The Australian government is considering the launch of a Central bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and has supported several forward-facing regulatory cryptocurrency proposals as part of an all new “payments and crypto reform plan.”
The government’s Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg stated that the reforms will give Australia a seat among some leading countries across the globe.
This crypto reform plan is set to be the largest reshuffle of the Australian payments system since as far back as the 1990s, as part of the crypto-related preparations will be set by the innovative proposals brought forward by an Australian Senate Committee back in September.
According to the Australian Financial Review, the government looks to be backing six out of nine crypto reforms proposed by the Senate Committee, as well as a licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges, laws to oversee decentralised autonomous organisations and an access regime for newer payment platforms.
Two proposals which are related to taxes and financial compliance have been forwarded to their respective government agencies for consideration, while the government has knocked back a new proposal related to discounts on tax on renewable energy Bitcoin mining.
Frydenberg gave out the government’s plans for regulating crypto, taxation as well as CBDCs in a speech delivered on Wednesday at rhe Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC). He stated that embracing the new developments would provide Australia a huge opportunity to capitalise on the recent convergence between technology and finance.
Speaking on CBDCs, a senior government source mentioned that a retail scale RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) supported Bitcoin or cryptocurrency is being considered at the moment, and will be a vital part of the governmen’s regulatory reform on digital payments.
During his speech at AICC, Frydenberg was bullish on the crypto asset reform. He said that for businesses, the reforms would address the ambiguity that is possible concerning the regulatory and tax treatment of crypto assets and new payments.
