Australian regulator gives long-awaited crypto guidance, but concerns remain
ASIC released updated crypto guidance, welcomed by the industry, but concerns persist regarding license issuance speed and implementation hurdles.Summary
Australia's corporate regulator, ASIC, updated Info Sheet 225, requiring crypto service providers dealing in financial products to obtain an Australian Financial Services License by June 30 and join the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. Crypto lawyer John Bassilios noted that tokens like Bitcoin and gaming NFTs are unlikely to be classified as financial products under the new guidance, but stablecoins, wrapped tokens, and tokenized securities are included. While the guidance offers short-term certainty, industry leaders like Steve Vallas of Blockchain APAC caution that implementing policy ahead of formal law reform exposes interpretation gaps and highlights structural bottlenecks, such as limited local expertise and banking access. Amy-Rose Goodey of the Digital Economy Council of Australia welcomed the clarity but shared concerns about ASIC's capacity to process the expected large volume of license applications timely, leaving the industry in a crucial transition stage.
(Source：Cointelegraph)