Australia's Treasury said on 16 October in a proposal paper that it intends to release next year a draft bill covering the licensing and custody rules of crypto service providers.
According to the document, when the legislation enters into force, there will be a 12-month grace period during which crypto exchanges will have to transition to the new regime.
Under the new legislation, cryptocurrency exchanges holding more than AUD 1,500 ($946) of any one client or more than AUD 5 million ($3.15 million) in total assets will have to obtain an Australian Financial Services licence, which is granted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Dr Brad Jones, Assistant Governor at the Reserve Bank of Australia, also said the Treasury and Reserve Bank of Australia will publish a "joint report around the middle of 2024 that will provide a stocktake on central bank digital currency (CBDC) research in Australia and set out a roadmap for future work."