Australia established its first comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets on Wednesday by passing legislation that mandates financial services licences for cryptocurrency exchanges and custody providers.
On April 1, the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 was approved by both houses, bringing companies that manage digital assets on behalf of clients under the existing Australian Financial Services Licence system.
Under the Corporations Act, Australia’s bill establishes two new regulated categories: digital asset platforms, which hold cryptocurrency on behalf of users, and tokenised custody platforms, which hold real-world assets and issue a matching digital token.
Operators of both are subject to the same fundamental regulations as brokers or fund managers, including obligations to protect client assets, make standardised disclosures, refrain from misleading conduct, and uphold dispute resolution and compensation procedures, provided they obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence from ASIC.
The regulation aims to reduce risks like commingling, insolvency, and asset misuse that have resulted in losses in previous crypto failures by focusing on the intermediary companies that manage consumer funds rather than regulating cryptocurrency itself.
Tokenised markets, payments, and digital assets may bring in up to A$24 billion a year for Australia, or about 1% of GDP, according to research by the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre and industry associations. The nation was only expected to get A$1 billion of that by 2030 under the prior regulatory path.
A representative for Kraken stated that the law gives a “top-down signal” that Australia is serious about digital assets and that clearer regulations would encourage businesses to invest and grow locally.
The bill, according to Kate Cooper, CEO of OKX Australia and co-chair of the Digital Economy Council of Australia, is a “pivotal moment” because it lays the groundwork for institutional participation and long-term capital allocation.
Source: X.com
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