Australia has brought in a new bill that aims to treat crypto platforms the same way it treats traditional financial services. This means crypto companies may soon have to follow the same rules that banks and other financial service providers follow.
The bill is called the Corporations Amendment Digital Assets Framework Bill 2025. It was introduced on November twenty six by Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino. The law sets new standards for how crypto companies must operate. It talks about who can run a crypto service, how they must behave, and how they should protect customer funds.
Mulino told the House that this bill is important because digital assets are changing how money works everywhere. He said that if Australia gets this right, the country can attract fresh investment, create new jobs, and become a leader in financial innovation.
This bill is based on a revised version of a draft that came out in September after public consultation. Many people in the crypto industry had said the old draft was too confusing. The new version tries to clear those issues and is now seen as a big part of the government’s long term crypto plan.
One major part of the bill is that crypto firms who hold or deal with customer assets will need a license. The bill also updates the Corporations Act. It creates two new types of financial products. One is a digital asset platform and the other is a tokenized custody platform.
Right now, crypto platforms in Australia only have to register with the financial crime watchdog. There are around four hundred registered exchanges, but many of them are not active. These platforms can also hold unlimited customer funds without any strong rules on safety or conduct. Mulino said this is risky and cannot be ignored.
The new bill tries to close these gaps. It wants similar activities to follow similar rules. The bill focuses on the companies that hold assets for customers instead of focusing on the technology. This way the law can keep growing as new types of crypto services appear.
Anyone offering advice or helping people carry out crypto transactions will also be treated as a financial service provider. That means they will need a license as well.
Custody platforms will need to follow ASIC’s minimum standards on keeping, settling, and reporting customer assets. They must also be more transparent. They must give customers clear information about their services, risks, and fees.
There will still be some flexibility for smaller businesses. The bill makes space for “small scale” companies. This is to help young businesses grow without being crushed by rules. Companies that process less than ten million Australian dollars a year and hold under five thousand dollars per customer will not need a license.
If the bill passes, crypto companies will get eighteen months to adjust to the new rules. The bill first needs to pass the House, where the Labor Party has the majority, and then it must pass the Senate.
Regulators also want strict penalties for companies that break the rules. In September, the Treasury suggested strong fines. These could be based on a company’s yearly earnings and may go as high as ten percent of their revenue for serious licensing violations.