Digital Economy

We have been considering the implications for non-bank lenders of the recently released Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share—Integrity and Transparency) Bill 2023 (Bill). The first version of these reforms was released in the March 2023 Exposure Draft (ED).

19 July 2023

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)’s initial round of tripartite cyber assessments of regulated entities against prudential standard CPS 234 (CPS 234) has revealed significant control gaps in relation to their compliance with the requirements of CPS 234.

12 July 2023

As the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has recently taken enforcement action against an Australian authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (“FSCODA”) , we thought it timely to provide a refresher on the requirements of FSCODA and potential consequences of non-compliance.

11 July 2023

This article discusses: (a) an overview of the recent NFT landscape in Mainland China; and (b) the key issues to consider when issuing NFTs, launching an NFT platform, or providing NFT-related services in Hong Kong.

23 May 2023

A timeline of key dates in the Australian fintech regulatory space in 2023 and beyond.

08 May 2023

On 31 March 2023, in the landmark decision of Re Gatecoin Limited (In Liquidation) [2023] HKCFI 914 (“Gatecoin Case”), the Court of First Instance of Hong Kong has, for the first time, ruled that cryptocurrency is “property” under Hong Kong law. The Gatecoin Case is one step ahead of the Hong Kong Government’s policy statement that, in order to enhance investor protection, there is a possibility of introducing a statutory definition of cryptocurrency as property, while recognising that the unique characteristics of cryptocurrency may differ from traditional assets. In ruling that cryptocurrency is “property”, the Gatecoin Case brings Hong Kong’s jurisprudence in line with other major common law jurisdictions. Interestingly, despite Mainland Chinese regulators’ imposition of a general ban on cryptocurrency trading, the judicial position in Mainland China on the legal status of Bitcoin also broadly aligns with that in major common law jurisdictions.

08 May 2023

KWM’s newsletter for venture capital backed companies, smart capital and crypto.

26 April 2023

Crypto’s recent tumultuous ride has seen class action and general litigation risk increase. There is a growing wave of class action litigation abroad (particularly in the US) alleging that investors had the risks of crypto investments misrepresented to them or were mis-sold products.

26 April 2023

Green bonds have surged in use over the past two years, but the future growth and effectiveness of the market is threatened by difficulties confirming the credit quality of an issuer and ensuring proceeds are used to fund green projects.

21 March 2023

This month, the Australian Treasury released the Token Mapping consultation paper (“Paper”), a “foundational step” for establishing a framework for reform for the crypto sector.

01 March 2023

We expect 2023 to be the CDR’s most significant year since its inception, with the anticipated introduction of important new functionality for the CDR, and its rollout to key new sectors.

24 February 2023

The Australian Treasury and Assistant Treasurer have announced a broad agenda to modernise Australia’s financial system in 2023. This includes updating and strengthening the payments system, strengthening our financial market infrastructure, establishing a framework for buy-now-pay-later and for the licensing and regulation of crypto service providers.

13 January 2023

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published its report on the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and Amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) after undertaking public consultation.

24 November 2022

On 3 November 2022, Deputy Chair of ASIC Sarah Court announced the corporate regulator’s Enforcement Priorities for 2023. In a speech earlier that same day, Chair Joe Longo declared “enforcement has been, and always will be, at the heart of ASIC’s work”.

14 November 2022

One of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) top priorities is to ensure compliance with the product design and distribution obligations (DDO) in Pt 7.8A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). These obligations came into force on 5 October 2021.

07 November 2022

This year’s Budget has a strong focus on investing in Australia’s broadband and telecommunications capabilities.

25 October 2022

The Merge is probably the most anticipated and complex upgrade to Ethereum in the blockchain’s history. Its impact may extend far beyond Ethereum, making the Merge, quite frankly, one of the most important moments in the history of the crypto market. But what is the Merge, and why does it matter?

26 September 2022

Companies that rely on venture capital financing have experienced challenging fundraising conditions in the last 6 months in stark contrast to the height of the VC market in late 2021. We are seeing VC investors

26 September 2022

In a joint media release published on 22 June 2022, the Government announced that it would legislate to retrospectively exclude crypto assets from being recognised as foreign currency from 1 July 2021 for Australian tax purposes.

26 September 2022

KWM’s newsletter for venture capital backed companies, smart capital and crypto.

26 September 2022

In the midst of a crypto market downturn, further turbulence for the industry has formed. Tornado Cash, a mixing service for cryptocurrencies has been sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).

06 September 2022

Australia’s Treasury Ministers have today announced consultation on a framework for regulation of the crypto asset sector for industry and regulators.

22 August 2022

The Board of Taxation has published their much-anticipated Consultation Guide for the review of the tax treatment of digital assets and transactions.

19 August 2022

In a joint media release published on 22 June 2022, the Government announced that they will legislate retrospectively to exclude crypto assets from being recognised as foreign currency from 1 July 2021 for Australian tax purposes.

30 June 2022

Global crypto markets are no stranger to volatility. We have been here before. At the same time, with Australia’s first crypto ETFs launch, we are also seeing a significant uptick in Australian market entry for major international crypto players, as well as the continued expansion of home-grown service providers and developers. Banks are also entering the fray.

26 May 2022

KWM’s newsletter for venture capital backed companies, smart capital and crypto.

16 May 2022

The cryptocurrency industry has come a long way in a few short years.

16 May 2022

We are barely finished with the first quarter of the calendar year and already we have seen multiple “hacks” in the crypto space that have resulted in the losses of over US$1 billion.

16 May 2022

With the explosion of web 3.0 and the metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have come to the fore. Whether it be digital collectibles, gaming, artwork or sport, these unique tokens play an important role in metaverse based systems.

11 May 2022

This edition of the KWM Taxation of Crypto Assets Guide focuses on “Non-Fungible Tokens” (NFTs) as one type of emerging crypto asset and its tax treatment under Australia’s regime.

14 April 2022

In further recognition of Australia’s opportunity to enhance its digital asset ecosystem to drive economic activity, realise efficiency gains and play a leading role globally, the Government has announced three consultations.

06 April 2022

New, stronger criminal offences applicable to cybercriminals proposed with extraterritorial application. Modernised powers to investigate and seize digital assets, including cryptocurrency, introduced.

25 February 2022

The Corporations Amendment (Meetings and Documents) Bill 2021 (Cth) has received Royal Assent and has now commenced.

23 February 2022

Yet the ancient origin of the word goes to the essence of today’s regulatory tension: ‘crypto’ has its origin in the Greek word ‘kruptos’, meaning ‘hidden’. Governments and regulators around the world are working to bring crypto assets into view.

22 February 2022

Through examining both the CBDC and its use, Project Atom demonstrates the potential to improve operational efficiency, risk management and innovation in wholesale funding.

08 December 2021

Written by Urszula McCormack, Annabel Griffin, Leonie Tear, Hannah Glass, Violet Wong and Nikita Ajwani.

17 November 2021

Written by Jerome Tse, Amanda Kazacos, Amanda Uppal, Jack Dennis & Tim Wells

05 November 2021

ASIC is calling for submissions to a proposed pathway for crypto-assets to be underlying products for exchange traded products, listed investment trusts and listed investment companies.

05 July 2021

This publication was written by Urszula McCormack, Peter Bullock, Hannah Glass, Luke Hawthorne, Evan Manolios, Nikita Ajwani and Jack Rathie

25 June 2021

Committed settlement, a patent-pending methodology introduced by Digital Asset , could present a way to make financial transactions immutable

19 July 2019

Recent papers published by Australian and international regulators show how this now goes beyond the nature of the crypto-asset itself to include the impact that these assets and decentralised systems may have on the broader financial ecosystem.

26 June 2019

As international digital asset developments gain pace, the Australian Department of the Treasury has released an exploratory consultation paper on initial coin offerings (ICOs), with responses to consultation due 28 February 2019.

01 February 2019

King & Wood Mallesons and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. have published a new whitepaper that sets out practical steps for developing smart derivatives contracts.

04 October 2018

This article was written by Sarah Hickey, Marina Lauer, Lauren Murphy, Hannah Glass, Sam Hoppe and Akash Mehta.

04 May 2018

This article was written by Peter Bullock.

08 January 2018

New technologies, such as blockchain, present an innovative proposition for trusted systems. Blockchain is said to provide a perfect audit trail of encrypted, yet easily accessible information stored in that network. As the record of transactions is openly available and the process by which they are added to the recorded is decentralised, participants are able to trust the network creating a supposedly 'trustless' source of truth. Further any information held in encrypted form cannot be accessed without the requisite permissions creating a system of transparent, secure records.

26 October 2017

Ethereum relies on a blockchain — a transaction record that is independently verified by others and held on a distributed ledger. The same technology underpins Bitcoin. However, the Bitcoin blockchain is predominantly designed to do one thing: facilitate Bitcoin transactions. Ethereum, on the other hand, is designed to act as programmable infrastructure. This means that Ethereum is a more adaptable and flexible development platform.

07 August 2017

Token sales are rapidly gaining momentum as the darling of capital raising in the digital economy.

31 July 2017

A token is an intangible asset stored on a blockchain which entitles a token holder to a bundle of rights (and possibly liabilities) set out in smart contracts and other relevant documentation (such as an offering document or a whitepaper).

03 July 2017

The result of many months of scientific study, the reports distinguish themselves from the recent collection of reports, reviews and releases by addressing not only the technical risks and opportunities in the application of blockchain technologies within government and industry, but how to assess whether blockchain-based systems will meet critical requirements and also the plausible future impact, opportunities and challenges of the technology.

07 June 2017

Usefully, this guidance includes a framework to help the assessment of whether technology and risk management standards required by the regulator will be met. The technological neutrality expressed in this statement is likely to be welcomed by many. Also important is its broader-than-technological focus. By highlighting the importance of considering when and how blockchain "should" be used, and not just how it "could" be used, it gives real guidance to those planning to use the technology in financial services and markets (and in other sectors as well).

20 March 2017

Yesterday, Standards Australia released its Roadmap for Blockchain Standards; marking its role at the forefront of international standards and setting the blueprint for Australia's leadership.

03 March 2017

Australia is set to play a leading role in the international development of blockchain after the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved Standards Australia’s proposal for new international standards. Blockchain technology is a potentially fundamental evolution in global markets infrastructure and the standards should be an important step towards international interoperability.

15 September 2016

Blockchain is the technology behind bitcoin but its use far exceeds digital currencies. The importance of blockchain to finance and financial markets is its potential beyond bitcoin.

04 August 2016

As blockchain use moves from brainstorm to pilot, issues of real world interaction arise.

02 August 2016

Strip away the hype. Decode the buzzwords. We propose a new "DnA" architecture for smart contracts, a blend of human and machine, available open source.

07 July 2016

A smart contract is simply any agreement that can execute a part of its functions by itself. One example is a contract which automatically calculates the payments which are due between the parties, and then arranges for those payments to be made.

30 June 2016

Best known as the technology that underpins digital currencies, blockchain had a breakthrough year in 2015, with investors waking up to its vast potential beyond payments, in particular as a 'smart' trust network.

14 May 2016