By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has stated that it isn’t unaware of the growing popularity of crypto-related products, with some already beckoning for them to be launched on the regulated Australian markets. Hence, it is requesting the general populace’s input on these products.
Key Concerns of ASIC
The regulator released a consultation paper to this effect today and revealed that its primary focus would be to determine whether “the distinct and ever-changing” features of these crypto-related products can consistently align with the current regulatory obligations.
ASIC remarked that it considers it vital to seek public input to adequately address crucial issues since the industry is complex and changes quickly.
The top crucial issues it seeks to address are:
- “Are these digital assets suitable underlying assets, can they be priced reliably, and on what basis can they be categorized vis-a-vis basic asset rules?
- What guarantee can digital asset creators give to ensure that their products comply with standard framework all the time, especially in terms of custody, disclosure, and risk management.?”
The paper further notes that ASIC isn’t convinced that all digital assets can suitably serve as assets for exchange-traded products (ETP). ASIC’s perspective is based on the fact that the digital assets futures market isn’t yet regulated fully, and the market’s spot hasn’t matured fully.
Also read:Yet, ASIC still desires to approve a digital asset ETP that satisfies necessary assessment standards determined by the regulator. The regulator remarked that “right now and based on our perspective, BTC and ETH are the only digital assets that meet our assessment standards.”
ASIC Encouraged by TSE’s Ether ETP Listing
The ASIC acknowledged in the notes that it had been encouraged to make this listing because of the success of the Ethereum ETP listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). It is also inspired by various digital asset ETP applications to the Australian securities exchange (ASX).
In the last few months, ASIC has been increasingly interested in digital assets ETP, which they further proved by requesting input from local crypto and blockchain companies. However, most of these companies have criticized the regulator for not being passive towards policies and recommended obligations to help the crypto industry.
In its defense, ASIC affirms that the Australian government is the only authority to clarify the classification and regulation of digital assets in the country. The ASIC also noted in the paper that the senate select committee on Australia is saddled with creating a framework for regulating the digital asset industry. But the committee is yet to come with any detailed or approved framework so far.
The commission has set July 27 as the deadline for submission of all public input. Respondents have the option of providing their feedback without revealing their true identity or their identity at all. Alex Vynokur (founder and CEO of Betashares) agreed with the commission’s proposal of limiting crypto-related ETP to bitcoin and ether only because those are the two digital assets that show proof of transparency and solid liquidity.
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