Australia Looking to Impose Strict Regulations on Bitcoin

Australia is moving toward regulating cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum under new anti-money laundering legislation.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Parliament will vote on the measure this week. If it passes, it will place Bitcoin and other cryptos under the auspices of Australia’s financial regulatory agency.

If the new laws are passed, the financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC will be given new powers to police digital currency exchanges – where traders buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. These exchanges like Independent Reserve and BTC Markets would need to be registered under the new regime. It will also become an offense for an ‘unregistered person’ to provide digital currency exchange services.’
The proposed Australian law is part of a global movement to regulate cryptocurrencies.

This post was published at Schiffgold on OCTOBER 24, 2017.