Many asset providers will need financial services licence under planned reform
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that it has updated its guidance to clarify that it will treat digital asset products such as stablecoins, wrapped tokens, tokenised securities, and digital asset wallets as financial products under the law.
“Many widely traded digital assets are financial products under current law – and will remain so under the Government’s proposed law reform – meaning many providers require a financial services licence,” said Alan Kirkland, ASIC commissioner, in a media release.
“Licensing ensures consumers receive the full suite of protections under the law and allows ASIC to act when poor practices lead to harm,” Kirkland added.
In its media release, ASIC said the guidance seeks to promote digital asset innovation, boost investor safeguards, and help organisations have more certainty in their operations and innovation efforts.
“Distributed ledger technology and tokenisation are reshaping global finance,” Kirkland said. “ASIC’s guidance provides the regulatory clarity that firms have been calling for to innovate confidently in Australia.”
ASIC’s media release likewise confirmed transitional support to help industry players prepare for proposed legal reforms. Kirkland noted that ASIC has a sector-wide no-action position in place until 30 June 2026, which responds to the need to adapt to the amended guidance and accommodate licence applications.
While ASIC would consider its no-action position when assessing historical conduct, it stated that it would keep taking steps to combat egregious conduct if it found substantial consumer harm or widespread systemic misconduct.
According to the media release, in an in-principle decision, ASIC also issued proposed regulatory relief for some stablecoins and wrapped token distributors to facilitate the transition to the planned law reforms, as well as relief for custodians of digital assets that were financial products.
ASIC encouraged those interested to provide their input on the draft relief instruments by the 12 November 2025 deadline.
In its media release, ASIC noted that it also summarized the insights it garnered from submissions relevant to “Consultation Paper 381 Updates to INFO 225: Digital Assets: Financial Products and Services” (CP 381).
ASIC shared that comments received during the consultation informed its decision to clarify the guidance with additional examples, extend the proposed relief, and implement the no-action position.
