Australia’s corporate regulator has released updated guidance on digital assets, which blockchain executives have welcomed, while airing concerns on the speedy issuance of licenses.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission updated its Info Sheet 225 on Wednesday, announcing that companies offering crypto services classified as financial products will need to become a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and lodge for an Australian Financial Services License by June 30.
Bitcoin not a financial product
John Bassilios, a crypto lawyer and partner at Hall & Wilcox, told Cointelegraph that under the new guidance, tokens such as Bitcoin (BTC), gaming non-fungible tokens, and tokenized concert tickets are unlikely to be considered financial products.
“If you’re an exchange and you only deal in Bitcoin, then you don’t need to apply for a license based on that guidance,” he said.
However, stablecoins, wrapped tokens, tokenised securities and digital asset wallets are among what ASIC considers financial products in its updated guidance.
Bassilios said this could also include yield-bearing stablecoins, tokenised real estate, tokenised bonds and staking as a service, where there are restrictions such as a minimum staking balance or lock-up period.
ASIC also said it has made an in-principle decision to grant regulatory relief for stablecoin and some wrapped token distributors to smooth the transition to proposed law reform.
Guidance provides clarity, but structural bottlenecks remain
Steve Vallas, the CEO of the consulting firm Blockchain APAC, told Cointelegraph that the updated guidance sets a demanding standard that will take significant coordination across all policy, law and industry to implement.
“ASIC has chosen to operationalise policy ahead of law reform. That approach brings certainty in the short term but also exposes just how much interpretation is now doing the work of legislation,” he said.
Vallas said the real test will now lie in implementation with “structural bottlenecks,” likely to cause issues.
“They include limited recognised local expertise, banking access and insurance capacity. Without practical solutions, compliance risks shifting from a legal challenge to a logistical one,” he said.
Guidance welcome and long-awaited
Amy-Rose Goodey, the CEO of advocacy group the Digital Economy Council of Australia, told Cointelegraph the industry had been waiting for clarity like this for a long time.
“It gives us an indication and visibility on ASIC’s position, how they’re going to treat the businesses within the digital asset sector, which we were not fully across until this point,” she said.
However, Goody agrees there are still concerns about ASIC’s resourcing and the ability to process a large number of licences in a timely fashion to ensure businesses are in compliance.
Related: Young Australians’ biggest financial regret: Ignoring Bitcoin at $400
The industry is currently in a “transition stage,” according to Goody, with businesses restructuring and reviewing the licenses they are required to hold.
The Albanese government proposed a new crypto framework regulating exchanges under existing financial services laws in March, with the Treasury finishing a consultation on Friday on draft legislation that would extend finance sector laws to crypto service providers.
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