A new report says that the right regulatory framework could add up to $40 billion a year (AU$60 billion) to Australia’s national GDP and save consumers and businesses a lot of money.
The Tech Council of Australia (TCA), one of the country’s tech industry advocacy groups, asked technology consulting firm Accenture to write the Digital Assets in Australia report, which was released on November 29. The report listed a number of benefits that could come from the growth of the digital asset sector in Australia, including:
“Digital assets (DA) have the potential to change our lives and save people and businesses a lot of time and money.”
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The report says that digital assets like cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, tokens, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) could cut retail payments costs by 80% by 2030, save Australian businesses 200 million hours per year by automating tax compliance and administration, and save another 400,000 hours by making it easier to get business loans.
In Australian dollars, the digital asset sector might have some economic and social benefits. Report on Australia’s digital assets in 2022.
It also says that consumers could save almost $2.7 billion per year (AU$4 billion), or $107 (AU$160) per person if they use digital assets for international transactions. It also says that an instant settlement of business transactions could be very helpful for the 4,000 businesses that fail every year because of cash flow problems.
In the report, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are mentioned as a way to build public trust by making decisions, transactions, and procedures “automated and transparent.” All members of the organization would have equal rights because utility tokens would be given to them all.
It also says that for DAOs to reach their full potential, the government needs to clarify their legal status, including what liability means for their members. This is because American regulators charged people who took part in the Ooki DAO.
The report says that “up to 100% of payments” could be made with digital assets if retail CBDC is made available. It does this by pointing out how quickly retail CBD has been adopted in other countries, such as Sweden’s e-krona.
On September 26, Australia’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), released a whitepaper about the minting and issuance of an Australian CBDC called the AUD. The IUD would be issued as a liability to the RBA. In 2023, the pilot project will start.
The report aims to help the government regulate the sector in a way that encourages innovation while protecting consumers. It follows a promise from a spokesperson for Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers, made after the collapse of FTX, that regulations would be put in place in 2023 to protect investors while still encouraging innovation.
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A report from the Australian Financial Review (AFR) on November 14 says that FTX has funds locked up from 30,000 Australian investors and 132 companies.