Australian crypto companies back bill, but ‘serious questions’ remain

Australia’s crypto industry is largely supportive of the government’s crypto bill announced last month, but remains open to a Treasury consultation seeking further clarity.

“The bill, as it stands, leaves several important questions unanswered,” Caroline Bowler, former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange BTC Markets, said in a statement.

“We support the government’s intention to bring structure to the digital asset sector. But the structure must be clear.”

The Treasury Department on Friday concluded consultations that began in late September on draft regulations that would extend financial sector legislation to virtual currency exchanges.

Treasury Undersecretary Daniel Mulino spoke at a crypto conference last month and introduced the government’s consultations. Source: Australian Digital Economy Council

The bill would create two new financial products under the Corporations Act, a “digital asset platform” and a “tokenized custody platform”, both of which would require an Australian financial services license and registration with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Bill needs more work: Swyftx

Cryptocurrency exchange Swiftex said in a document submitted to the Treasury Department that the bill requires “simplification and clarity,” particularly in terms of the powers it would give the government and how exchanges would operate.

The company told the Treasury Department that the bill would give the agency a “high degree of discretion” and allow regulators to “impose fundamental changes.”

Mr Swiftkus said the legislation needed to include language that would “guide future regulatory interpretation” and clearly spell out Treasury and ASIC’s powers to specify platforms and set minimum standards.

Mandy Jiang, executive director and treasurer of blockchain company CrowdTech Group, said the bill is an “important step forward” but delegates “many important details” such as licensing and storage standards to ASIC to guide the future.

“Whether this legislation achieves its stated objectives of fostering innovation and supporting sectoral growth and competition will therefore depend largely on the timeliness and quality of ASIC’s future guidance,” she added.

Crypto industry sees several gaps in the bill

Swyftx added in its submission that the bill also does not provide sufficient clarity on how Australian crypto platforms can legally source liquidity from offshore exchanges, which it said is important for a “level playing field with international markets”.

The company was also concerned that the law does not allow licensed financial advisors to give advice on cryptocurrencies, but only on regulated platforms offering cryptocurrencies.

Swyftx CEO Jason Titman told Cointelegraph that while he supports an approach to regulating cryptocurrencies under the Financial Services Act, “our primary concern at this time is to ensure Australian consumers are adequately protected and local industry is able to compete on a level playing field.”

Bowler said the bill does not clarify how to determine whether a virtual currency is not a financial instrument or whether a platform “can be treated as a financial market if it is not trading financial instruments? That is a contradiction that needs to be resolved.”

He added that the law introduces multiple licenses “without clearly articulating the benefits to consumers or the specific risks they seek to address.”

“Regulation must be proportionate and fit for purpose. Without it, we risk creating a system that is burdensome for businesses and does not necessarily strengthen consumer protection.”

The bill is expected to become law in early 2026.

Vakul Talwar, Crypto.com’s general manager for Australia, said the Albanon government should not “relax the gas pedal” and should work to amend and introduce the bill “as soon as possible”, predicting it could happen as early as March.

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He added that the bill is unlikely to be held up by debate or amendments because “we believe this bill will have primarily bipartisan support.”

“We want the bill to become law as soon as possible, and in our opinion, this certainly needs to happen by the end of 2026,” he added.

“The reality is we probably won’t see any legislation introduced before the end of 2026,” said Edward Carroll, head of global markets at crypto investment firm MHC Digital Group.

“There is still meaningful work to be done to translate feedback from the consultation into actionable legislation, but the sooner the rules are formalized, the sooner businesses can plan with confidence,” he added.

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