An Australian Senate committee has looked into the regulation of crypto and made 11 recommendations that will allow it to compete with other financial global hubs. The recommendations if implemented would be favourable to Australia’s growing crypto industry.
Australia has the third highest rate of crypto adoption in the world, according to one survey by comparison site Finder. With this in mind, the regulation of the industry in Australia is an important step for the relatively crypto-friendly nation.
The parliamentary committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre is in charge of reviewing the framework, and released a draft report on Thursday with several recommendations to boost the crypto industry.
The report includes 11 recommendations for the regulation of crypto and digital assets, including a “bespoke” custody or depository regime for digital assets that would boost consumer confidence when it comes to the storage of digital assets such as bitcoin.
Another recommendation would be changes to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing guidelines so they were “fit for purpose”.
One of the recommendations addressed the regulation of tax, with the recommendation that capital gains tax only be applied “when there is a clearly definable capital gain or loss” when a trade occurs.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Senator Bragg’s comments on how increased regulation in Australia would bring Australia up to speed with other crypto-friendly legislations such as the US.
“What we’ve tried to do is not use old hooks for new coats. This is a detailed report with an agenda for Australian leadership in digital assets. We want to be an economy which is dynamic, we don’t want to be captured by the old vested interests of yesteryear.”
The Senator added:
“I hope my party will adopt it as party policy […] time is of the essence, so if we win the election I’d like to see us put this in place within three or four months.”
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