The road to regulation: Commonwealth Treasury releases new consultation paper on regulating crypto exchanges

This week the Commonwealth Treasury released a new consultation paper on regulating crypto exchanges, outlining a proposed framework to address the significant risks and potential harms associated with these platforms, while fostering innovation and safe usage of digital assets.

The paper proposes to regulate digital asset platforms within the existing Australian financial services laws, while ensuring all consumers and businesses have the opportunity to safely explore and share in any benefits of the technology.

Key features of the proposed regulatory framework include:

• Requiring digital asset platforms to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL);
• Regulating digital asset holding arrangements as a new 'digital asset facility';