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Highlights
- The Senate enquiry made 12 recommendations related to future crypto reform. These recommendations include a change to the taxation of bitcoin
- Four of the 12 recommendations are focused on how to better manage or eliminate the practice of “debanking”
- Data from Finder found that 17 percent of Australians own cryptocurrency and that 13 percent planned to own cryptocurrency in the next 12 months
Senator Andrew Bragg has said that Australia will see reforms to digital currency policy within the next 12 months.
Senator Bragg, who is currently chairing a Senate inquiry into crypto and fintech, said that banks will soon be changing their attitudes on cryptocurrency, which until this point have been a “illegitimate fringe pursuit”.
The Senate’s Recommendations
The Senate enquiry made 12 recommendations related to future crypto reform. These recommendations include a change to the taxation of Bitcoin.
Bragg told the inquiry that the tide is turning on how banks perceive and treat digital currency as crypto becomes more and more mainstream.
Bragg referred specifically to the practice of “debanking”, which has been a common practice amongst Australia’s banks since the existence of cryptocurrency.
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Debanking “anti-competitive”
Debanking is when a bank will ban a customer whose business deals in digital currency, sometimes with little to no notice.
Banks have said, in the past, that the practice of debanking comes from the view that cryptocurrency is a space that commonly attracts criminal activity, ranging in practices from money laundering to even terrorism.
The major Australian banks came under fire earlier this year for the practice of debanking.
Michaela Juric, who created an empire from her business, “Bitcoin Babe”, said in September that she had been “debanked” from 91 banks.
The senate enquiry said, at the time, that Juric’s case was not an isolated incident and that many crypto-related businesses received subsequent bannings from financial institutions.
Australian crypto regulator, AUSTRAC, has since warned banks that “debanking” is not the best approach.
The inquiry has identified “debanking” as “anti-competitive” and such a major issue within the Australian cryptocurrency space, that four of the 12 recommendations are to be focused on how to better manage or eliminate this practice.
Finder’s Research
Comparison website operator Finder, who has helped with the Senate’s enquiry, concluded that cryptocurrency is no passing fad and that it’s “here to stay”.
Data from Finder found that 17 percent of Australians own cryptocurrency and that 13 percent said that they planned to in the next 12 months.
Similar conclusions have been reached by other research bodies such as Swyftx/YouGov which said that one in five Australians have owned crypto and the majority are millennials and Gen Zs.
CBA To Offer Crypto Service
The recommendations offered by the Senate have coincided with an announcement by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) who have said that they will be offering a new crypto service in the coming weeks. This service will initially include 10 cryptocurrencies which customers will be able to buy and sell using the CommBank app. The CommBank app currently has some 6.4 million users.
The announcement from CBA as well as the Senate Inquiry is great news for the crypto space in Australia. Even though it will take 12 months to implement these recommendations, Bragg said the new reforms will put Australia on par with the UK.
