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An Australian Senate committee has handed down its report on the government\u2019s proposed digital-asset regulatory framework, backing legislation that would bring crypto platforms and custody services under the country\u2019s financial-services regime.<\/span><\/p>\n The Senate Economics Legislation Committee said the bill represents a step toward modernizing oversight of digital assets, an industry lawmakers say is expanding rapidly but remains unevenly regulated.<\/span><\/p>\n The move builds on earlier steps<\/a> by Australian regulators, including mandatory AUSTRAC registration for crypto exchanges and Treasury consultations aimed at bringing digital-asset platforms within the country\u2019s financial-services framework.<\/p>\n The <\/span>proposed<\/span> Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025, published on Sunday, would amend the Corporations Act and ASIC Act to create a licensing and compliance regime for businesses that hold or manage digital tokens on behalf of clients.<\/span><\/p>\n Under the framework, operators of digital-asset platforms and tokenized custody services would typically need to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence, comply with asset-safeguarding standards, and meet disclosure requirements when onboarding retail clients.<\/span><\/p>\n Lawmakers said the changes are intended to close regulatory gaps that currently allow businesses to hold large amounts of client digital assets without the safeguards required in traditional finance.<\/span><\/p>\n The legislation defines core concepts such as \u201cdigital tokens,\u201d \u201cdigital asset platforms,\u201d and \u201ctokenized custody platforms,\u201d aiming to bring intermediaries dealing with customer assets under existing financial-services law rather than regulating blockchain technology itself.<\/span><\/p>\n If enacted, the regime would include a six-month transition period for providers that do not already hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.<\/span><\/p>\n