Australia Wants to Integrate Crypto Into the Economy in New White Paper

Australia’s government has outlined a comprehensive plan to regulate and integrate digital assets into its economy, drawing inspiration from the EU and Singapore. The Australian Treasury’s white paper details initiatives such as piloting tokenized money trials (including stablecoins) for wholesale tokenized markets and introducing a licensing framework for crypto exchanges, termed Digital Asset Platforms (DAPs). These platforms will face financial obligations like capital adequacy and must use third-party custodians for customer assets. While a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) is not currently planned, a wholesale CBDC and tokenized settlement systems are seen as ways to enhance market efficiency, reduce costs, and improve access to illiquid assets. The government also aims to tackle de-banking issues—mirroring U.S. discussions—by ensuring DAPs can maintain banking relationships through better risk management. Show Less