Australian regulator says crypto investors are ‘on their own’ for now

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By Paulina Duran

SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Australian business watchdog said on Monday it was working with lawmakers to develop rules for digital currencies, but warned that many crypto assets were unregulated at this time, leaving investors in these “only” products.

In his first public comments since the nation’s largest bank unveiled plans to offer cryptocurrency trading, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Chairman Joe Longo told investors to be careful by buying products that had no protection.

“Consumers should approach crypto investing with great caution,” Longo told an Australian financial review conference.

“Right now, many crypto assets are probably not ‘financial products’ … for the most part, for now at least, investors are on their own.”

Earlier this month, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia broke through the ranks of the industry by becoming the first major bank in the developed world to offer a platform for retail clients to trade cryptocurrencies.

“Crypto is on our doorstep, here and now, and is driven by extraordinary consumer and investor demand. The implications for consumers are potentially huge,” said Longo.

The regulator said it was working with lawmakers who have proposed changing laws to allow decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), which are governed by artificial intelligence rather than a board of directors, and a licensing regime for crypto exchanges.

“ASIC does not strive to eliminate the risk. But neither should we ignore it,” Longo added.

(Reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney; Editing by Sam Holmes)

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