Australia passes new consumer protection legislation to bring crypto platforms under financial services regulation.

According to Odaily Planet Daily, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino introduced the "Companies Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025" to Parliament on Wednesday, aiming to address regulatory gaps and strengthen the protection of billions of dollars in customer assets.

The bill brings crypto exchanges and custody service providers under the regulatory purview of financial services laws and designates the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as the primary regulator. The new framework introduces two new categories of financial products: digital asset platforms and tokenized custody platforms, requiring operators to hold an “Australian Financial Services License.”

These platforms must operate "efficiently, honestly, and fairly" and comply with ASIC's custody and settlement standards regarding asset security, trade execution, and processing of client instructions.

The bill includes exemptions: low-risk platforms with less than $5,000 in assets per customer and annual transaction volume below $10 million are exempt from full licensing requirements. The government says this move is expected to unlock $24 billion in annual productivity growth while imposing millions of dollars in fines on companies that fail to protect customer assets. (Decrypt)