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Exclusive: Australia's Securities Cop Braces for 'Significant Increase' in Crypto Trading – CCN.com, Crypto Coins News

Exclusive: Australia's Securities Cop Braces for 'Significant Increase' in Crypto Trading – CCN.com, Crypto Coins News


Australia, Crypto, crypto trading

Australia’s financial watchdog has keeping ahead of the pack with crypto regulations. | Source: Shutterstock

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the country’s financial regulator and watchdog, is gearing up for the rapid growth of crypto-asset markets.

Speaking to CCN, an ASIC spokesperson indicated that theregulatorhas identified “significant increases” in cryptocurrency trade volume recently, prompting the regulator to prepare for further expansion in the markets.

The spokesperson also revealed that ASIC is actively “sharing information with domestic and international regulators ”concerning the“ taxation, anti-money laundering, payment systems, and financial activities ”pertinent to crypto assets.

ASIC Updates Regulatory Guidance for ICOs

On May 30, ASIC updated the information on its website for businesses considering conducting or engaging with initial coin offerings (ICOs) and crypt o-assets.

The spokesperson indicated that the guidelines have been positively received by the Australian cryptocurrency sector, stating:

“Companies and businesses that are seeking to legitimately operate and differentiate themselves from scam operators keen to capitalise on the back of the speculative hype around crypto assets have generally welcomed the updated guidance.”

Theguidelinesassert that entities seeking to conductICOsthat distribute “financial products” will be subject to the capital fundraising provisions of the Corporations Act 2001, among other regulatory and licensing requirements. Financial products include securities, derivatives, managed investment schemes, and non-cash facilities.

ASIC mandates that both cryptocurrency issuers and intermediaries that deal with financial products must hold an Australian financial services (AFS) license. Exchanges and trading platforms dealing in financial products must hold an Australian market license, and may also be required to hold a Clearing and Settlement Facility License depending on the exchange’s settlement processes.

Australia’s Financial Watchdog Cracks Down on ‘Misleading’ ICOs & Crypto Fundshttps://t.co/T3mr8ZU 76 L

– CCN Markets (@CCNMarkets (September) , 2018

Entities engaging in ICOs may also appeal to exemptions under the Corporations Act for the provision of financial products to “wholesale” or “sophisticated” investors exclusively

Australian Consumer Laws Apply to Overseas ICOs

ICOs deemed not to be issuing financial products are still required to p rovide accurate disclosures pertaining to their offerings, and will violate Australian consumer law should they be found to have misled investors, including via social media.

“As a minimum, regardless of whether a financial product is involved in the fundraising, the prohibitions against misleading or deceptive conduct under Australian Consumer Law apply.”

Australian laws also apply to ICOs that are promoted or sold to Australian investors from overseas, with the guidelines stating that “issuers of ICOs, crypto-assets and their advisers should not assume the use of these structures means that key consumer protections under Australian laws do not apply or can be ignored. ”’

Crypto Exchanges Not Under Purview

The spokesperson also noted that Australian cryptocurrency trading platforms are not directly regulated by ASIC.

As such, the representative warned that consumer recourse is lim ited in the event that an exchange fails or is hacked, emphasizing that investors have lost “significant amounts of real money” in the past.

Last modified (UTC): September 13, 2019 8: (AM

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