The Australian Treasury will most likely delay the implementation of new cryptocurrency rules to mid-2024 or even 2025.
The local government was expected to impose rules by the end of 2022. Some expected the authorities to rush to do so this year, especially after the multiple crashes and investor losses that have undermined the sector of late.
no hurries
Documents published under freedom of information laws revealed that the Australian government will take its time before establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for the local cryptocurrency sector. The governing body will consider the matter in the second and third quarters of this year and could implement the legislation in 2024 or even 2025.
While some consumers believe the unrestricted environment could cause additional problems, the Treasury believes rushing would be unnecessary given the investor exit caused by recent catastrophes in the industry, such as the demise of FTX.
“Treasury views these concerns as somewhat mitigated by current market conditions, resulting in lower consumer demand for crypto assets; and the need to complete the token mapping exercise to provide clarity on how any new licensing framework would operate in practice,” the document reads.
The officials further argued that raising interest rates — a policy that numerous central banks initiated to tackle the runaway rate of inflation — had steered investors away from risky assets, including cryptocurrencies.
The statement later reported that the Treasury had formed a special “crypto policy unit” within the department whose primary goal is to ensure maximum consumer protection. The division intends to propose a ban on cryptocurrency ads to protect people from fraudulent schemes.
With this in mind, it won’t come as a surprise if Australia announces some of the stricter rules when the time comes.
Are Aussies Really Moving Away From Crypto?
Contrary to Treasury’s assumption that interest in cryptocurrency has recently evaporated, a Finder investigation from October of last year presented that 23% of Australians have some exposure to the asset class. Remember that the figure was 17% in 2021 (when bitcoin and most altcoins saw all-time high prices).
One factor that could have fueled the enthusiasm could be Australia’s macroeconomic condition. Its inflation rate reached 7.3% at the end of 2022 (a 32-year high), while the figures for the first month of 2023 are even more worrying: 7.4%.
Australia’s increased interest in cryptocurrencies in the context of a financial crisis is not new. Residents of Argentina, Turkey, Lebanon, and many other nations have recently sought alternative monetary instruments due to serious political or economic problems.
A survey conducted by the Independent Reserve at the end of November last year My dear that the number of Australian HODLers is above 25% even after the infamous FTX crash, which hurt many domestic investors. Almost 91% of the participants said they were aware of the existence of Bitcoin, and 43% admitted to having some knowledge of Ethereum.
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