Australia is moving forward in streamlining its approach on crypto legislation. On Thursday, September 25 Australia’s assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino reportedly invited feedback for the draft legislation that was first released in March this year. Stakeholders of the fintech industry have been asked to assess the effectiveness and clarity on the proposed regulations.
“This is about legitimizing the good actors and shutting out the bad. It is about giving businesses certainty and consumers confidence,” Mulino was quoted as telling the media at a crypto conference on Thursday.
Australia, as per its draft crypto rules, plans to levy penalties of up to $10.8 million, thrice the profit churned, or 10 percent of the company turnover — whichever is highest — on companies found flouting the regulations.
The country is looking to create two product categories to be overseen by its Corporate Act. These categories are — digital assets platform and tokenized custody platform. Companies that would fall under either of these categories would be required to acquire an Australian Financial Services Licence, the draft guidelines propose.
Furthermore, the rules come with separate specifications for an array of crypto products and activities including wrapped tokens, staking, as well as token infrastructure design among others.
Australia has observed that in recently tears, the collapses of several digital asset businesses have spotlighted risks around how careless operations could lead to Nonconsensual custody of customer assets and subsequent risks of rugpulls, hacks, and financial losses.
Small scale crypto firms that churn less than $6.6 million in revenue will reportedly be exempted from the rules.
As of now, crypto firms that offer crypto trading services are mandated to register with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). Just last month, AUSTRAC had ordered Binance Australia to appoint an external auditor to bring its business in alignment with the current compliance mandates there.
The country has also recently launched a six month digital dollar trial under the oversight of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).