Australia to regulate bitcoin under counter-terrorism finance laws

Jakarta: Australia is moving to become one of the first countries to regulate e-currencies such as bitcoin under its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Bitcoin – the most prominent digital currency to emerge globally – is backed by a computer code rather than a physical substance such as gold or mainstream currency.
The anonymity of payments using digital currencies make them attractive for terrorism financing, according to Australia’s financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, which is co-hosting a counter-terrorism financing summit with Indonesia in Bali this week.
Justice Minister Michael Keenan will inform the summit of the work Australia is doing to improve its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing legislation after a review recommended the regulation of digital currencies.

This post was published at Sydney Morning Herald on AUGUST 8 2016 –.