Australia moves to be 'world-leading crypto hub', new digital dollar?

Australia is making legal moves to become one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to cryptocurrency.

Australia's Treasurer and deputy leader of the Liberal Party, Josh Frydenberg, detailed the country's plans for implementing an updated regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and the modernization of Australia's payment infrastrure.

Under the plan proposed by Frydenberg, the Australian government is in favor of six out of the nine proposed reforms, which includes a licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges, developing a common access regime for new payment platforms, and a policy review for a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC).

"What is clear is that if we embrace these developments, Australia has an enormous opportunity to capitalize on the convergence between finance and technology," said Frydenberg.

Frydenberg goes on to say that these changes that the Australian government intends to implement will be the biggest changes to the Australian payment system since the 1960s, and that these cryptocurrency reforms are designed to protect both businesses and consumers.

"For businesses, these reforms will address the ambiguity that can exist about the regulatory and tax treatment of crypto assets and new payment methods. In doing so, it will drive even more consumer interest, facilitate even more new entrants and enable even more innovation to take place. For consumers, these changes will establish a regulatory framework to underpin their growing use of crypto assets and clarify the treatment of new payment methods", said Frydenberg.

According to an unnamed senior government source that spoke to The Australian, the "RBA [Reserve Bank of Australia] backed Bitcoin or cryptocurrency" is being heavily considered by lawmakers and is set to become a key part in forming the nuanced regulatory framework.

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