Longo stressed the difficulty in supervising the industry, with many projects not classified as financial products, and drew attention to the increasing incidence of crypto-related scams in Australia.
Recent regulatory developments
In October, it was reported that Australia plans to introduce draft legislation by 2024 for a new licensing regime for crypto exchanges, focusing on licensing and custody rules. This move, expected to be implemented by 2025, marks a significant step towards establishing crypto regulation in the country.
In 2023, Australia updated its capital gains tax guidance to include wrapped tokens and interactions with decentralized finance protocols. Investors are now required to report capital gains and losses whenever a digital asset.
Binance's woes in Australia
Meanwhile, the Australian Financial Review review reports that Binance's downfall was significantly influenced by the ASIC canceling the company's licenses.
Binance struggled with regulatory compliance, which was a key factor in its troubles. Jeff Yew, the young CEO of Binance Australia, tried to work with regulators but clashed with Zhao over compliance issues, which led to his resignation.
Binance's derivatives business in Australia was highly successful, but this did not translate into ample funding or stability for the Australian team.