Australian Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has released a draft bill aimed at clamping down on digital asset exchanges, and China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the e-Yuan, and the stablecoins, as reported by Cointelegraph.
According to a statement made by Senator Bragg on September 18, “Australia must keep pace with the global race for regulation on digital assets” because “the parliament must lead legal reform” in this area.
In the new draught law, named Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2022, licences are proposed for digital asset exchanges, digital asset custody services, stablecoin issuers, as well as transparency requirements for e-Yuan facilitators in Australia.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Senator Bragg stated that one of the reasons Australia needs a real programme for managing disruption and risk arising from the creation of a CBDC is because the country has “quite a risk exposure, as an economy.”
According to Senator Bragg, this specific act’s goals are to “provide an effective regulatory framework,” “allow for the reporting of information by certain banks that facilitate the use or availability of digital Yuan in Australia,” and “provide for additional duties” for governing bodies with regard to this act and the “regulation of activities relating to digital assets and digital Yuan.”
The Australian government must “put something on the table” to handle other CBDCs that are being introduced, according to the Liberal senator, who also stated that Australia wouldn’t benefit from having a CBDC because “privacy issues cannot be managed.” However, the Governor of The Reserve Bank of Australia has “spoken before saying there needs to be regulation on stablecoins.”
Since being elected as a senator in 2019, Andrew Bragg, a pro-crypto Australian politician, has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrencies. In an effort to stop local firms from migrating abroad, Senator Bragg has been advocating for a clear regulatory framework for digital assets and cryptocurrency businesses since 2021.
Senator Bragg stated that while “chairing the committee” for digital assets, he “conducted an inquiry into these subjects” and “informed himself about the risks and prospects” with “no fixed perspective at the time.”
To “better the way Australia’s regulatory system regulates crypto assets,” the Australian Labor administration is reportedly working on “crypto asset reforms.”
Treasury officials announced last month that they would “prioritise token mapping work in 2022, which will help establish how crypto assets and related services should be regulated.”
(With insights from Cointelegraph)
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