Crypto Regulation Sees Australia Falling Behind Nigeria – channelnews

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Australia’s failure to regulate cryptocurrencies sees its access to new waves of financial products compromised, as jurisdictions from Hong Kong to Nigeria see how web3, stablecoins and decentralized finance fit into digitized economies.

Former international investment banker Loretta Joseph has claimed that Australia has “dropped the ball” when it comes to cryptocurrency regulation, after Nigeria saw a legal framework in place leading to the Binance ban.

All of this peer-to-peer technology is a big elephant in the room, but many regulators try to cut off an ear or the trunk, rather than looking after the whole animal.

In Australia we have lost our way, and the focus on scams that arguably needs to be eradicated can only be addressed by taking the time to understand how this technology works. Peer-to-peer innovation is up and running and scammers are using it like they would use any other avenue.

Loretta is currently in Sydney to launch the Australian Digital Financial Standards Advisory Council, sitting under the ADC Forum.

South African Prime Minister Steven Marshall, former Financial Action Task Force G20 Executive Secretary Rick McDonnell, and Research Director of CSIRO’s Data61 Software and Computer Systems Division, Liming Zhu, will join their.

The political will to regulate crypto has crumbled, and that’s understandable after the pandemic, but regulators need to keep up with the technology, Loretta said.

Across the Commonwealth, we are putting in place frameworks with basic requirements and appropriate penalties, which go a long way to keeping things under control.

The Nigerian regulator issued digital asset regulations last year, signaling an effort to find middle ground between an outright ban on crypto assets and their unregulated use.

Nigerian “tech-savvy” demographic groups have been reported to be active users of cryptocurrencies.

Young people who have grown up with the internet in their hands have an intuitive sense of risk that older generations don’t have,” Loretta said.

They are less likely to transfer all their money to a scam. Instead, they’re much more likely to figure something out and start using it entrepreneurially. Technology is great like that.

This month, Hong Kong introduced a licensing regime and rules, following a years-long ban on the use of cryptocurrency.

Hong Kong regulators now require crypto businesses to have anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing processes, clear civil and criminal penalties for violating rules, and onshore head office requirements.

These are the building blocks of any financial regulation, Ms Joseph said.

Peer-to-peer technology is an exceptional innovation, and it offers developing countries new ways to put financial services in the hands of those who do not have bank accounts but have mobile phones.

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