Australia’s Senate Economics Legislation Committee has endorsed a bill that would require crypto exchanges and tokenization platforms to comply with the country’s existing financial services regulations, recommending that the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 be passed.
The decision, announced on March 16, moves Australia closer to introducing a dedicated licensing framework for digital asset platforms (DAPs) and tokenized custody platforms (TCPs). The framework is intended to address regulatory gaps for platforms that hold customer assets, particularly after the collapse of major crypto firms such as FTX.
The bill was first introduced in November 2025 by Daniel Mulino, Australia’s assistant treasurer and financial services minister. If enacted, it would classify DAPs and TCPs as financial products under the Corporations Act 2001 (Australia) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001.
Under the proposal, most centralized exchanges and tokenized custody providers that hold customer assets would be required to operate under the Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) regime overseen by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Licensed platforms would need to meet ASIC-set custody and settlement standards, follow disclosure requirements tailored for retail clients, and comply with platform-specific governance and conduct rules. However, the legislation would exempt smaller providers handling less than 10 million Australian dollars (about $7 million) in annual transactions, as well as certain public blockchain infrastructure services.
Industry groups raise concerns over terminology
Industry stakeholders cited in the report, including law firm Piper Alderman, warned that some of the bill’s terminology — particularly the broad definitions of “digital token” and “factual control” — could unintentionally capture wallet software providers and infrastructure services that do not actually control customer assets. This could also affect setups that rely on shared-control security models such as multi-party computation (MPC).
Ripple Labs supported the idea that control should determine whether a platform falls within the regulatory perimeter. However, the company said the legislation should better account for modern security structures like MPC wallets. It cautioned that, under a strict interpretation of the proposed “factual control” test, technology providers that merely hold a single shard of a cryptographic key could be incorrectly classified as regulated custodians.
Ripple urged lawmakers to clarify that an entity should only be considered to have factual control if it can unilaterally transfer a client’s assets without the user’s cooperation.
The Senate Economics Legislation Committee acknowledged these concerns but ultimately supported the Treasury’s approach of refining the regulatory boundaries through future regulations rather than rewriting the bill’s core definitions.
Coinbase supports bill but flags debanking concerns
In a statement to Cointelegraph, John O’Loghlen, director of Coinbase Australia and managing director for Asia-Pacific, described the committee’s recommendation as an important step for Australia’s role in the global digital economy. He said the country already has the capital and talent to lead in digital asset innovation but still needs clearer regulatory rules to unlock that potential.
However, O’Loghlen also warned about the ongoing issue of debanking, arguing that some financial institutions continue to cut off services to crypto companies despite government efforts in 2022 to address the problem. He called on policymakers in Canberra to prioritize implementing recommendations from the Council of Financial Regulators to tackle the issue.
With committee support secured, the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 will now proceed to the Australian Senate for debate and a final vote at a later date.
