The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Treasury are holding private meetings with Coinbase executives to discuss the future of cryptocurrency regulation in Australia.
Responding to a Cointelegraph request for comment, a RBA spokesman confirmed recent reports of these private meetings taking place, saying that this week Coinbase met with the RBA’s Payments Policy and Financial Stability departments “as part of the Bank’s ongoing relationship with the industry.”
Tom Duff Gordon, Coinbase’s vice president of international policy, who was reported to have flown in for the meetings, also confirmed to Cointelegraph that meetings with the Treasury took place in Canberra and Sydney.
Gordon said the meetings were about the government’s token-mapping efforts, and Coinbase also “shared its views on global best practices regarding licensing and custody.”
On August 22, 2022, the Australian Department of the Treasury’s token matching exercise was announced, which aims to classify digital assets so that they comply with the existing regulatory framework.
On February 3, the Treasury released a consultation paper for which the Treasury solicited feedback from the cryptocurrency industry.
Gordon praised Treasury’s efforts, noting that “Australia’s Treasury teams continue to impress us with their high level of sophistication and commitment”, adding:
“The Australian Treasury Token Mapping Exercise is one of the most detailed and thoughtful papers we have come across on this topic, laying a solid foundation for their upcoming draft regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians.”
Gordon expressed a desire to see the rules “later this year,” adding that he appreciates the “comprehensive framework of the Treasury.”
In contrast, Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong has been critical of the United States’ approach to regulating cryptocurrencies, echoing accusations that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “regulates coercively” and stating that the SEC wants firms to register with them, despite the inability to register.
Related: National Bank of Australia makes first cross-border stablecoin transaction
Documents recently obtained by the Australian Financial Review under freedom of information laws suggest that crypto legislation in Australia could be stretched beyond 2024 and beyond as final cabinet submissions are not expected until the end of the year.
Coinbase expanded to Australia on October 4, 2022, when Coinbase’s VP of International and Business Development – Nana Murugesan – told Cointelegraph at the time that she was “very impressed with the open door we got in Canberra and with the different policies.” “.
