thecoinrise.com
Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which serves as the country’s primary financial regulator, has stated that it intends to give crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) a significant amount of attention over the course of the next four years.
As part of its four-year strategic “Corporate Plan” that stretches all the way to 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced on Tuesday that it would be focusing its attention on “digitally enabled misconducts” as “emerging technologies and products change our financial ecosystem.”
Fighting against crypto scams would be the priority
Scams and crypto will be the priority features of emphasis for the ASIC, according to Joe Longo, the organization’s chair. He stated:
“Our regulatory environment is changing and evolving — climate risk, our aging population, emerging data and digital technologies, and significant volatility in the crypto-assets market are all having a transformational impact.”
He stated that in 2021, there were 4,783 reports of crypto investment scams, resulting in alleged losses of $99 million, on the website Scamwatch, which informs consumers and businesses on identifying, avoiding, and reporting frauds.
ASIC stated that the measures will “protect investors from harms posed by crypto-assets” and include, among other things, encouraging the creation of an efficient regulatory framework, putting in place and overseeing the regulatory framework for exchange-related products, and increasing public awareness of the dangers associated with crypto-assets and DeFi.
Longo issued another warning against crypto investment in a piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday. He called it “a highly risky and volatile activity” and advised customers to “be really careful before you do it.”
Only a few days before ASIC’s announcement, Australia’s newly elected government revealed plans to further regulation of the crypto industry by carrying out a “token mapping” operation by the end of the year.
While the government is rushing to bring a comprehensive regulatory framework for the industry, the central bank is working on launching government-backed digital currency. As TheCoinRise reported, the Reserve Bank of Australia recently launched a one-year CBDC program.