coinfomania.com
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has today warned cryptocurrency holders who choose to invest their funds in digital assets that they take the risk to their detriment.
Joe Longo, Chairman at the (ASIC) sounded a crystal clear warning during his public address to the Australian Financial Review Conference a few weeks after Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced that it will start offering crypto services in collaboration with the crypto exchange platform Gemini and crypto analytics firm, Chainalysis.
Although the Australian watchdog is trying hard at work in collaboration with the country’s other regulatory bodies to provide regulatory clarity for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the ASIC chairman thinks the asset class is not yet safe to hold at the moment.
Crypto Investors “on Their Own”
Longo noted that ASIC would neither eliminate the risks involved in crypto nor would it stop investors from purchasing digital tokens.
He noted that the regulatory body is still trying to understand and create regulations for this nascent industry, but in the meantime, investors are on their own.
“Consumers should approach investing in crypto with great caution, at present many crypto-assets are probably not ‘financial products’ …. for the most part, for now at least, investors are on their own,” Longo said.
In his opinion, Longo believes that the Australian market has a strong push for crypto mainstream adoption, especially by what he termed “extraordinary consumers and investors demand.”
However, the ASIC chairman still warns that it is important for investors to consider the risks involved rather than go all out on crypto, noting;
“ASIC does not strive to eliminate risk. But, nor should we ignore it.”
Australian Market Sees Green in The Crypto Sector
It is worth noting that the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies in Australia has attracted the attention of its corporate watchdog in recent times.
Coinfomania had earlier reported that Australian Senator Andrew Bragg pointed to the massive crypto adoption, as revealed by data found on Finder.com.au as the major catalyst for regulatory clarity, which would bring about validity and credibility in the crypto sector in Australia.
Despite growing criticism against the crypto industry by a few individuals and some countries, Australia has seen cryptocurrency enthusiasts increase in their numbers, while the country is giving attention to providing a healthy regulatory framework for the asset class.