Australian crypto exchanges have praised plans from the Australian Treasury to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges under pre-existing financial services licensing measures.
In an Oct. 16 consultation paper, the Treasury outlined a new suite of proposed regulations that suggest regulating cryptocurrency exchanges under existing financial services rules as well as introducing a wealth of new guidelines for all Australian firms dealing in digital assets.
Speaking at the Australian Financial Reviews Crypto Summit event on Oct. 16, Australian Treasury Assistant Stephen Jones said the new regime was focused on three primary areas: providing a framework for industry growth and innovation, allowing regulatory certainty to crypto service providers, and ensuring that everyday consumers and their assets remain protected.
Caroline Bowler, CEO of BTC Markets, said that she was pleased to have reached a new “key milestone” in the regulatory process and regarded the rules as a positive progression for the wider crypto industry in Australia
“It’s a great next step for the Australian economy. Digital assets are so clearly the future of financial services. It is imperative that the country keeps pace with our international peers with a robust regulatory framework,”
Similarly, Adrian Przelozny, CEO of Independent Reserve, commended the federal government on its recommendations to introduce stronger regulation and policy change. These new proposals could help restore trust in the crypto sector.
“We firmly believe these changes will drive investment, provide certainty to the sector, and ultimately, increase consumer protection.”
However, Jonathon Miller, managing director of Kraken Australia, said he was concerned that the new rules would be stuffing the crypto industry into a TradFi-shaped box.
“Australia is now in the unfortunate situation where our regulation has taken a very long time, so we’re taking the approach of shoehorning crypto into existing financial services regulation,”
Solana Joins Forces as an Ecosystem Partner with Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
The Solana Foundation has become an ecosystem partner for the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), one of the free economic zones in the United Arab Emirates.
According to the announcement from Oct. 15, with its blockchain platform, Solana will provide technical and business development support to any DMCC Crypto Centre member. The company will also deliver webinars and educational courses on various Web3 topics and extend its already-operating grant program at DMCC.
Solana’s existing partners will, in turn, get privileged treatment in the DMCC, according to the center’s CEO, Ahmed Bin Sulayem:
“We will provide complimentary setup and business licensing for Solana ecosystem projects whilst our members can access a world-class blockchain platform and dedicated Solana engineering teams that can take their businesses to new heights.”
The list of DMCC’s ecosystem partners also includes the crypto exchange Bybit, digital asset market maker DWF Labs, Web3 incubator TDeFi, venture capital fund Brinc, and several other entities, while the total number of the center’s members officially accounts for 23,000 companies.
Along with the Abu Dhabi Global Market and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, the DMCC is one of the three initial economic free zones established in the UAE to boost its investment climate. This trio will soon be joined by the Ras Al Khaimah Digital Assets Oasis, unveiled during Blockchain Life 2023.
MetaMask Temporary Removed From Apple’s App Store
A popular decentralized finance (DeFi) wallet, MetaMask, boasting 21 million monthly users, was temporarily pulled off the App Store on Saturday. While the wallet has now been restored, no official explanation has been provided for the brief removal.
Reports began circulating on Oct. 14, with numerous users on the X platform revealing that MetaMask was no longer accessible on the Apple App Store. Additionally, Apple users were unable to download the DeFi wallet app directly from its official website.
Taylor Monahan, Lead Product Manager at MetaMask, addressed concerned users on X, assuring them that the team was actively managing the issue.
Shortly after Monahan’s statement, a notification came from MetaMask’s official X handle, clarifying that the removal was unrelated to any malicious activity.
MetaMask stated:
“FYI: We’re aware that MetaMask isn’t currently available for download on the App Store. This is not related to anything malicious, and our team is working hard to resolve it ASAP. We expect MetaMask to be back on the App Store shortly, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”