliament’s official website.
The update comes amid instances of heightened scrutiny by the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), which recently imposed a fine of $6.9 million on Binance’s derivatives arm for misclassifying its clients and exposing them to high-risk investment products.
The amendment was added under the Corporations Act 2001 — a broad legislative framework that gives guidance on what is considered proper compliance for companies in Australia.
Cryptocurrency firms now need to secure proper licensing
Under the new framework, cryptocurrency firms are required to get an AFSL (Australian Financial Services License) from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission within six months.
“Australia was early in allowing crypto exposure through structures like SMSFs, but late in giving the industry regulatory clarity. This bill is less about introducing crypto and more about formalizing it, bringing exchanges and custodians into the same standards as financial institutions,” said cryptocurrency and Web3 consultant Lavneet Bansal.
“The focus is shifting from the asset to the intermediary, who holds funds, how they operate, and how users are protected. In that sense, this is Australia catching up with global peers while aligning crypto with its existing financial system,” he also said.
The Digital Assets framework was passed through both houses of the Australian Parliament and contains comprehensive guidelines for digital assets entities and exchanges.
The digital assets industry presents a sectoral opportunity worth AUD$24 billion dollar a year to the government, and the new legislation is expected to be instrumental in regulating it.
The new bill now categorizes all digital assets firms into two categories: one that includes firms that custody or hold digital assets, and one that manages and issues tokens representing RWAs or real-world assets.