Australia’s crypto industry has largely supported the government’s draft crypto bill released last month, but nevertheless responded to a Treasury consultation by demanding more clarity.
“The bill, in its current form, leaves some crucial questions unanswered,” Caroline Bowler, former CEO of crypto exchange BTC Markets, said in a statement.
“We support the government’s intention to structure the digital assets sector. But the structure must be clear.”
On Friday, the Treasury concluded a consultation that began in late September on draft rules extending financial sector laws to crypto exchanges.
The Bill would create two new financial products under the Corporations Act: a “digital assets platform” and a “tokenized custody platform”, both of which would require an Australian financial services license and registration with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Bill Needs More Work, Swyftx Says
In its submission to the Treasury consultation, crypto exchange Swyftx said the bill needed to be “simplified and clarified”, particularly in relation to the powers it gives the government and how exchanges can operate.
The company told Treasury that the bill would grant “a high degree of discretion” to Treasury and let regulators “impose fundamental changes.”
Swyftx said the law should contain a statement “to guide future interpretation of the regulations” and clearly delineate the powers of the Treasury and ASIC to designate platforms and set minimum standards.
Mandy Jiang, executive director and chief financial officer of blockchain company CloudTech Group, said the bills are a “significant step forward” but delegate “many critical details”, such as licensing and custody standards, to ASIC for future guidance.
“Therefore, whether this legislation achieves its stated objectives of fostering innovation and supporting sectoral growth and competition will largely depend on the timeliness and quality of ASIC’s future guidance,” she added.
Crypto Industry Sees Gaps in Bills
Swyftx added in its submission that the bills also do not provide enough clarity on how Australian crypto platforms can legally obtain liquidity from offshore exchanges, which it says is essential for “a level playing field with international markets”.
The company was also concerned that laws do not allow licensed financial advisors to give advice on cryptocurrencies, only allowing them to give advice on regulated platforms offering cryptocurrencies.
Swyftx CEO Jason Titman told Cointelegraph that he supports the approach of regulating crypto under the Financial Services Act, but that his “main concerns at this time are ensuring that Australian consumers are properly protected and that the local industry can compete on a level playing field.”
Bowler said the bill does not clarify how to determine whether a cryptocurrency is not a financial product or how a platform can “be treated as a financial market when it does not trade financial products? That’s a contradiction that needs to be resolved.”
She added that the laws also introduce multiple licenses “without clearly articulating the benefits to the consumer or the specific risks they seek to address”.
“Regulation must be proportionate and fit for purpose. Without this, we risk creating a regime that is burdensome for businesses but does not necessarily improve consumer protection.”
Legislation expected by early 2026
Crypto.com’s general manager for Australia, Vakul Talwar, said the Albanian government should not “take its foot off the gas” and work to amend and introduce a bill “as quickly as possible”, which he said could happen as early as March.
He added that the bill was unlikely to be delayed by debate and amendments because it “appears that this bill will have broad bipartisan support.”
“We would like to see the legislation finalized as quickly as possible and, in our view, this certainly needs to happen by the end of 2026,” he added.
Edward Carroll, head of global markets at crypto investment firm MHC Digital Group, said that “the reality is that we probably won’t see legislation introduced until the end of 2026.”
“There is still significant work to be done to translate the results of the consultations into a workable bill, but the sooner the rules are formalized, the sooner businesses can plan with confidence,” he added.
