Australia's cryptocurrency industry generally supports the draft cryptocurrency legislation released by the government last month, but is still seeking further clarification in response to the Treasury's consultation.
"The current state of the draft legislation leaves some key questions unanswered," said Caroline Bowler, former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange BTC Markets, in a statement.
On Friday, the Treasury concluded its consultation on the draft rules to extend financial sector laws to cryptocurrency exchanges, which began in late September.
The draft legislation will create two new financial products under the Corporations Act: "digital asset platforms" and "tokenized custody platforms," both of which will require an Australian financial services license and registration with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
In its submission to the Treasury, cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx stated that the draft legislation needs to be "simplified and clarified," particularly regarding the powers it grants to the government and how exchanges will operate.
The company informed the Treasury that the draft legislation would allow the Treasury "broad discretion" and enable regulators to "implement fundamental changes."
Swyftx stated that the law should include a declaration "guiding future regulatory interpretations" and clearly delineate the powers of the Treasury and ASIC in designating platforms and setting minimum standards.
Mandy Jiang, Executive Director and CFO of blockchain company CloudTech Group, stated that the draft legislation is "an important step forward," but delegates "many key details," such as licensing and custody standards, to ASIC for future guidance.
"Therefore, whether this legislation can achieve its stated goals of promoting innovation, supporting industry growth, and competition will largely depend on the timeliness and quality of the guidance that ASIC will issue," she added.
Swyftx further noted in its submission that the draft legislation does not provide sufficient clarity on how Australian cryptocurrency platforms can legally obtain liquidity from overseas exchanges, stating that this is crucial for "a fair competitive environment with international markets."
The company is also concerned that the law does not allow licensed financial advisors to provide advice on cryptocurrencies, only permitting them to advise on regulated platforms that offer cryptocurrencies.
Swyftx CEO Jason Titman told Cointelegraph that it supports a regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies under the financial services law, but its "current main concern is ensuring that Australian consumers are adequately protected and that the local industry can compete in a fair competitive environment."
Bowler stated that the draft legislation does not clarify how to determine that cryptocurrencies are not financial products or how platforms are "considered financial markets when not trading financial products? This is a contradiction that needs to be addressed."
She added that the law also introduces multiple licenses, "but does not clearly articulate consumer interests or the specific risks it seeks to address."
Vakul Talwar, General Manager of Crypto.com Australia, stated that the Albanese government should not "take its foot off the gas" and should work to amend and introduce the bill "as soon as possible," predicting that this could happen as early as March.
He added that the bill is unlikely to be shelved due to debate and amendments, as "it seems there will be significant bipartisan support for this."
"We hope to see the legislation finalized as soon as possible; in our view, this definitely needs to happen before the end of 2026," he added.
Edward Carroll, Global Markets Director at cryptocurrency investment firm MHC Digital Group, stated, "The reality is that we may not see the legislation introduced before the end of 2026."
"There is still significant work to be done to translate the consultation feedback into a workable bill, but the sooner the rules are formalized, the sooner businesses can confidently plan," he added.
Related: Javier Milei's cryptocurrency-friendly party wins Argentina's midterm elections
Original text: “Australian cryptocurrency companies back draft laws, but ‘key questions’ remain to be clarified”
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
