- Australia is moving behind emerging markets.
- Bermuda and Nigeria are evolving at a rapid pace.
- Australia’s chairperson believes the country needs to follow in the footsteps of global standard-setters.
Australia needs to quicken its pace in the crypto space, as it risks losing its rank to emerging crypto markets in Bermuda and Nigeria, which have started moving faster.
Australia is at a point where the government needs to quicken its pace in developing crypto regulations or fall at risk of being behind other developing markets. Loretta Joseph, a chair of the Australian Digital Financial Standards Advisory Council (ADFSAC), a newly launched policy institute operating under the ADC forum, put out a warning on Cointelegraph addressed to Australia, stating that the country was at risk of falling behind others when it comes to the development of regulations.
Earlier in the year, the country’s treasury ran consultations for its token mapping exercise to help classify different crypto assets. A paper consulting on possible licensing frameworks is expected by the middle of the year. Other roundtables on crypto licenses are expected to happen in the year’s third quarter. In addition, there are also expectations of a private bill to expedite crypto regulations.
The chair, however, warned that the pace of the country’s regulatory reform and developments were going at a slow pace; she mentioned other countries that she works in, like Mauritius, Nigeria, and Bermuda, which are moving at a faster rate than Australia, and noted how effective the impact of decentralized technology has been on better lives in a lot of developed economies.
Bermuda has made the move to signal its support for a regulated crypto industry. At the same time, Mauritius and Nigeria have been involved in the regulation and policy-making for their local initiatives for the past few years, while Australia is still at a point where they are figuring out token mapping exercises or how to write legislation around Ethereum and Bitcoin. Loretta Joseph stated that she believes the country needs to be up to speed.
A large part of the crypto ecosystem in Australia cannot be covered with the use of the country’s existing legislation on cryptocurrency, hence the need to have a plan for adapting or updating new laws to contribute to Australia’s growth and innovation. The chair, Loretta Joseph, who has been involved in the writing of legislations and crypto policies since 2017, even having a hand in Bermuda’s laws on digital currency business that was passed in 2018, has made her see the need for the ADFSAC to be created to bring the policymakers, government, crypto industry, and academia together as it has not been possible to write legislation without having the input of all those mentioned above.
Conclusion
Joseph also believes that proper education on crypto is an integral part of the new institute. Regarding what path the chair believes Australia should take policy-wise, she thinks they should align with all the current global standard setters and named international financial regulators like the international organization of securities commission, The Financial Stability Board, and The Financial Action Task Force.
