Blockchain

The Australian government approves of 6 world-leading cryptocurrency reforms

— December 8, 2021 comments off

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The Australian government is seriously considering the launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and supports many forward-looking regulatory encryption proposals as part of the new “payment and encryption reform plan.”

Treasury Secretary Josh Frydenberg stated that reforms “will make Australia one of the few leading countries in the world”.

It is said that the reform plan is the largest reorganization of the Australian payment system since the 1990s. Part of the basic work related to encryption is Innovation proposal Proposed by the Australian Senate committee in September.

According to the Australian Financial Review, the government supports six of the nine reforms proposed by the Senate committee, including a licensing system for cryptocurrency exchanges, a law governing decentralized autonomous organizations, and a universal access system for new payment platforms.

Two proposals related to taxation and financial compliance have been submitted to their respective government agencies for consideration, and the government rejected another proposal related to a mining tax discount on renewable energy bitcoin.

Liberal Party Treasurer and Deputy Leader Josh Frydenberg (Josh Frydenberg) Overview The government today introduced the government’s plans for cryptocurrency regulation, taxation and CBDC in a speech at the Australian Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC).

“It is clear that if we accept these developments, Australia has a huge opportunity to take advantage of the convergence between finance and technology,” he said.

Regarding CBDC, a senior government source who asked not to be named Tell Australians called the retail scale “RBA [Reserve Bank of Australia] Supported Bitcoin or cryptocurrency” is currently under consideration, which will become a key element of the government’s digital payment regulatory reform.

In the AICC speech, Frydenberg was optimistic about the reform of crypto assets:

“For companies, these reforms will resolve the possible ambiguities in the regulation and tax treatment of encrypted assets and new payment methods. In doing so, it will stimulate more consumer interest, promote more new entrants, and enable More innovation happens.”

“For consumers, these changes will establish a regulatory framework to support their growing use of encrypted assets and clarify how new payment methods will be handled,” he added.

One Senate committee proposal that the government seems to ignore is to provide a 10% tax benefit for Bitcoin (BTC) miners using renewable energy. Michael Harris, head of corporate development at the local exchange Swyftx, told Cointelegraph:

“We think this is a political consideration. The reality is that it may be difficult for any government to distinguish an industry like BTC mining from other energy consumers, no matter how commendable its intentions are.”

However, Harris said that overall, “the current government’s voice is promising” because the government seems to have realized the need to introduce consumer protection laws. Don’t stifle innovation.

“Although the details determine success or failure, we particularly want to avoid adopting a system that will reduce customer choices by stacking methods that are beneficial to large traditional financial companies.”

related: Australian women owning cryptocurrency doubled in 2021: survey

Crypto-friendly senator Andrew Bragg, who promoted the recent encryption proposal, told Cointegraph in a statement that Fredenberg’s encryption and fintech reform plan will put “Australia on the technology map”:

“According to the Finance Minister’s plan, Australia will become the world’s leading cryptocurrency center. Australian consumers will also benefit from the new consumer protection rules.”

“The whole world is paying attention to Australia, which is now setting global standards for encryption, payment and digital wallet reforms,” ​​he added.

Caroline Bowler, CEO of the local cryptocurrency exchange BTC Market, welcomed the reform, calling it “A real-time upgrade of Australia’s one-size-fits-all regulatory framework is an important step.”

“It is great to see that Australia’s regulatory gaps related to digital financial products and the exchanges that support them are finally resolved in the highest authorities, and the coalition government has not shy away from surrounding cryptocurrency, payments and de-banking,” she said.