Why Australia’s $17B crypto opportunity depends on regulation

Key takeaways

• Australia could generate A$24 billion, or about $17 billion, annually from digital assets and tokenized finance. But that opportunity depends on whether policymakers establish clear and supportive regulatory frameworks.

• Tokenization could transform financial markets by improving liquidity, automating settlement processes and expanding investor access to assets such as foreign exchange, equities, government debt and investment funds.

• Tokenized money, including CBDCs and stablecoins, could significantly reduce the cost and time of cross-border payments by minimizing reliance on traditional banking networks.

• Regulatory uncertainty remains the biggest barrier to growth, as financial institutions hesitate to commit capital without clear rules on licensing, custody standards and compliance for digital asset businesses.

Australia is widely regarded as one of the most technologically advanced financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region. However, in the area of digital assets and tokenized finance, the country faces a critical choice.

The Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) and the Digital Economy Council of Australia published a report titled “Unlocking Australia’s $24b Digital Finance Opportunity.” It warns that the country will capture only a small portion of these gains unless its regulatory framework is updated swiftly.

The report emphasizes that tokenized markets and digital finance could deliver around A$24 billion (approximately US$17 billion) in annual economic benefits for Australia, provided lawmakers move forward with regulation.

The scale of Australia’s digital finance opportunity

The DFCRC analysis indicates that tokenization and digital asset infrastructure could significantly improve several parts of Australia’s financial system. These improvements are expected to create economic value by making markets more efficient, increasing liquidity and allowing more investors to participate.

The report highlights three main sources of value that together represent an estimated A$24 billion opportunity.

Improved financial markets

Tokenized financial markets are likely to deliver significant economic benefits. By recording traditional securities such as shares or bonds on blockchain-based systems, markets can automate settlement processes, lower operational costs and open participation to a wider range of investors.

Tokenized infrastructure can also bring greater transparency and efficiency to assets including:

• foreign exchange

• investment funds

• public equities

• government debt

Improved liquidity and easier access for investors can lead to higher trading volumes and less friction throughout the financial system.

Improved payments

Tokenized forms of money such as stablecoins, bank deposit tokens and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could make both domestic and international payments faster and cheaper.

At present, many cross-border payments depend on correspondent banking networks, which are often slow and costly. Tokenized payment systems could enable near-instant transfers between institutions, shortening settlement times and reducing fees.

Better use of digital assets

Tokenization allows financial assets to become more programmable and easier to use in digital financial services. Smart contracts can automatically manage tasks such as margin calls, collateral handling and settlement, which are currently manual and time-intensive processes.

According to the DFCRC report, almost half of the gains related to assets could come from enabling new activities on tokenized infrastructure, including collateralized lending, repo markets and invoice financing.

Did you know? Australia was among the earliest countries to explore blockchain for financial market infrastructure. In 2017, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) began a project to replace its decades-old clearing system with blockchain technology before later reconsidering the plan.

Why regulation is the primary obstacle

While digital asset markets show great promise, the DFCRC report identifies regulatory uncertainty as the main factor holding back growth in Australia.

Large financial institutions generally avoid investing significant capital in new technologies until clear legal frameworks are established. Without specific rules on licensing, asset custody and compliance, many firms are hesitant to launch major tokenized products.

Key structural challenges include:

• Vague licensing: It is currently unclear how digital asset businesses should obtain official permits.

• Poor collaboration: There is a lack of communication between regulatory bodies and the industry.

• Limited trials: A shortage of large-scale pilot programs limits practical testing.

• Legal ambiguity: The status of tokenized financial products remains undefined.

These issues hinder progress even when the necessary technology is already available. Institutional investors need a well-defined regulatory foundation to enter the market with confidence.

The high cost of regulatory inaction

Continued delays in modernizing Australia’s regulatory framework could severely erode the country’s potential gains from digital finance.

If policy stagnation persists, Australia may capture only around A$1 billion (approximately US$710 million) from digital assets and tokenized finance by 2030. This figure represents only a small fraction of the A$24 billion in potential benefits that could be realized under a more supportive and predictable regulatory environment.

This massive shortfall highlights how regulatory hurdles can alter the future path of financial innovation. In the absence of clear, enabling policy settings, several damaging consequences could follow:

• Pilot programs find it difficult to scale into live, production-grade systems.

• Institutional capital stays on the sidelines, unwilling to take meaningful risks.

• Cutting-edge innovation and talent increasingly relocate to jurisdictions offering regulatory clarity and predictability.

• Australia’s domestic financial infrastructure modernizes more slowly than that of global peers.

Ultimately, prolonged regulatory uncertainty does not merely slow progress but may actively divert economic value and opportunity to other countries that have established favorable frameworks for digital finance.

Did you know? Australia hosts one of the densest networks of crypto ATMs in the Asia-Pacific region. It is also one of the largest markets for crypto kiosks outside North America.

What the industry is asking for in regulation

Australia has made initial strides toward establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets. However, industry stakeholders stress that more needs to be done to unlock meaningful institutional participation:

• Clear licensing regimes for digital asset platforms: Trading venues, exchanges and other digital asset service providers urgently need well-defined licensing pathways. These include precise rules on permissible activities, operational requirements, capital standards and ongoing compliance obligations.

• Modern, fit-for-purpose custody rules: Digital assets introduce distinct risks around security, segregation and operational resilience. Regulators should set clear, risk-based custody standards that safeguard client assets.

• A coherent framework for stablecoins: Stablecoins are widely viewed as foundational infrastructure for tokenized markets and efficient on-chain payments. Industry participants are calling for clarity on issuance, reserves, redemption rights, supervision and cross-border rules to remove legal and operational uncertainty.

• Balanced and proportionate consumer and investor protections: Strong safeguards against fraud, misconduct and loss are essential. But they must be designed carefully to avoid stifling legitimate innovation.

When addressed together, these regulatory building blocks would provide the clarity financial institutions need before committing significant capital and infrastructure to tokenized finance in Australia.

Why regulatory sandboxes are important

The DFCRC report recommends creating regulatory sandboxes tailored specifically for tokenized financial markets.

These sandboxes allow companies to test new financial technologies under close regulatory oversight before obtaining a full license. This approach lets regulators see how the innovations perform in practice while keeping risks under control.

Australia already has an Enhanced Regulatory Sandbox (ERS) managed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). It permits eligible firms to trial certain financial services for a limited period without holding a full financial services license.

However, industry groups argue that more specialized sandboxes would speed up testing and development in key areas such as tokenized securities and digital settlement systems.

Targeted sandboxes would also improve dialogue between regulators and the industry, enabling policymakers to shape better rules based on actual testing outcomes.

The role of tokenized government bonds and CBDCs

The DFCRC report proposes that tokenized government bonds and a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could form essential infrastructure for digital financial markets.

Government bonds are already widely used as collateral in financial markets. Tokenizing them would allow for automated collateral management, faster settlement and improved transparency.

A CBDC designed for use by financial institutions rather than the general public could provide secure final settlement for tokenized assets. Together with stablecoins and bank deposit tokens, it would help build a flexible and efficient system for digital financial transactions.

These tools would create the reliable settlement infrastructure institutional markets need to operate at scale.

Did you know? Australia’s central bank was among the first to experiment with central bank digital currency trials. Earlier projects explored how a wholesale CBDC could help automate bond settlement and other complex financial transactions between institutions.

Project Acacia and Australia’s experimentation with digital money

Australia is already exploring these concepts through initiatives such as Project Acacia. This collaboration examines how digital money could work in tokenized wholesale markets.

The project tests how different forms of digital settlement, including CBDCs and stablecoins, can support financial market infrastructure.

Pilot programs like these can play an important role. They allow policymakers and financial institutions to test technical designs, operational risks and regulatory issues before moving to large-scale systems.

Real-world experimentation helps regulators create rules based on practical experience rather than theory alone.

Technological ability alone is not enough

A central finding of the DFCRC report is that technology alone is not enough to create new financial markets.

For institutions to adopt tokenized finance, the following are required:

• clear legal frameworks

• reliable settlement infrastructure

• proper custody standards

• effective risk management protocols

• appropriate regulatory oversight

Together, these elements build the trust financial institutions need to commit to new technologies.

Without that trust, tokenized finance is likely to remain confined to small pilot projects rather than becoming part of mainstream financial systems.

Australia’s competitive challenge

The global competition to develop digital asset infrastructure is accelerating. Many jurisdictions are already building regulatory frameworks for tokenized securities, stablecoins and digital payment systems.

If Australia delays, it risks losing talent, investment and innovation to countries that provide regulatory clarity sooner.

In this sense, digital asset regulation is not just a financial policy issue. It is also a question of competitiveness for Australia’s broader economy.

Countries that put credible frameworks for digital finance in place are better positioned to attract capital and technology firms seeking stable regulatory settings.