Australia’s corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Which rolled out temporary exemptions from financial licensing rules for companies reselling stablecoins. The goal is to cut red tape in the digital asset world while bigger changes get sorted out.
Easing Barriers for Stablecoin Growth
ASIC announced the updates on Wednesday with its Corporations (Stablecoin Distribution Exemption) Instrument 2025/631. Companies that distribute stablecoins from holders of an Australian financial services license can now skip getting their own license for services, markets, or clearing facilities.
ASIC wants to back smart innovation in digital assets but keep strong protections for consumers by sticking to licensed issuers. These exemptions act as a short term patch until full rules for payment stablecoins roll out. They run until June 1, 2028.
The rules focus on stablecoins seen as financial products under the Corporations Act, issued by approved licensees. Right now, they only cover the AUDM stablecoin from Catena Digital, Australia’s first licensed issuer. ASIC says it might expand to more as others get approved.
Allowed tasks include giving basic advice, acting as market makers, trading stablecoins without creating them, and holding them for clients.
The crypto industry in Australia has been vocal about the high costs of meeting regulatory demands, especially after feedback from a December 2024 consultation paper. Regular crypto users in Australia are annoyed because banks keep strict caps on deposits to exchanges.
Even though anti money laundering laws came in back in 2018 and Bitcoin and Ether trading got the green light in 2024.
A Binance survey of 1,900 people showed 58 percent want easier ways to move their money, and 22 percent even switched banks to get better access to crypto platforms.
On September 2, 2025, Australia’s massive $2.8 trillion pension system threw open its doors to crypto investments. By giving people a new way to put retirement savings into digital currencies. Places like Coinbase and OKX are opening the door for folks to put their retirement cash into crypto, giving investors some exciting new options.