Australia is moving to put crypto exchanges and tokenized custody platforms under clear rules, with the Senate Economics Legislation Committee backing a new bill to do just that.
The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 would make it mandatory for platforms that hold customer assets to meet the same standards as traditional financial services. That means following ASIC custody and settlement rules, providing clear disclosures to retail clients, and sticking to governance and conduct standards. Smaller platforms handling less than 10 million Australian dollars a year would be exempt.
The push comes after past collapses like FTX, with regulators hoping the bill will prevent similar disasters by bringing “digital asset platforms” (DAPs) and “tokenized custody platforms” (TCPs) under a transparent licensing and oversight framework.
Some in the industry have raised concerns, though. The bill’s definitions of “digital token” and “factual control” could accidentally capture wallet software or infrastructure providers, even if they don’t hold customer assets directly. Firms like Ripple have pointed out that certain security setups, like multi-party computation wallets, could be misclassified if the law isn’t adjusted.
The committee has noted these concerns but prefers to leave refinements to future regulations rather than rewriting the main bill. That way, Australia can enforce oversight while still giving firms room to use modern crypto technology safely.
