• Australia Financial Minister Stephen Jones said there is a “good argument” to regulate crypto assets as financial products.
• The Australian government is focused on regulating crypto assets that act like financial products.
• Australia’s crypto group Blockchain Australia is at odds with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Commonwealth Bank over broadly classifying all crypto assets as financial products.

The Australian government is considering regulating cryptocurrencies as financial products, according to the country’s Finance Minister Stephen Jones. In a recent statement, Jones said that there is a “good argument” to regulate crypto assets as financial products, since most of them are used as a store of value for investment or speculation.

The Finance Minister’s statement comes in response to the collapse of FTX earlier this month, which highlighted the need for cryptocurrency regulation in the country. Jones further noted that the government is mainly focused on regulating crypto assets that act like financial products, and that there is no need to set up a “completely separate regulatory regime for something that is, for all intents and purposes, a financial product.”

However, not everyone is in agreement with the Finance Minister. Blockchain Australia, a crypto lobby group in the country, has been vocal in its opposition to the broad classification of all crypto assets as financial products. The group has argued that the government should not treat all crypto assets the same way, and that each asset should be evaluated and regulated based on its individual characteristics.

At the same time, the government is also carrying out a “token mapping” exercise, where it will identify which crypto assets it plans to regulate. The results of this exercise are expected to be revealed in the near future.

In conclusion, it is clear that the Australian government is taking steps to regulate cryptocurrencies. While there is some disagreement about the best way to regulate them, it is likely that the government will eventually come to a decision that satisfies both those in favor of regulation, and those opposed to it.