There are more and more speculators! Australian Finance Minister: Establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency exchanges

"Bloomberg" reported that Australia will build a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency exchanges, which will be implemented by issuing licenses. At the same time, it will consider the issuance of central bank digital currencies that consumers can use as part of the biggest action to rectify the payment industry in 25 years. , To improve the way domestic consumers and companies pay for goods and services.

According to a speech delivered by the Australian Finance Minister Josh Frydenberg in Melbourne on December 8, the Australian government will seek relevant suggestions on a universal digital cash. In addition, consideration will also be given to the development of a licensing framework that allows cryptocurrency transactions to be conducted in a regulated environment. The Australian Treasury Department expects to receive recommendations in these two areas by the end of 2022.

Josh Frydenberg said in his speech: If we do not reform the existing structure, it will be Silicon Valley that will determine the future of our payment system. These are the major changes we need to face.

Australian authorities seem to believe that the rapid growth of cryptocurrency is a potential threat to the monetary system. According to data from the Australian Internal Revenue Service, since 2018, more than 800,000 Australians have conducted digital asset transactions. Compared with last year, the number of people using cryptocurrencies for transactions has surged by 63% this year.

Jonathon Miller, the Australian executive director of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, stated that Australia must cultivate the cryptocurrency industry as an innovation center. He hopes that any new regulations will not be too much. What we have observed in other markets is that too much intervention is equivalent to rejecting the market.

The Australian government's proposal for payment reform is to respond to three independent reviews of the country's payment system. This situation has similar developments in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Canada. Australia has become a member of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) experimenting with central bank digital currencies. The purpose of this experiment is to create a more efficient global payment platform.

The Bank of Australia said on Wednesday that it has completed a review of the possible use of decentralized ledger technology to promote the use of wholesale central bank digital currencies, specifically in response to large payments between financial institutions. However, this plan is different from the retail version of the central bank digital currency that consumers can use.

The Bank of Australia stated that it will continue to carry out the research, but did not say whether it will launch this retail central bank digital currency.