Australia’s Crypto Framework Takes Shape: Licensing Regime Targets Asset Custody

Australia has taken a definitive step toward comprehensive crypto regulation by drafting legislation that imposes financial services licensing on digital asset platforms.

The core of the proposal is to capture “digital asset platforms” and “tokenised custody platforms” as new classes of financial products under the Corporations Act.

The Treasury clarified that the framework’s focus is squarely on the custodial function—businesses holding client assets—rather than on the nature of the digital assets.

This approach integrates crypto intermediaries into the existing regulatory system for financial services, effectively holding them to the same standards as other asset custodians in a bid to stabilize the market and protect consumers following significant industry failures.