The head of the Australian competition regulator warned that the commitment of American president Donald Trump to soften cryptographic regulations could lead to “horror scenarios” for Australian consumers by making them more vulnerable to investment scams.
Gina Cass-Gottlieb, president of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), said that any weakening of surveillance in the United States could exacerbate the risks associated with fraud linked to crypto.
Cass-Gottlieb told ABC News:
“This is an environment – due to the sophistication of world crime, and also because potentially regulatory” release ” – that we certainly have an increased concern.”
Trump, who positioned himself as a pro-Crypto candidate, has promised to transform the United States into a “cryptographic capital of the planet”. Under its new administration, the regulatory landscape has already started to move to a more user -friendly environment for the crypto.
His position marks a lively contrast to President Joe Biden, whose administration continued legal action against large cryptographic companies and adopted an “application regulation” approach, which has aroused many criticisms.
Crypto scams are a major concern
According to ACCC data, Australian consumers have lost more than $ 1.3 billion against investment scams in 2023, crypto playing an important role – either as a payment method, or as the subject of fraudulent diets.
As part of its priorities to apply the law for 2025-26, the ACCC focuses on financial fraud and scams as well as broader competition problems in sectors such as aviation and retail .
The regulator has warned that if cryptographic regulations are loosened on the main markets like the United States, crooks can exploit the possibility of defrauding Australian investors.
Cass-Gottlieb’s remarks are intervened while Australia continues to debate its own regulatory approach to digital assets. The country has introduced stricter license requirements for cryptography service providers, but consumer protection defenders argue that more surveillance is necessary to limit fraudulent diets.
The concerns of the ACCC are added to the current global debate on the regulation of cryptography, political decision -makers balancing innovation and financial security in the middle of the growing adoption of digital assets.
Scams
According to a report by the web safety company CYVER, pork butcher’s scams dominated cryptographic fraud in 2024, representing $ 3.6 billion in losses.
The long -term fraud method, where victims are treated over time before being forced to fraudulent investments, have exceeded other forms of cryptographic scam. Cyvers traced these scams at more than 150,000 blockchain addresses, highlighting the widespread nature of the program.
The crooks have relied more and more on meeting applications and social media to attract victims, creating false profiles to strengthen confidence before persuading them to invest in fraudulent platforms. Despite the sharp increase in fraudulent activity, cyber-investigators recovered $ 1.3 billion in stolen assets thanks to chain monitoring programs and bug bonuses.
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