Regulation
Crypto Regulation in Australia in 2024 – Forbes Advisor Australia
Managing Director of Blockchain APAC and Technical Advisor for Skafold Global, Steve Vallas, says the 2023 token mapping could have shaped the regulatory perimeter by helping to legally define digital assets and whether they are financial products.
“As an example, the token mapping exercise could (have) provided guidance to exchanges and industry stakeholders on the factors and characteristics that create or exclude obligations applicable to financial products,” says Vallas .
“In fact, this provides an additional opportunity to determine whether the legal classification is appropriate given the type of product, its risk and how it is likely to grow or be reconstituted.”
Nick Abrahams, global digital transformation practice leader at Norton Rose Fulbright, agrees with the government’s current priorities, arguing there is too much unregulated trading in Australia.
“A lot of them are small scale. These exchanges pose a significant risk to Australians, especially those who store their crypto on the exchange. If the exchange is compromised by fraud, hacking or lack of liquidity, many ordinary Australians will lose their money.
Abrahams says token mapping would have helped distinguish crypto investments from the more innocuous use of digital tokens, such as for major brands’ marketing and loyalty programs.
“We need to move quickly to a situation where it is clear which tokens are unregulated and which are regulated. Not all tokens need to be regulated.
This view was echoed by Stephen Jones in his speech outlining the government’s regulatory position.
“We took into account industry feedback on our token mapping document, which helped us refine and clarify the areas where regulation should be focused first,” he had told the era.
“Not all tokens in all scenarios require regulatory oversight. Instead, the anchor of our proposed regulation will be the entities that hold Australia’s digital tokens for them – crypto exchanges and other digital asset platforms.
Loretta Joseph, a global authority on digital asset regulation and consultant at McDonell Nadeau, said that in addition to “proper custody rules,” the turmoil created by the collapse of FTX has highlighted the urgent need basic compliance clarity for the crypto industry.
“(FTX’s collapse) showed that things like reporting, governance, cash management – whether it’s a crypto asset or a security or fixed income assets – these elements must be subject to appropriate checks and balances put in place by these companies. »
Joseph participated in a discussion on global standards for virtual assets at the 17th G20 in Bali: she said progress was being made on global alignment and Australia did not need to reinvent the wheel .
“We are dealing with an industry that is global in nature. I think all jurisdictions should take note of global standards bodies and work from those frameworks,” says Joseph.
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