Just In: Australian Senate Antagonizes Crypto Bill

The Australian Senate through its Economic Legislation Committee has notably opposed a Bill that seeks to back the regulations of crypto trading platforms in the country. 

Australian Senate Crypto Bill Rejection: Highlighted Basis

According to a report from InnovationAus.com, a public policy and business innovation think tank, the Committee’s rejection hinged on the perceived division in the potential push for the implementation of the bill.

As noted, the report from the Economics Legislation Committee acknowledged the work that had been done since the Bill was introduced by pro-crypto Senator Andrew Bragg. However, though the objectives to protect investors from scams were stated to be well intended, “submitters were divided over whether a “bespoke” legislative framework for digital assets was necessary over amendments to existing regulation.”

Additionally, there were recorded divisions by key stakeholders like FinTech Australia who found exceptions with the sparing nature of detail around the digital asset exchange requirements as well as those bordering on governance. While the general position of the legislature is that additional regulation is necessary for the industry;

The bill “lacks the detail and certainty that investors, consumers, and the industry should be provided with,” the report reads, adding that “Crucially, the bill fails to interoperate with the established regulatory landscape, creating a genuine concern for regulatory arbitrage and adverse outcomes to the industry.”

One crucial intention of the bill is to help protect consumers and to also support the digital asset industry and the comments showcased the fact that the bill did not do much justice to providing adequate details that it conforms with the country’s objectives with respect to its broad expectations.

It is worthy of note that the current development is not sitting well with Senator Andrew Braggs and other proponents but the consultation procedure has been given the green light to be restarted.

Global Crypto Regulation Outlook

The global crypto ecosystem regulatory landscape is at an inflection point in different nations based on the regulator’s approach to handling the industry. 

While the European Union has emerged with Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is at the verge of approving its first spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) product based on industry and legal promptings.