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Australia's Parliament Rejects Crypto Regulation Bill

Tim Fries

Published: September 5, 2023 6:55 am

Last Updated: September 5, 2023 9:58 am

Australia’s Senate Economics Legislation Committee has repudiated “the digital asset market regulation bill” focusing on crypto regulation, citing “concern for regulatory arbitrage and adverse outcomes to the industry.

Bill Lacks Details Over Crypto Governance and Trading: Senate

The Australian Economic Legislation Committee has clarified its stance on the newly introduced crypto-centric digital assets market bill.

The Senate has openly rejected the bill, citing a lack of clarity and details over crypto governance, which may perplex investors in the long run. The bill was earlier introduced by opposition senator Andrew Bragg with the intent to deliver an infrastructural boost to crypto adoption and progression in Australia.

The final report presented by the Senate offers additional insights on why the bill was downright rejected. Per the report, the bill lacks a detailed regulatory approach to help customers make sound crypto investments. In addition, the final report concluded that the bill needs “further consultation” to include relevant details and elements to implement a sturdy crypto regulatory structure in the region.

While delivering new insights on the bill, the Senate recommended a few amendments to the proposed bill, including removing NFTs from the definition of regulated digital assets. Moreover, the Senate further opined that the bill should refrain from acknowledging asset-based tokens such as the Gold and Silver Standard and the BetaCarbon Token as stablecoins.

“The committee is of the view that the bill is at odds with the measured and industry-accepted approach the government is undertaking to ensure that current and new regulations are well considered and effective in supporting consumers and the digital asset industry,”

the report later stated

Regarding the recent rejection of the digital asset market bill, Senator Bragg criticized the senate’s negative stance on crypto, adding that the government is keen on “sidelining cryptocurrency regulatory reforms rather than embracing crypto adoption holistically.”

“The bill demonstrates that an Australian crypto bill is entirely viable. Waiting on the government to act is not an option. That is why the Senate should move to debate and pass this bill. When governments have failed to move on proper inquiries into the financial sector, the Senate has forced their hand. The Senate should do the same on crypto regulation.

Senator Bragg

Australia’s Digital Asset Market Bill

Spearheaded under the leadership of Australian Senator Andrew Bragg, the Digital Asset Market Bill was introduced in March 2023 to help Australian citizens explore cryptocurrency transactions under reformed regulatory standards and guidelines. The bill included regulatory recommendations, suggestions concerning stablecoins, and rules concerning licensing cryptocurrency exchanges and custody requirements.

The bill was introduced to protect Australian customers against malicious crypto trading activities by providing a steady regulatory framework to help boost crypto governance and regulation in the region.

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist