The
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has reminded digital
asset firms that they have less than two months to lodge an Australian
Financial Services (AFS) license application or risk falling foul of the
country’s financial services laws.
Singapore Summit: Meet the largest
APAC brokers you know (and those you still don’t!)
The
regulator said today (Monday) that providers offering services tied to digital
asset financial products must decide whether they need a new AFS license, or a
variation to an existing one, and apply by June 30, 2026. After that date,
ASIC’s sector-wide no-action position falls away, exposing unlicensed firms to
civil and criminal penalties that can reach up to 10% of annual turnover.
Companies
seeking an Australian Market Licence or a Clearing and Settlement facility license
face an additional step. They must notify ASIC in writing of their intention to
apply and hold a pre-application meeting before the same June 30 deadline.
ASIC’s Information Sheet 225, refreshed
last year, now
classifies stablecoins, wrapped tokens, tokenised securities and digital asset
wallets as financial products under the Corporations Act.
That
definition pulls a much wider slice of the local crypto industry into the AFS
licensing perimeter than the previous interpretation, which centered on
platforms trading conventional digital tokens.
What the No-Action Window
Actually Buys
The
no-action letter, published in October 2025, gave providers a runway to digest
the updated guidance and either apply for fresh authorizations or vary existing
ones.
ASIC has
said the position is not a safe harbor against private litigation or non-ASIC
enforcement, and it expires for everyone on the same date.
Some firms
can comply by becoming an authorized representative of an existing AFS licensee
rather than securing their own license, depending on the services they provide.
ASIC has
also kept in place earlier relief instruments covering the distribution of certain stablecoins
and wrapped tokens.
Those carve-outs currently apply to a single issuer, Catena Digital, which
issues the AUDM stablecoin .
The
licensing pipeline has already started to swell. ASIC granted 290 new AFS licenses in the financial year to June 2025
while cancelling or suspending 215 others, with applications from digital asset
operators rising notably, Commissioner Alan Kirkland said at the time.
How Australia’s Approach
Compares to Global Peers
Australia
is moving toward a destination several other major jurisdictions have already
reached, though by a different route.
The
European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation took full effect in
December 2024, requiring exchanges, wallet providers and stablecoin issuers to
obtain a MiCA license to operate across the bloc.
Penalties for non-compliance under MiCA can reach 12.5% of annual turnover,
slightly above Australia’s threshold.
In Asia,
Hong Kong opened its stablecoin licensing regime in April and granted its first
approvals to HSBC and Anchorpoint. Japan moved its crypto sector under the
Financial Instruments and Exchange Act earlier this year and banned insider
trading in digital assets.
Singapore
continues to license payment service providers under its 2019 Payment Services
Act.
Enforcement Track Record
Adds Pressure
Recent
enforcement gives the deadline real teeth. The Federal Court of Australia fined Binance Australia Derivatives
AU$10 million in March after the company admitted misclassifying more than 85% of its local
clients.
In December
2024, Bit Trade, the local operator of
Kraken, paid AU$8
million over a leveraged margin extension product the court found breached
design and distribution obligations.
ASIC has
also flagged offshore venues offering high-leverage products to Australians,
including a public warning against Bitget over its 125x crypto futures. The
regulator has signalled that the same scrutiny will follow firms that miss the
AFS license window.
A Second Deadline Comes in
2027
The June 30
cutoff is not the end of the road. The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets
Framework) Act 2026, which cleared parliament on April 1, received Royal Assent on April 8
and commences April 9, 2027. It introduces dedicated authorizations for digital
asset platforms and tokenized custody platforms, both supervised by ASIC.
Many firms
that secure an AFS license under the current INFO 225 guidance will need to add
DAP or TCP authorizations once the new regime starts. ASIC has published a
roadmap covering its consultation timetable and the operational standards it
expects to set during the 18-month implementation period.
“Licensing
firms improves investor protections and provides greater certainty to providers
to operate under the law,” ASIC said in its statement.
The
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has reminded digital
asset firms that they have less than two months to lodge an Australian
Financial Services (AFS) license application or risk falling foul of the
country’s financial services laws.
Singapore Summit: Meet the largest
APAC brokers you know (and those you still don’t!)
The
regulator said today (Monday) that providers offering services tied to digital
asset financial products must decide whether they need a new AFS license, or a
variation to an existing one, and apply by June 30, 2026. After that date,
ASIC’s sector-wide no-action position falls away, exposing unlicensed firms to
civil and criminal penalties that can reach up to 10% of annual turnover.
Companies
seeking an Australian Market Licence or a Clearing and Settlement facility license
face an additional step. They must notify ASIC in writing of their intention to
apply and hold a pre-application meeting before the same June 30 deadline.
ASIC’s Information Sheet 225, refreshed
last year, now
classifies stablecoins, wrapped tokens, tokenised securities and digital asset
wallets as financial products under the Corporations Act.
That
definition pulls a much wider slice of the local crypto industry into the AFS
licensing perimeter than the previous interpretation, which centered on
platforms trading conventional digital tokens.
What the No-Action Window
Actually Buys
The
no-action letter, published in October 2025, gave providers a runway to digest
the updated guidance and either apply for fresh authorizations or vary existing
ones.
ASIC has
said the position is not a safe harbor against private litigation or non-ASIC
enforcement, and it expires for everyone on the same date.
Some firms
can comply by becoming an authorized representative of an existing AFS licensee
rather than securing their own license, depending on the services they provide.
ASIC has
also kept in place earlier relief instruments covering the distribution of certain stablecoins
and wrapped tokens.
Those carve-outs currently apply to a single issuer, Catena Digital, which
issues the AUDM stablecoin .
The
licensing pipeline has already started to swell. ASIC granted 290 new AFS licenses in the financial year to June 2025
while cancelling or suspending 215 others, with applications from digital asset
operators rising notably, Commissioner Alan Kirkland said at the time.
How Australia’s Approach
Compares to Global Peers
Australia
is moving toward a destination several other major jurisdictions have already
reached, though by a different route.
The
European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation took full effect in
December 2024, requiring exchanges, wallet providers and stablecoin issuers to
obtain a MiCA license to operate across the bloc.
Penalties for non-compliance under MiCA can reach 12.5% of annual turnover,
slightly above Australia’s threshold.
In Asia,
Hong Kong opened its stablecoin licensing regime in April and granted its first
approvals to HSBC and Anchorpoint. Japan moved its crypto sector under the
Financial Instruments and Exchange Act earlier this year and banned insider
trading in digital assets.
Singapore
continues to license payment service providers under its 2019 Payment Services
Act.
Enforcement Track Record
Adds Pressure
Recent
enforcement gives the deadline real teeth. The Federal Court of Australia fined Binance Australia Derivatives
AU$10 million in March after the company admitted misclassifying more than 85% of its local
clients.
In December
2024, Bit Trade, the local operator of
Kraken, paid AU$8
million over a leveraged margin extension product the court found breached
design and distribution obligations.
ASIC has
also flagged offshore venues offering high-leverage products to Australians,
including a public warning against Bitget over its 125x crypto futures. The
regulator has signalled that the same scrutiny will follow firms that miss the
AFS license window.
A Second Deadline Comes in
2027
The June 30
cutoff is not the end of the road. The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets
Framework) Act 2026, which cleared parliament on April 1, received Royal Assent on April 8
and commences April 9, 2027. It introduces dedicated authorizations for digital
asset platforms and tokenized custody platforms, both supervised by ASIC.
Many firms
that secure an AFS license under the current INFO 225 guidance will need to add
DAP or TCP authorizations once the new regime starts. ASIC has published a
roadmap covering its consultation timetable and the operational standards it
expects to set during the 18-month implementation period.
“Licensing
firms improves investor protections and provides greater certainty to providers
to operate under the law,” ASIC said in its statement.
