Australia has moved one step closer to a formal crypto rulebook, and the Senate committee’s endorsement changes the momentum around a bill that would pull much of the sector into mainstream financial regulation. The Senate Economics Legislation Committee recommended passage of the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025, pushing the proposal toward the final stages of parliament. The legislation would bring crypto exchanges and tokenized custody businesses under Australia’s existing financial-services regime, marking a decisive turn away from lighter-touch oversight and toward a structure built on licences, conduct rules and supervisory accountability for now.
Licensing becomes the center of the framework
At the core of the proposal is a licensing system designed to treat key crypto intermediaries more like traditional financial firms. The bill would define concepts including digital token, digital asset platform and tokenised custody platform, then require custodial wallet providers and exchange operators holding customer assets to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence and comply with asset-holding and transaction standards. Tailored disclosure obligations for retail clients are also part of the package. Operators without an existing licence would get a six-month transition period after Royal Assent to meet the new rules across markets today.
The bill’s political logic is closing the gap between crypto custody and conventional investor protection. Policymakers argue that firms have been able to hold billions in customer assets without safeguards comparable to those imposed in traditional finance, leaving room for frozen withdrawals, insolvency battles, commingling and undisclosed proprietary trading. At the same time, lawmakers carved out targeted exemptions for smaller businesses and certain blockchain infrastructure providers. Platforms processing less than A$10 million in annual transactions would not face the same requirements, reflecting an attempt to balance consumer protection with room for experimentation and startup formation.
That balancing act is exactly where support and anxiety now meet inside Australia’s crypto sector. Regulators have signaled a “function over technology” approach, arguing that custody, trading and settlement should be regulated according to economic purpose rather than blockchain branding. Industry participants welcomed the committee’s support, but some warned the bill’s definitions of digital tokens and factual control may be broad enough to capture wallet software developers and MPC providers unintentionally. The endorsement clears a major parliamentary hurdle, but it also sharpens the next question: whether Australia can regulate harder without accidentally regulating too much.
