The Australian government is getting ready for the wild west of virtual currency with a new regulation plan! It’s all about protecting the investors. The Australian Treasury has let it be known that they’re not messing around and will be acting fast and with the purpose to protect the citizens from any potential hazards in this exciting and uncharted territory.
They’re taking a multi-pronged approach, building a customized roadmap just for this industry. And let’s just say, they won’t tolerate any hooligans. The government wants to crack down on virtual currency service providers and any other bad apples that may be causing trouble. In 2022, citizens lost a whopping $221 million to digital asset fraud, an impressive 162% increase from the previous year.
.The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced an expansion of its virtual assets monitoring team and affirmed its commitment to double legal action against deceitful service providers. Further, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the National Anti-Scams Centre have united to combat digital currency fraud.
Australian senator proposed a Bill on #DigitalAssets #regulation. The Bill introduces licenses for digital asset exchanges, digital asset custody services and #stablecoin issuers to provide consumers with confidence that #risk is managed similarly to other #FinancialServices. pic.twitter.com/PDtl5VxDC1
— RegPac (@regpac_) September 23, 2022
A Big Question For Virtual Currency Regulators – Is it Financial Products or Innovation?
The regulators down under have a big decision to make! How should they approach regulating virtual currencies? Some experts think they’ll treat them as financial products, which would mean bringing in the big guns of financial regulation.
It all goes back to a report from 20 years ago that said products that do the same thing should be regulated the same way. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) also agrees and has recommended the same approach to its member countries.
Some folks are worried that too much regulation could squelch innovation and growth in the virtual currency world. It’s a tough decision, but the regulators are up to the challenge! They just need to strike the perfect balance between keeping things safe and allowing the virtual currency space to flourish. Having said that, preventing large-scale industry failures such as FTX may be a challenge for Australian regulators.
