Australian Lawmakers Pushing for Crypto Adoption

The Australian senate committee continues to push for crypto adoption in the country. On Tuesday, the committee on “Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre committee presented its third report requesting for reforms in crypto regulation and licensing. The report laid-out the challenges faced by leading stakeholders in crypto as well as outlined recommendations to address the deficit of blockchain regulations.

The committee has spent the last three months consulting with stakeholders in the crypto sector to come up with recommendations intended to make Australia a competitive global player in this emerging field.

Senators aiming to ease taxes to support crypto adoption

Among the recommendations , the report suggested easing tax rates for bitcoin transactions to proliferate crypto adoption in the country.The Committee believes that cryptocurrencies are not money and should not be treated as such under the law.

The Australian government’s regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies, according to the report, is too broad. The committee recommends a concentration on cryptocurrency transactions and technology’s “highest potential benefits” in relation to retail payments, foreign transfer, securities settlement and trade reporting activities.

The committee also advised the government to avoid imposing onerous rules that may stifle innovation and crypto adoption. This will provide Australia a chance to develop jobs, investment, and innovation while retaining talent.

The chairman of the senate committee Sen. Andrew Bragg, said that Australia can be competitive in crypto and can be a leader in digital assets.  “This means Australians can access new choices and lower prices. It means Australians can have more control of their financial destiny rather than being dependent on endless intermediation, ” the senator added.

https://twitter.com/ajamesbragg/status/1451315956630769664?s=20

The bottomline

The findings of the study call for a review of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules in order to assess how they impact the growing FinTech sector. The committee thinks that cryptocurrency exchanges should be overseen but not classified as money service businesses.

Currently, Australian lawmakers are considering a bill that would target digital currency traders under the remit of “anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing” (AML/CTF) legislation.

The bill will then go to the Senate, where it will be discussed and amended until a final version is produced. The bill would next be voted on by the Senate and House of Representatives. 

As regulation matures in the country, more institutional investors are likely to explore the nascent industry. As reported by The Coinrise, Australia’s fifth-largest pension fund, the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), is considering investing in cryptocurrencies in the future. According to the report, Stuart Simmons, QIC’s head of currencies, stated that as cryptocurrency regulation and infrastructure mature over time, major retirement funds would most likely seek out exposure.