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Australia To ‘Token Map’ In New Push For Crypto Regulation

By  |  August 22, 2022

Australia’s new government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese since May 23, will begin a review of how cryptocurrency assets are managed, with a view toward keeping practices up to date and protecting consumers, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a statement released on Monday.

“Australians are experiencing a digital revolution across all sectors of the economy, but regulation is struggling to keep pace and adapt with the crypto asset sector,” Chalmers said in the statement.

“As the first step in a reform agenda, Treasury will prioritize ‘token mapping’ work in 2022, which will help identify how crypto assets and related services should be regulated. This hasn’t been done anywhere else in the world, so it will make Australia leaders in this work.”

Token mapping involves uncovering the characteristics of all digital asset tokens in Australia including charting the type of crypto asset, its underlying code, and any other defining technological feature, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

“As it stands, the crypto sector is largely unregulated, and we need to do some work to get the balance right so we can embrace new and innovative technologies while safeguarding consumers,” Chalmers said.