The government of Australia has hinted it’s going to be implementing cryptocurrency regulations in 2023. The announcement comes on the heels of the FTX collapse, which will likely go down as one of the biggest embarrassments of the crypto space.
Australia Could Regulate Crypto Next Year
Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has stated that regulators are eager to ensure crypto traders remain protected. Chalmers acknowledges that digital currency trading in Australia is reaching new highs, and he’s concerned that so long as people continue investing in an unregulated space, what happened with FTX will happen again, and additional firms will either fall completely or run off with investors’ money. He figures that if people are not willing to step away, at least they can instill the necessary protections to ensure criminality remains at a minimum.
Chalmers said:
These developments highlight the lack of transparency and consumer protection in the crypto market, which is why our government is taking action to improve the regulatory frameworks while still promoting innovation.
In his recent discussion regarding crypto regulation, Chalmers pointed to the fall of FTX as one of the main reasons as to why the government is now so eager to move forward with regulatory action. FTX, at only three years of age, was considered one of the top exchanges in the space, though mid-November saw it suddenly swamped with problems, and founder Sam Bankman-Fried went to his larger rival Binance for help with this firm’s alleged liquidity crunch.
For a while, it appeared Binance was going to buy out the smaller firm, though this did not occur, as the larger exchange explained on social media that FTX was dealing with too many issues. From there, Sam Bankman-Fried resigned from his post and FTX became the latest crypto firm to engage in bankruptcy proceedings. It was a sad and ugly sight to see; one that will forever mar the image people once had of what was labeled one of crypto’s golden players.
Could Regulation Make a Difference?
Michael Bacina – a digital asset manager at Piper Alderman lawyers – said in an interview:
Regulatory certainty is key to rebuilding trust in relation to centralized exchanges, and while law cannot eliminate bad behavior, it can set powerful norms and standards which make that behavior easier to find. The challenge will be ensuring that regulation does as intended to effectively protect consumers without suppressing industry growth… When Australia brings in technology-enabling custody rules for centralized holders of crypto assets, we will either be a leader in the space or catching up, depending on how fast other jurisdictions, like Singapore and Europe, move to make rules.
Australia has long hinted that it would like to regulate crypto, though this is arguably the first time when the state appears to be dead serious about doing so.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/australia-hints-crypto-regulation-will-arrive-in-2023/