As part of a “multi-stage approach” to cracking down on cryptocurrency and ensuring proper risk disclosures from crypto businesses, the Australian government is expanding its market regulator’s digital asset unit. The new regulations are meant to safeguard consumers interacting with cryptocurrencies, according to a joint statement released on February 2 by Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones.
The multi-stage strategy, according to the treasurers, would include three components: improved enforcement, improved consumer protection, and the creation of a framework for token mapping reform. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s (ASIC) digital assets unit will grow in size, and increased enforcement measures will be one of the major improvements.
Australia Has Plans In Place To Combat Crypto Scams
According to Chalmers and Jones, ASIC will concentrate on making sure that consumers are properly informed about the hazards associated with crypto products and service providers. ASIC was contacted by Cointelegraph to inquire how many more roles would be filled, but a comment was not immediately given. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the nation’s competition watchdog, will soon receive new powers from the government to better defend consumers from scams involving cryptocurrencies. It said that $221 million was lost to scams involving cryptocurrency payments in 2022.
The ACCC will use the new tool, which will be a real-time data-sharing platform, to recognize and stop cryptocurrency scams. When a framework is developed to govern the licensing and custody of digital assets, consumer protection will also be strengthened in order to “ensure customers are safeguarded from preventable business failures or from the misuse of their assets by service providers.” However, this framework won’t start until the middle of 2023, and it might take a while before it becomes a part of the law.
