The Australian government is preparing to fully regulate the activities of cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians. This push is part of a major reform aimed at safeguarding the country’s sovereignty over its payment system, which will also affect suppliers such as Apple and Google.

Australia’s payment law covers crypto businesses and large-scale technologies

The Australian authorities are preparing to update the country’s payment legislation, which is the largest reform of the industry in two decades. These changes will expand the regulatory framework to cover new payment processors in the online space, including processors that process cryptocurrencies.

According to Reuters, in 2022, the government will begin negotiations on establishing a licensing framework for cryptocurrency exchanges and overseeing platforms for holding digital assets on behalf of customers. Canberra also wants to explore the feasibility of central bank digital currencies (Central Business District) Issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

As many Australians turn to online options, the number has reached 55 million per day, and non-cash payments, including encrypted transactions, have proliferated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nearly half of people use mobile phones to make payments, and by 2021, the number of people using cryptocurrencies for transactions has increased by 63% from the previous year.

Australia’s plan to expand payment regulations also aims to cover online transaction processors such as Apple and Google, as well as purchase-before-pay providers such as Afterpay. The goal is to end their unsupervised operations in the country. When talking about the necessity of the amendment, Federal Minister of Finance Josh Frydenberg warned:

If we do not reform the current framework, Silicon Valley will determine the future of our payment system. Australia must retain sovereignty over our payment system.

So far, neither Google nor Apple have commented on the news, but an Afterpay spokesperson said that the company supports “any method that takes into account the innovation and competition that Afterpay brings to the market for consumers. Reuters pointed out that the platform has agreed to acquire Square, the payment company of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

Australia’s move comes at a time when other major economies are taking steps to determine their regulatory policies on financial innovation, including cryptocurrencies.Not like China with IndiaFor example, the report pointed out that Australia is preparing to adopt a more inclusive approach similar to that of the United States.

Do you think the Australian government will adopt cryptocurrency-friendly regulations? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

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