Coinbase Calls For Flexible Approach to Regulation in Australia

‘Given the constantly evolving nature of digital assets and blockchain technology, a fit-for-purpose regulatory regime must focus on outcomes,’ Coinbase said

article-image

Source: Shutterstock / Francesca Pianzola, modified by Blockworks

share

Digital asset exchange Coinbase has responded to the Australian Treasury’s “token mapping” exercise, expressing its support for the development of the country’s regulatory framework.

Australia’s token mapping, in what is said to be a “world first,” will seek to define various digital assets and bring them under the purview of appropriate regulators across the country. While the exercise had been planned for sometime this year, the launch is expected sometime next year.

Coinbase said in a consultation paper on Tuesday, it believes that a well-rounded framework should focus on outcomes as opposed to specific rules. Those rules should achieve a balance across a variety of regulatory objectives, it said.

“Given the constantly evolving nature of digital assets and blockchain technology, a fit-for-purpose regulatory regime must focus on outcomes,” the exchange said.

Coinbase’s involvement in the project follows more than a year after the exchange expanded its services to Australian retail investors via its domestically-registered business, Coinbase Australia Pty Ltd. 

While the exchange had offered the sale of digital assets to individuals as early as 2016, buying and selling crypto through a local arm was done via its main platform in the US.

The objectives, as alluded to in the paper, entail preserving financial stability, market integrity and consumer protections while fostering “responsible” innovation and growth.

Coinbase also highlights the importance of blockchain technology generally, including its potential to enhance efficiency, transparency and resiliency to the financial system by cutting down on middlemen. That in turn would cut costs, improve the user experience and increase competition, it said.

The exchange also takes particular note of fiat-backed stablecoins, while highlighting the benefits decentralized finance (DeFi) can bring to the table by exponentially expanding opportunities for financial players.

“Regulators have historically overseen financial markets by imposing and enforcing rules on market intermediaries,” Coinbase said. “No such intermediaries exist in the DeFi ecosystem.”

It comes as Coinbase has been sparring with the US SEC regulator for allegedly violating securities laws and selling unregistered products to retail and institutional investors.

The agency issued the exchange a Wells notice — a type of forerunner to formal action — notifying Coinbase of its intentions to probe its $2.5 billion business model. Coinbase said it would fight the SEC in court over the matter in a bid to clear itself of any wrongdoing.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

An overview of the Base Ecosystem, with a focus on market leaders.

article-image

Although bitcoin hitting $120k by year’s end is looking unlikely

article-image

About 270 million HYPE has been claimed, valued around $7.6 billion

article-image

Stanford professors David Mazières and Dan Boneh will lead the lab alongside a cohort of graduate student researchers

article-image

With more companies holding BTC, bitcoin yielding strategies could become “a new corporate finance norm,” CoinShares posed

article-image

The proposal comes after Polygon governance considered a controversial use of bridged liquidity for yield

article-image

Can the community balance its decentralized ethos with the need for inclusivity and constructive debate?