The Senate Committee on Economics Legislation in Australia has finally issued feedback on Senator Andrew Bragg's bitcoin bill.

On September 4, the committee issued its view on the draft measure, known as The Digital Assets (Market Regulation) measure 2023, proposing that the Senate not enact the bill and that the government instead continue studying the topic instead.

Senators Bragg and Dean Smith expressed a more positive assessment of the measure in a dissenting report, urging that the Senate pass it with modest changes, such as eliminating nonfungible tokens (NFTs) from the definition of regulated digital assets.

Among other things, the dissenting senators asked the bill's authors to exclude certain asset-based tokens from the definition of a stablecoin, potentially including the Gold and Silver Standard and the BetaCarbon Token. They also requested that the transition period be extended from three to nine months.

Bragg and Smith encouraged the Board of Taxation in their report to evaluate the tax status of digital assets and transactions in Australia, with legislation expected to be introduced in early 2024.

They also stated that the government should fully implement the Council of Financial Regulators' suggestions for potential policy responses to debanking in Australia.

The Australian Treasury previously acknowledged that the growing tendency of banks suspending services to cryptocurrency firms could have unintended repercussions, such as driving the industry underground.

“The committee inquiry has demonstrated that the government’s approach to digital asset regulation is hurting Australian consumers and investment,” the dissenting report reads, adding that the bill is the “first serious step towards implementing a comprehensive digital asset regulatory framework.”

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-australian-lawmakers-send-back-crypto-bill-by-andrew-bragg

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportsen/RB000116/toc_pdf/DigitalAssets(MarketRegulation)Bill2023.pdf