Australia on Monday said it will take a virtual stock take of the country’s cryptocurrency holdings, the first indication from the new center-left government that it plans to regulate the $1 trillion (roughly Rs. 79,86,850 crore) sector.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said his department will undertake “token mapping,” or cataloging the types of digital currency owned and used in the country, as a first step in identifying which cryptocurrency assets to regulate and how.
He also mentioned in a statement that Australia will be the first country in the world to practice such a practice.
“With the increasing proliferation of crypto assets, to the extent that crypto ads are plastered all over major sporting events, we need to ensure that consumers involved in crypto are adequately informed and protected,” Chalmers said.
For years Australia has grappled with how to regulate cryptocurrency – money controlled by decentralized computer networks rather than central banks.
Demand for intervention has increased since 2020, when the sector’s popularity increased due to the Covid-19 stimulus payments and home working.
Last year, a Senate inquiry under the previous conservative government recommended broader regulations to protect cryptocurrency owners, but the administration lost an election this May before any new legislation could be enacted.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission also said it wants to regulate the sector, citing its research that 44 percent of retail investors hold cryptocurrencies by late 2021.
Chalmers, the treasurer, did not specify any planned regulations on Monday, but said the token mapping exercise would be “the first step in the reform agenda”.
Last month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was reported to be conducting a trial aimed at weeding out scam websites targeting the crypto community there.
Netcraft, a UK-based internet services company has been roped in to provide countermeasures services to identify questionable and suspicious websites for removal by the ACCC. The new trial will also involve the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as a partner with the ACCC.
