Cathy Tran

The Tranche 1 Bill is the first of a two-part Treasury-led reform to modernise Australia’s existing regulatory framework for payment service providers which is considered to have not kept pace with technology advancements and the disaggregation of functions in the payments industry.

Following a public consultation process, ASIC has now released its updated guidance on whether or not digital assets will be subject to regulation under the Australian financial services regime.

Following its recent loss in ASIC v Web3 Ventures Pty Ltd, the Full Federal Court has again ruled against ASIC — this time dismissing its appeal in relation to Finder Wallet Pty Ltd’s “Finder Earn” product.

Digital assets businesses operating without an Australian financial service licence (or without being an authorised representative of a licensee) should be prepared to substantiate and justify why their digital asset(s) or related products or arrangements are not regulated financial products, in all aspects of their offering, says ASIC.