Australia likely to introduce regulations for Bitcoin

Kitco is out with a story on Tuesday, suggesting that Australia is next in line to regulate the cryptocurrency markets, following China and Russia.

Key Points:

Australia is very close to introducing regulations for the cryptocurrency market, with the country’s Parliament scheduled to vote on a new anti-money laundering bill this week.

If passed, will grant additional authority to the national financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC to oversee digital currency exchanges.

According to the proposed bill, it will be illegal for any “unregistered person” to offer digital currency exchange-related services.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan said in August when describing the new laws, noted: “Businesses that trade digital currencies for money, and vice versa, will be required to enroll and register with AUSTRAC.”

All registered persons will also be required to “report threshold transactions and suspicious matters to AUSTRAC, and keep appropriate records.”