The Tech Council of Australia [TCA] believes that the transition to a digital assets-based economy should be underpinned by smart regulation that fosters responsible and smart innovation. Australia has a thriving fintech ecosystem which positions it to lead innovation in this space globally.
It's in this context that the TCA released its latest report: Digital Assets in Australia. The Report was commissioned by TCA, prepared by Accenture, and proudly sponsored by Zepto, Afterpay, Finder, and Holon.
After a welcome by TCA CEO, Kate Pounder, and remarks from Anthony Eisen, Afterpay co-founder and Tech Council Board Director, the report was officially launched by the Hon Stephen Jones MP, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services.
The report aims to help Australia's regulators and policy-makers navigate the way forward to create a trusted, well-regulated Australian digital assets sector - as adoption becomes widespread - by shifting from a precautionary to a more proactive and holistic approach to regulation.
"It's a compelling read," said Zepto CEO, Chris Jewell.
“Australia's evolving digital assets market is truly exciting. Digital assets have the potential to increase efficiencies and innovation in the payments system—and in turn, the economy—through the automation and streamlining of the payments processes. This will have a profound impact on Australians through the creation of faster and safer methods of exchanging value."
Digital assets – such as private stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDC), tokens and cryptocurrencies, supported by complementary innovations such as blockchain and Web 3.0 – are a collection of technologies that enable digital representations of value to be transferred, stored and traded electronically.
Some of the report's findings include:
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“Digital assets have great potential to transform the way Australians transact and interact, from real-time payments and instant settlement of business loans to better supply chain tracking and secure digital identities,” said Kate Pounder.
“Australia has an opportunity to be a leader in the responsible use of these technologies, building on our long history of financial and payments innovation and our position as a regional financial hub with effective financial institutions, tech-savvy consumers and a successful RegTech sector. We want to see Australia capture the economic opportunities of digital assets, but we want to see it done in a responsible way."
The report recommends the development of a principles-based regulatory framework, with clear objectives to support responsible digital assets innovation, unlock the economy-wide benefits of digital assets technology, promote financial and digital inclusion, protect businesses and consumers, and support financial stability.
As Chris Jewell pointed out during the panel discussion, Digital assets are so much more than just cryptocurrencies.
"Putting that asset class aside, the technology that digital assets unlocks is incredibly valuable. At Zepto, we're primarily focused on payments, so when we think about digital assets we think about how they influence use cases that can deliver cost efficiencies back to businesses and consumers. The report highlights, for example, the high cost of cross-border payments, digital assets can alleviate costs around that," said Chris.
"We also think about cash flow and supply chains. Zepto was born out of the company founders' debilitating cash flow experiences running a skydiving business. Cash flow was so critically important to the lifeblood of that company. And so we think about how might we use smart contracts and consent to enable that cash flow to move more freely and provide certainty around it. In some ways, we're talking about building the infrastructure of trust," he added.
You can download the full report here.
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