October 23 2017
Bitcoin is one step closer to being regulated in Australia, with Parliament expected to this week vote on a bill to strengthen the nation’s anti-money laundering laws.
If the new laws are passed, the financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC will be given new powers to police digital currency exchanges — where traders buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. These exchanges like Independent Reserve and BTC Markets would need to be registered under the new regime.
It will also become an offence for an “unregistered person” to provide digital currency exchange services. “Businesses that trade digital currencies for money, and vice versa, will be required to enrol and register with AUSTRAC,” Justice Minister Michael Keenan said in a Parliamentary speech about the bill in August.