Bitcoin one step closer to being regulated in Aust

Canberra:

Bitcoin is one step closer to being regulated in Australia, with Parliament expected to, this week, vote on a bill to strengthen the nation’s anti-money laundering laws.

That was almost a ten-fold surge from last October, when each unit was worth just US$630 (about F$1297.52). But even at that lower price, many people thought the digital currency was “over-valued”.

The proposed laws

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 offence for an “unregistered person” to provide digital currency exchange services.

“Businesses that trade digital currencies for money, and vice versa, will be required to enrol and register with AUSTRAC,” Justice Minister Michael Keenan said in a Parliamentary speech about the bill in August.

Mr Keenan said these businesses would need to “establish, implement and maintain an AML/ CTF (anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing) programme.”

In addition, they would have to “report threshold transactions and suspicious matters to AUSTRAC, and keep appropriate records”.