Australia | Crypto

AUSTRAC said its yearlong sweep included canceled, suspended and unrenewed registrations, while its action against GetCoins helped disrupt organized investment scams. Australia’s financial intelligence regulator said it canceled, suspended or refused to renew 45 crypto and remittance registrations over the past year as it intensified scrutiny of high-risk payment businesses.  On Monday, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said the actions targeted providers that were inactive, insolvent or lacked the capacity to operate. It also cited failures to report material changes, incorrect registrations and cases presenting significant money laundering or terrorism financing risks.  AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said businesses whose registrations were canceled can no longer operate. He added that individuals connected to some businesses had been referred to Australian and overseas law enforcement or regulatory partners.  Read more

The annual tally spans remittance and virtual asset providers, while AUSTRAC says GetCoins was allegedly exploited by investment scams. The post Australia cancels registration of crypto provider GetCoins following customer scam complaints appeared first on CryptoSlate.

ASIC has recorded more than 45 digital asset-related license applications as its temporary enforcement relief approaches Sept. 30 expiration. Australian crypto companies relying on temporary regulatory relief have until Sept. 30 to apply for a financial services license or risk penalties, including fines reaching 10% of their annual turnover.  On Wednesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said businesses requiring an Australian Financial Services license must apply for one or seek changes to an existing license before the deadline. Firms requiring market or clearing and settlement licenses must also notify the regulator and hold a pre-application meeting.  Starting Oct. 1, companies that require authorization but have not met the conditions of ASIC’s no-action position could be operating in breach of financial services law. The regulator said they may face civil and criminal penalties.  Read more

Nexo introduced regulated, cryptocurrency-backed credit lines that allow users to access liquidity in Australian dollars or stablecoins by borrowing against their digital assets. Nexo Australia launched crypto-backed credit lines after becoming a credit representative under Australia’s National Consumer Credit Protection Act, the company said in a Tuesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph. The new credit lines allow eligible clients to borrow Australian dollars or stablecoins by using their cryptocurrencies as collateral without having to sell them. Funds are generally available within 24 hours with flexible repayments, with no fixed term or origination fees. Interest rates range from 0.9% to 21.9%, depending on the credit line and the client’s loyalty tier. Read more

Australia’s financial watchdog has suspended Cryptolink’s registration for three months, adding to a crackdown that previously saw the Bitcoin ATM operator fined $56,340. Australia’s anti-money laundering watchdog has suspended the operation of Cryptolink’s Bitcoin ATMs for three months, citing “ongoing concerns” about its compliance with anti-money laundering obligations.  Australia has the highest number of crypto ATMs of all countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Australian authorities have been cracking down on the criminal use of crypto ATMs since at least late 2024.  AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said Monday the company’s Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration has been suspended for three months starting Sunday, meaning its crypto ATMs will not be allowed to operate during that time. Read more

Telegram faces Australian court proceedings after eSafety alleged the platform failed to detect and remove extremist material shared by users. Telegram, the messaging platform used by more than 1 billion people worldwide, is facing a major legal challenge in Australia over claims that it failed to stop the spread of terrorism-linked material. Australia’s online safety regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, launched civil penalty proceedings against Telegram in the Federal Court on Thursday, according to an official statement. The authority alleged Telegram breached its obligations under the country’s Online Safety Act to address “pro-terror” content by failing to act on multiple user complaints. Read more

From July 1, AUSTRAC’s virtual-asset transfer rules change what exchanges ask before crypto moves. The post Australia’s new crypto transfer rules to make exchange withdrawals pass through identity checks appeared first on CryptoSlate.

From July, crypto exchanges operating in Australia will prompt for additional information on all outgoing and incoming transfers. Crypto exchange users in Australia will soon face stricter rules on all transfers as the country’s travel rule is set to come into force on Wednesday, aligning it with similar rules in the EU, US and UK. From July, all crypto sent and received on locally-regulated crypto exchanges will require users to provide additional information, such as the name of the person the crypto is being sent to or received from, and the name of the platform. Gabby Lewis, the head of fraud and financial crime at Swyftx, told Cointelegraph that for most exchange users, “the impact should be very limited. They’ll provide the required details once, and then these will be saved for future use.” Read more

Claude AI predicts two World Cup matches today, and the scorecard predictions is mixed in a way that says a lot about how prediction models actually perform under real conditions. In the marquee Group D clash, Claude nailed it almost perfectly. In the Group C derby, the direction was right but the story underneath played […] The post Claude AI World Cup Predictions: USA VS Australia, Morocco VS Scotland appeared first on Cryptonews.

Project Acacia has now tested how tokenized asset markets could settle in Australia. The Reserve Bank of Australia and Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre released findings from Project Acacia, a wholesale experiment that moved digital money and tokenization from policy theory into market plumbing. The project tested 20 wholesale tokenized asset market use cases across […] The post Australia’s Project Acacia shows why tokenized markets still hinge on settlement money appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Robin Singh, CEO and founder of Koinly said the changes will hurt low-income crypto investors most and could encourage more short-term trading. Australia’s proposed changes to capital gains tax could lead to smaller profits for cryptocurrency traders, especially low-income earners, and could discourage “patient investing,” according to several crypto executives. The proposed reform, announced by the ruling Labor Party on Tuesday as part of its fiscal year 2027 budget, will bring in a minimum 30% tax on capital gains and scrap the 50% capital gains tax discount on assets held for more than 12 months.  Robin Singh, CEO and founder of crypto tax platform Koinly, told Cointelegraph the proposed changes are a mixed bag: The new system “theoretically” protects investors from being taxed on purely inflationary gains, but in practice, most crypto investors will pay more tax, with low-income earners hit the hardest. Read more

The Albanese government’s budget plans to replace the 50% capital gains tax discount on assets held over 12 months with a model taxing full real gains adjusted for inflation. The Australian government is reportedly seeking to replace capital gains tax discounts on crypto and other assets with an inflation indexation tax, which could increase the taxes on long-term crypto gains. The Albanese government’s fiscal year 2027 budget, set to be released on Tuesday, would cut the current 50% capital gains tax discount alongside changes to housing investment taxes, the Australian Financial Review reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the budget. Australian investors can currently claim a 50% capital gains tax discount on assets held for more than 12 months. The proposed indexation model would instead tax full real gains, adjusted for inflation, over the time the asset is held. Read more

A draft vision for Australia’s domestic payments system says stablecoins and tokenized fiat currency could reshape how money moves across future rails. Australia’s future account-to-account (A2A) payment systems may need to adapt if tokenized forms of money gain broader use, including stablecoins and tokenized liabilities, according to a draft vision for the country’s domestic payment rails. The draft, co-developed by the Account-to-Account Payments Roundtable, which includes AusPayNet, Australian Payments Plus, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Commonwealth Treasury, identifies digital assets as one of several external forces that could affect future A2A payments.  “Tokenised forms of money, such as stablecoins and tokenised liabilities, are moving from experimentation to adoption,” the draft said, adding that the shift reflects a move toward programmable, ledger-based value that could enable new settlement models, continuous availability and more automated execution.  Read more

The approval puts Coinbase under Australia’s financial rules as the country formalizes oversight of crypto platforms. Coinbase is planning to expand its offerings in Australia to include derivatives, equities and payments after securing an Australian financial services license (AFSL). John O'Loghlen, regional managing director for APAC at Coinbase, said the Australian financial services license (AFSL) will see the exchange initially offer crypto and equity perpetuals but will open the door for futures, options and other traditional financial products. “We’re going to compete with traditional financial services on stock trading, payments and other TradFi products with the speed and execution of crypto,” O'Loghlen said. Read more

Australia passes a law requiring crypto exchanges and custodians to obtain financial services licenses as the country moves to regulate digital asset platforms. Australia has passed legislation that will bring many digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms under the country’s financial services licensing regime. The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 has now cleared both houses of the Australian Parliament, according to parliamentary records, marking the biggest step yet in Canberra’s push to create a dedicated regulatory framework for digital assets. Introduced in November 2025, the bill amends the Corporations Act and ASIC Act to regulate digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms, with the stated aim of improving consumer protection, market integrity and regulatory certainty. Read more

An Australian court ordered Binance Australia Derivatives to pay $6.9 million after misclassifying retail clients and exposing them to high-risk crypto products. Update March 27, 11:53 am UTC: This article has been updated to include a comment from a Binance spokesperson. The Federal Court of Australia has ordered Oztures Trading Pty Ltd, trading as Binance Australia Derivatives, to pay a 10 million Australian dollar ($6.9 million) penalty after the company admitted to misclassifying more than 85% of its Australian client base and exposing retail investors to high-risk crypto derivatives without required protections. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said the affected group included 524 retail investors who were wrongly treated as wholesale clients between July 2022 and April 2023. Those clients later incurred $6.3 million in trading losses and paid $2.6 million in fees. Read more

Australia’s securities regulator said two-thirds of Gen Z are using social media to make decisions about their financial future, leading to “riskier” financial decisions.  Australia’s financial regulator has urged young investors not to rely on social media influencers and artificial intelligence chatbots to make financial decisions, according to a study that also found that one in four “Gen Zs” invest in crypto. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) posted the results of a survey on Sunday, finding that Gen Z has high levels of trust in “often unreliable sources,” which has contributed to riskier financial decisions. “Moneysmart’s Gen Z study found that while Gen Z has a strong appetite for reputable and trustworthy financial content, many struggle to find it – and their search often leads them to sources designed for engagement rather than accuracy,” ASIC said.  Read more

Gemini, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2015, will focus on growth in the United States due to its deep capital markets. Crypto exchange Gemini announced its exit from the United Kingdom, European Union and Australia markets on Thursday, as the company slashed its workforce by 25%.  Gemini cited artificial intelligence automating labor and making engineers “100x” more efficient, and a more challenging business environment in the UK, EU and Australia, as reasons for the exit, according to Thursday’s announcement:  “We don’t have the demand in these regions to justify them. The reality is that America has the world’s greatest capital markets,” the announcement said. Read more

Australia’s securities regulator has bundled digital assets with AI and payments in its 2026 outlook, warning that companies exploiting licensing gray areas will be a top priority this year. Australia's financial regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), framed new participants in emerging sectors like digital assets as a “regulatory perimeter” issue in its Key Issues Outlook 2026 paper, signaling how it intends to regulate crypto entities in the year ahead.  In the report published on Tuesday, ASIC grouped digital assets alongside payments and artificial intelligence-driven financial services, citing risks tied to unlicensed activity, misleading conduct and businesses operating at the edges of existing laws.  Instead of a warning about token adoption or crypto volatility, ASIC focused on structural risks created when emerging financial services fall outside established licensing, disclosure and conduct regimes.  Read more

Australia has taken another step to introduce legislation that will subject crypto platforms to the same laws and licensing obligations as financial institutions. Australia’s government has introduced a new bill that will regulate crypto platforms under existing financial services laws after an industry consultation saw cautious support for the legislation. Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino introduced the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 on Wednesday, which would require crypto companies such as exchanges and custody providers to obtain an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL). “Across the world, digital assets are reshaping finance,” Mulino told the House on Wednesday. “Australia must keep pace. If we get this right, we can attract investment, create jobs and position our financial system as a leader in innovation.” Read more