Given the latest developments in the crypto markets, the Australian government has renewed its endeavour to create vigorous crypto regulations. The announcement comes as news emerged of as many as 30,000 Australians falling prey to the recent bankruptcy of FTX, with their funds being stuck with the exchange. Following the news, FTX Australia's licence was also cancelled by regulators in the country.
Australia has emerged as the first country to announce strict regulations after the recent debacle. In a report published in a leading business daily in Australia, Treasurer Jim Chalmers's spokesperson had this to say, "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 ." The spokesperson also mentioned their continuous monitoring of the situation in the crypto markets or any after-effects of the incident in other financial markets.
The crypto industry welcomed the announcement and reaffirmed its commitment to working with the government to frame laws for crypto regulation. A few industry captains claimed that Australia's crypto space had been requesting such regulations for a long time. Though they positively reacted to the new steps, a few saw the backdrop as unfortunate since so many Australian investors had their funds blocked in the FTX debacle.
Danny Talwar, the Head of Tax at Koinly Australia, the crypto tax platform, was reported saying,"Following the FTX fallout highlights the need for sensible regulations within the crypto world, both domestically and across the globe, in order to eliminate uncertainty and remaining grey areas and provide clarity around digital assets — especially for retail consumers." While the entire industry and other investors are awaiting details of the new regulations, many stressed that adequate capital reserves and high auditing norms would be the basic norms required for crypto exchanges to remain operationally healthy in the future.
Australia could have a first-mover advantage with the new regulatory rules being drafted for the crypto industry. Europe, Hong Kong, and Singapore have also appeared as positive destinations for blockchain projects and companies, and crypto leaders hope this will lead to a worldwide acceptance and regulation of the industry.
The writer is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash
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