Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced a payments and cryptocurrency asset ‘reform plan’ he says will put Australia at the front of the pack.
“This represents the most significant reforms to our payment system in 25 years,” he would tell the Australian-Israeli Chamber of Commerce (AICC) on Wednesday.
The technology sector is already estimated to generate $167 billion and employ more than 850,000 Australians.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced a payments and cryptocurrency asset ‘reform plan’ for 2022, which he says will put Australia ‘at the front of the pack’ in the rapidly growing technology sector.
Over 850,000 Australians are said to be currently working in the cryptocurrency space (Stock Image)
With over 220 million participants, global cryptocurrency assets are now worth over US2 trillion ($A2.8 trillion).
“Australia has the opportunity to be among the world’s leading countries in taking advantage of this new technology,” he will say, joining fellow Liberal Jan Hume, who says crypto is ‘not a fad’.
Early next year, the Treasurer plans to begin negotiations on a licensing framework for digital currency exchanges that would govern the buying and selling of cryptocurrency assets, and a custody regulator for businesses holding crypto assets on behalf of consumers. . on arrangement.
Work on a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) will begin with advice on the pilot before the end of 2022, according to speech notes seen by AAP.
The Board of Taxation will advise on a new policy framework for the taxation of digital transactions and assets and report back by the end of 2022.
‘De-banking’ is another problem for individuals and businesses that the Treasurer wants to tackle. This is when a bank refuses to provide banking service.
Nearly half of Australians now pay using their mobile phones and COVID-19 has accelerated the use of digital wallets.
From online purchases to digital pay packets to bank accounts or Tap & Go payments for coffee, around 55 million non-cash payments worth about $650 billion are made every day in Australia.
Regulators will be tasked with monitoring fees, transparency and competition in the market.
At odds with decentralized finance, which seeks to take control back from institutions, the treasurer says centralized oversight of the payment system would give the government a greater leadership role, including new powers to intervene.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg believes that the payments and crypto asset ‘reform plan’ set for 2022 will make Australia a market leader in the dynamic sector.