From a global perspective, Australia's regulation on the issuance and trading of cryptocurrencies is relatively clear and open, and the investment market has a high acceptance of token issuance, making it a compliant choice for many crypto institutions.
According to official news from Matcha Exchange, it has obtained a license issued by the Australian financial regulator.Approved to carry out digital asset exchange, remittance services, digital asset transactions and digital asset wallet services in Australia.
As regulations improve, digital currency exchanges operating in Australia are now regulated by the Australian Financial Regulator, with supervision of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing activities.
This paper will be based on AustraliaToken issuanceRegulatory guidance documents and AML/CTF related laws, sort out the regulatory requirements and related licenses.
Regulatory requirements for token issuance
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) defines the concept of crypto assets as including cryptocurrency, tokens, stable coins, etc., and classifies crypto assets in token issuance into two categories: financial products and non-financial products.
Financial products include managed investment schemes (MIS), securities, derivatives and non-cash payment tools (NCP).
Different types of financial products and their corresponding regulatory requirements are detailed in the table below:
Crypto Institution License Types
In Australia,Almost all participants in the cryptocurrency industry are subject to legal jurisdiction, the types of licenses involved include:
1. AFS License (Australian Financial Services Licence)
2. AUSTRAC DCE license (Digital Currency Exchange Service Provider)
3. AM License (Australian Market License) Australian Market License
4. CS facility license
Depending on the type of encryption business, the license applied for is different, see the table below for details:
The peculiarity of Australia’s regulation of the crypto industry
Stablecoins are included in the scope of crypto assets
Relevant Australian laws include stablecoins in the scope of crypto assets, indicating that stablecoins are also a kind of crypto assets, existing alongside cryptocurrencies and tokens. It also means that activities related to stablecoins are also subject to supervision by the Australian government.
Cryptocurrency trading platforms are regulated by AUSTRAC
According to AUSTRAC's guidance, from the perspective of anti-money laundering/anti-terrorist financing supervision, all trading platforms involving the exchange of legal currency and virtual currency should be subject to supervision, including the following:
2. Adopt and maintain an AML/CTF system
3. Report suspicious transactions and large transactions to AUSTRAC
4. Record and save user information, transaction information and the implementation of the AML/CTF system
Regulatory peculiarities of token issuance
The tokens involved in the token issuance may be functional securities and unregulated in other countries, but may constitute financial products and be strictly regulated in Australia. See the first table in the article for details.
Regulation of token issuance applies to STOs
In Australia, the tokens issued in STOs are mainly MIS or company shares, which also provides guidance on the relevant obligations that STO issuers need to fulfill when issuing such types of tokens. See the first table in the article for details.
