Australian Financial Services Minister Discusses Crypto Assets
Story: Divya Sinha
In an interview with Sydney Morning Herald, Stephen Jones, Financial Services Minister of Australia talks about crypto regulations.
He said that there are good arguments for treating certain cryptocurrencies as financial products under the law.
Jones added, crypto regulation will be a key issue in the Fintech Sector in 2023. And as the first step, the government will soon begin a “token mapping”.
He added, after the FTX debacle, there is no doubt about the need for crypto regulation.
He said he doesn't want to prejudge the outcome and added, “But I start from the position that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck then it should be treated like one”.
Jones said he is not willing to set up an entirely separate regulatory regime for anything that is a financial product.
He added Bitcoin is trying to replace traditional forms of currency but that didn't necessarily mean it would become a financial product.