- Australia’s Committee on Economics Legislation has finally aired its views on the cryptocurrency bill introduced by Senator Andrew Braggs.
- The Committee recommended that the Senate should not pass the bill.
Australia’s Senate Committee Recommends Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill Not to Pass
Australia’s Senate Committee has opposed the cryptocurrency bill introduced by Liberal senator, Andrew Bragg. The Committee rejected the bill and encouraged the lawmakers to do so, as more research is needed.
Andrew Braggs and Dean Smith countered the Committee’s submission and suggested that a reform be made to the bill instead.
The Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill was introduced in March by opposition senator Andrew Braggs to create a licensing regime for digital assets and establish requirements for the circulation of central bank digital currency(CBDC) in Australia.
A few months after the bill was introduced, the Senate’s Committee on Economic Legislation shared their opinion. The Committee said that the bill was not detailed and confident. They added that the bill did not align with the government’s approach.
“The bill lacks the detail and certainty that investors, consumers, and the industry should be provided with,” the Committee’s report reads.
In a further criticism of the bill, the Committee stated that the bill lacked compliance with international regimes and its definitions of stablecoins, tokens, digital assets, etc., were too broad and unclear.
The bill’s lack of compliance with international bodies is bound to pose a risk of arbitrage, a criticism well explained in the report.
“This is a global technology, and regimes that are not harmonized interjurisdictionally create risks of regulatory arbitrage. We’re seeing this kind of balance of existing principles and bespoke regulation being played out globally, and we should be doing the same,” the report reads.
While the Committee recognized the need for regulation in Australia’s crypto sector, they concluded that the government should “continue to consult with industry on the development of fit-for-purpose digital assets regulation in Australia.”
Opposition Senator, Andrew Braggs, Expresses Support for the Bill
Andrew Braggs and Dean Smith shared dissenting views of the Committee’s report. In support of the bill, the Liberal senators suggested amendments. In a dissenting report, they highlighted some amendments of the bill that include the removal of non-fungible tokens from the definition of digital assets and excluding the Gold and Silver Standard Token and the BetaCarbon Token from what qualifies as a stablecoin.
They also requested an extension of the transition period to nine months rather than three.
Braggs and Smith criticized the Committee’s report on the bill as an attempt to slow down the crypto regulation in the country.
“The committee inquiry has demonstrated that the government’s approach to digital asset regulation is hurting Australian consumers and investment. The government has junked the ambitious crypto agenda of the former liberal government, and Australians will pay the price,” the dissenting report reads.
Bragg and Smith further urged the Board of Taxation to review the bill, aiming to introduce legislation in early 2024.
