AUSTRAC, Australia's financial intelligence and watchdog, will now monitor exchanges of bitcoins following newly adopted legislation.
Under a new law passed by the Australian Senate on Thursday, bitcoin exchanges will now be required to register on the "Digital Currency Exchange Register". managed by the Australian Center for Transaction Analysis and Reporting (AUSTRAC).
Legislation, which gives priority to the regulation of digital exchange operators, is part of a broader reform of the government's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism (AML / CTF) laws.
As revealed by the FinTech Australia industrial group, the amended rules will require bitcoin exchanges to implement measures to identify and mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing while following KYC standards to identify their users. Exchanges are also required to report any suspicious transaction, international transaction and any cash deposit in excess of AUD $ 10,000.
Danielle Szetho, executive director of FinTech Australia, revealed that the government had worked with FinTech sector of the country to develop the newly implemented legislation, stating:
Now that it is in place, the legislation will help strengthen the legitimacy of trade in Australia, unleashing the benefits of using and trading in digital currencies while ensuring that this happens. do it properly.
"This will eliminate fraud and allow innovation to flourish – a bold move that will benefit Australians for years to come," said Paul McKenzie, Director of Operations for the ACX Digital Exchange. in Victoria
.
As announced in October, the new legislation will also confer increased powers on the executive director of AUSTRAC, allowing the official "to establish rules to expand or narrow the scope of the definition of digital currency. "
The bill follows another important piece of legislation in October when the Australian Parliament passed the bill to end the double taxation of transactions involving cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. The amended law now considers bitcoin and digital currencies as the equivalent of a "foreign currency", under the treatment of the applicable GST.
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