Australia‘s central bank and Treasury have held private meetings with international crypto industry executives including Coinbase‘s vice president of international policy, Tom Duff Gordon, on the future of digital assets and regulation in the nation.
Gordon was among those who made a submission around the Treasury‘s token mapping consultation paper, released last month, after flying from London. Token mapping is the process of identifying the key activities and functions of products in the crypto ecosystem and mapping them against existing regulatory frameworks.
“The Australian Treasury’s token mapping exercise is one of the most detailed and thoughtful papers we have seen on the topic, and it sets a strong foundation for their forthcoming draft rules for crypto exchanges and custodians, which we are keen to see later this year," Gordon told CoinDesk in an email. "It’s great the industry is able to engage in this open and transparent regulatory rulemaking process."
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and Australia‘s Treasury didn‘t immediately respond to CoinDesk‘s requests for comment.
Gordon, along with Coinbase Asia Pacific managing director John O’Loghlen, held several meetings with government and policy stakeholders in Australia, said The Australian, which reported the consultation earlier.
“From a central bank perspective, they’re interested in financial stability and the links between a fiat traditional financial system and the crypto system,” Gordon told The Australian. “The Treasury in Australia is more interested and involved in setting the framework and we believe the RBA will increasingly get more involved as we move forward.”
The Coinbase submission was focused on disclosure to ensure "that when consumers look at financial information, they’re not being misled and that people have the information that they need to make informed decisions," Gordon said.
UPDATE (March 15, 10:53 UTC): Changes sourcing to and adds comment from Coinbase.
