According to Foresight News, the Australian Senate Economics Legislation Committee has submitted the Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2023, which aims to implement a digital asset licensing system and establish reporting requirements for the circulation of the Australian Central Bank's digital currency (CBDC). The bill also provides clear definitions for digital assets, digital asset exchanges, and stablecoins, as well as authorization requirements for digital asset exchanges, digital asset custody, stablecoin issuance, and disclosure requirements for Australian CBDC service providers.
Regulation of crypto assets largely depends on whether the asset is considered a financial product. If the asset is a financial product, it is regulated by the Corporations Act and the ASIC Act. If the asset is not a financial product, it is regulated by the CC Act.
The bill was initially proposed by Senator Andrew Bragg and was first read on March 29, 2023. On March 30, 2023, the Senate referred the bill to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee (the Committee) for inquiry and report by August 2, 2023, with the report date subsequently being delayed multiple times until September 4.
