Cryptocurrency regulators in Australia are seeking to do something that no other government has ever done before. The Australian Treasury issued a statement on Monday announcing a multi-step strategy for establishing a crypto regulatory regime that it asserts is more comprehensive and effectively than those previously developed “anywhere else in the world.” The statement refers to “anywhere else in the world” as meaning “anywhere other than Australia.”
The government plans to use a method of doing market research that it refers to as “token mapping” as a central component of its strategy. In order to “better identify how crypto assets and related services should be regulated,” regulators will be able to monitor and assess subtle trends in the Australian cryptocurrency markets thanks to token mapping.
Jim Chalmers, the Treasurer of Australia under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, issued a statement earlier today in which he underlined the significance of having a full grasp of cryptocurrency markets prior to the writing of legislation.
According to Chalmers, the previous administration “dabbled with crypto asset regulation but prematurely jumped directly to options without first comprehending what was being regulated.” “The previous government dabbled in crypto asset regulation but prematurely rushed straight to options.” “The Government of Albanese is taking a more serious approach to figuring out what is in the ecosystem and what hazards need to be looked at first,”
Australia has committed to taking a nuanced approach to cryptocurrency.
Josh Frydenberg, who served as Treasurer before Steve Chalmers, made a commitment in December 2021 to bring cryptocurrency “out of the shadows” by establishing an all-encompassing regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. However, in May, a federal election resulted in Frydenberg and the remainder of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s cabinet being defeated and removed from office.
The current government of Albanese asserts that it would tackle cryptocurrency in a manner that is more nuanced, cautious, and research-heavy than the approach used by the previous administration.
A study titled “Transforming Australia’s Payments System” was published by the Treasury Ministry under Frydenberg’s leadership in December of 2018, and it included a commitment to finish a comparable token mapping effort by the end of 2022. The findings that were gathered from that study, together with those from other papers and consultations, were intended to be used as input for a cryptocurrency regulatory framework that was scheduled to be established the following year.
According to a statement that was released today, the goal of the project that the Albanian government is working on to map tokens is to
“identify notable gaps in the regulatory framework, progress work on a licensing framework, review innovative organizational structures, look at custody obligations for third party custodians of crypto assets, and provide additional consumer safeguards.”
A public consultation paper that provides additional detail regarding the token mapping process is going to be made available very soon, as stated by the Ministry of Treasury.
It is not apparent when the Albanian government intends to put the conclusions from that exercise into actual laws, however, and a schedule for doing so has not been provided.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Cryptoannals when additional clarification regarding this matter was requested.
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