Labor accused of driving crypto investment offshore

The opposition has accused the Albanese government of lagging behind the rest of the world on cryptocurrency regulation and pushing investment offshore.

Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg on Saturday told The Australian Crypto Convention that the government was “goofing around” and dragging its heels on introducing cryptocurrency regulation.

“First, it has left consumers exposed to the risks of an unregulated market. Second, it has driven investment offshore,” the senator said in a speech to the convention.

“Crypto exchanges want regulatory certainty, which this Labor Government is unwilling to give them.

“Our strong financial regulatory framework in combination with a sound regulatory framework, positioned us to become a regional hub for crypto assets.

“As other developed economies in our region, like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan implement crypto regulations, the opportunity to become a crypto hub is fast slipping away.”

Following Donald Trump’s election, he promised the United States would become the “bitcoin superpower of the world”.

And Mr Bragg said Australia “lags behind every developed economy in the world with its approach to crypto.”

He claimed that when the Coalition was kicked out of government in 2022, it had already “set out a clear regulatory road map”.

A report by a Senate Select Committee had made 12 recommendations for crypto regulation in Australia including a market licensing regime, auditing and responsible person tests.

He said the Morrison government had set up a time frame for crypto regulation, including a taxation framework.

“At the time, I was hopeful that by the end of 2022, Australia would have established a legislative structure,” Mr Bragg told the conference on Saturday.

He accused the Labor government of putting Australia in the “regulatory slow lane”.

And he attacked Labor’s promises of action as “cheap lip service”.

“Labor have put us in the regulatory slow lane, because the uncomfortable truth is that they don’t want crypto regulation,” Mr Bragg said.

“Not even the collapse of FTX in November 2022 could jolt Labor into action.”

Mr Bragg last year as a backbencher introduced the Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill.

A senate committee rejected the private bill, with senator Jess Walsh saying it lacked specifics and added that the government should continue to consult with the industry.

And Mr Bragg said there remained “little hope” of regulation being legislated before next year’s election.

“The industry now faces regulation via enforcement, with ASIC left to pick up Labor’s slack,” he said.