Australia will become the first country in the world to “token map” the crypto assets sector as the government seeks to protect investors amid an onslaught of advertising.
The federal government has announced it will take a fresh look at regulating the sector in consultation with stakeholders on a framework.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the review was about allowing “consumers to participate in the market while also better protecting them”.
“As it stands, the crypto sector is largely unregulated, and we need to do some work to get the balance right so we can embrace new and innovative technologies while safeguarding consumers,” he said.
“With the increasingly widespread proliferation of crypto assets- to the extent that crypto advertisements can be seen plastered all over big sporting events – we need to make sure customers engaging with crypto are adequately informed and protected.”
In what the government has billed as a world first, Treasury will “token map” the Australian crypto market.
Token mapping is the process of determining the characteristics of all digital tokens available in the country – from Bitcoin to Dogecoin.
It will be part of an audit of the crypto ecosystem, which the tax office says more than one million taxpayers have interacted with since 2018.
“The aim will be to identify notable gaps in the regulatory framework, progress work on a licensing framework, review innovative organisational structures, look at custody obligations for third party custodians of crypto assets and provide additional consumer safeguards,” Dr Chalmers said.
Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank announced it would trial a digital currency in a “ring fenced” pilot.
A public consultation paper on ‘token mapping’ will be released soon.
