Australia Takes Action: The Encryption Industry Moves from Wild Paths to Financial-Level Regulation

If you've been in the mixed chain for a while, you must know that Australia's regulations have been more talk than action for many years. As a result, this week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Financial Services Daniel Mulino directly presented a "2025 Digital Asset Framework Bill" to Parliament, clearly indicating a readiness for long-term governance.

This core change consists of three points:

1. Bring cryptocurrency exchanges and custodial services into the financial services legislation. Previously, Australia's regulation of crypto platforms was more focused on anti-money laundering and corporate governance, but now it has been directly upgraded to the level of financial services, with the main regulator designated to ASIC. Going forward, exchanges can no longer operate as tech startups; they must align with the standards for financial institutions.

2. Australia categorizes exchanges and custody platforms as financial services, and in the future, they must obtain an Australian financial services license.

3. At the same time, two categories have been specifically established: digital asset platforms and tokenized custody platforms, to clarify responsibilities and standards.

The operational requirements are also very strict, with efficiency, honesty, and fairness being the three standards of ASIC that cannot be compromised. Coupled with details like asset security and settlement custody, it basically means that the platform can no longer operate with a tech company mindset, but must conduct business according to the standards of a financial institution.

It is worth noting that Australia has provided exemptions, allowing small platforms (with a single client asset of less than 5000 US dollars and an annual trading volume of less than 10 million) to bypass the full licensing process.

It is to allow innovation space to remain while strictly constraining large funds. The authorities also casually threw out a number, indicating that this reform can increase productivity by $24 billion each year, showing that they are not blocking the industry but rather want to incorporate Web3 into the economic structure.

In my opinion, this is a process of institutional construction. Exchanges will increasingly resemble banks and brokerages in the future, and tokenized assets will find it easier to enter a legal framework in Australia. The rules of the industry will become more stable and clearer in the future, which is beneficial for projects looking to operate in the long term.

#澳大利亚监管 # encryption policy #ASIC