Australian govt embarks on crypto stocktake ahead of sector regulation

Australia said on Monday that it will conduct a virtual inventory of its cryptocurrency assets. This is the first indication from the new centre-left administration that it intends to regulate the $1 trillion industry.

The first stage in determining which bitcoin assets to regulate and how will be to classify the many forms and applications of digital money possessed in the nation, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

He said in a statement, "Australia would be the first nation in the world to execute such an experiment."

We need to ensure that clients using cryptocurrency are properly educated and safeguarded, according to Chalmers. "With the growing broad proliferation of crypto assets, to the degree that crypto marketing can be seen plastered all over major sports events," Chalmers stated.

Australia has spent years debating how to control cryptocurrencies, which are controlled by decentralized computer networks rather than traditional financial institutions like central banks.

Since 2020, when a rise in the sector's popularity was brought on by COVID-19 stimulus grants and home working, there have been more calls for involvement.

A Senate investigation conducted last year by the previous conservative administration suggested extensive rules to safeguard bitcoin owners, but that administration lost an election in May before any new legislation were implemented.

According to data by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, 44% of retail investors owned cryptocurrencies as of the end of 2021. This led to the ASIC's declaration that the industry should be regulated.

The treasurer, Chalmers, said on Monday that the token mapping effort will be "the first stage towards a reform program," although he did not provide any other details.