Innovative team amplifying growth and building trusted digital ecosystems
As digital economies around the world continue to expand, new technologies are reshaping the global marketplace, presenting opportunities only limited by our imagination. However, great opportunity comes with even greater responsibility. Our “5ABCD” (5G, AI, blockchain, cloud and big data) era has propelled cybersecurity, data controls, consumer protection, competition compliance and ethics to the top of the list of concerns for organisations… and all are playing out against the backdrop of a complex global regulatory landscape.
OUR DIGITAL ECONOMY INSIGHTS
The future of digital money is coming – evolutionary steps for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Australia
An evolution of Australia’s monetary arrangements is a step closer this week, with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and Commonwealth Treasury releasing an important new paper on central bank digital currency (CBDC).
20 September 2024
The first steps to an economy-wide digital identity
The government has published an exposure draft of legislation for an economy-wide digital identity system.
28 September 2023
Breaking down the barriers - operational enhancements set to better facilitate participation in the CDR
New changes to the CDR Rules will have a significant impact on the CDR regime, particularly to reduce barriers to participation in the CDR regime, better facilitate participation by CDR business consumers and introduce other operational enhancements.
14 August 2023
New Zealand Consumer Data Right
New Zealand are in the process of developing a consumer data right (NZ CDR) regime. The recently released Customer and Product Data Bill confirms that the proposed NZ CDR Regime will be broadly similar to the Australian consumer data regime. Notably, it will be following the same approach as Australia in rolling out to the banking industry first. Practically, this likely means that organisations who operate in both Australia and NZ should be able to leverage learnings from the Australian CDR in the NZ context.
25 July 2023
Expanding Mainland China NFT platforms into Hong Kong – What do you need to know?
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
The Future of Money: Will Central Bank Digital Currencies reshape the payments industry?
The world is moving into the ‘second wave’ of digital currencies issued by central banks – will they take hold and what does it mean for financial institutions, consumers and businesses worldwide?
19 May 2023
The Future of Money: Around the World in Central Bank Digital Currencies
From Australia’s pilot projects to Jamaica’s JAM-DEX, the UK’s budding Britcoin and China’s ever-expanding e-CNY, there is significant movement in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) globally. Here, we take a journey around the world in CBDCs. Which countries are experimenting? Which have already implemented? And where is there resistance? For more on CBDCs, see our related insight on how they’re reshaping the payments industry.
19 May 2023
Move Fast and Make Things: Edition 3
KWM’s newsletter for venture capital backed companies, smart capital and crypto.
26 April 2023
Merger reform update - ACCC continues calls for mandatory regime
While the ACCC continues to believe that Australia’s current merger laws aren’t fit for purpose, it appears to have refined its thinking on aspects of the proposals first unveiled in August 2021, following comments made by ACCC Commissioner Stephen Ridgeway during a keynote discussion at the Mergermarket M&A Forum Australia today.
16 March 2023
Not by the same token - Treasury releases its Token Mapping consultation
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
Cryptoassets – Basel Regulatory Capital and Prudential Treatment
This article provides a high-level overview (including a visual guide) of the Basel Committee’s final standards on the regulatory capital and prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures, which were published on 16 December 2022 (“Basel Cryptoasset Standards”). Under the new Basel prudential standards, unbacked cryptoassets (such as Bitcoin) and stablecoins with ineffective stabilisation mechanisms will be subject to a conservative regulatory capital and prudential treatment. The globally-agreed implementation date for the Basel Cryptoasset Standards is 1 January 2025.
06 February 2023
Modernising Australia’s financial system - Developing a Strategic Plan for the Payments System
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
Making it through the VC ‘funding winter’: convertible notes and investor-friendly terms become more prominent
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
Move Fast and Make Things: Edition 2
KWM’s newsletter for venture capital backed companies, smart capital and crypto.
26 September 2022
Innovation at Speed: The Evolution of Money and Payments in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has long been an innovator when it comes to moving value at speed: from providing the launchpad for the world’s most used smart card system (Octopus) to implementing one of the earliest regulatory structures for virtual banking globally in 2000 (further enhanced in 2018 as part of a package of smart banking initiatives). Hong Kong also has a longstanding digital equivalence law – critical to digital transactions.
03 August 2022
VC Meets Crypto - 5 Lessons from the Metaverse
The cryptocurrency industry has come a long way in a few short years.
16 May 2022
Themes emerging from recent crypto attacks
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
What is an NFT?
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
Of charlatans and poor choices: how restrictions on crypto assets are growing worldwide
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
Report from Project Atom – Australia’s wholesale CBDC experiment – released
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
China’s digital RMB – is your business ready?
China's launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) has become a question of when and not if. The more important question for businesses is: how do I get ready for a digital RMB? After all, digitising the currency of the world's most populous nation and second largest economy may well be one of the most important changes to the financial system since China invented paper money more than one thousand years ago. In this article, we unpack the key aspects of China's CBDC from an onshore and offshore perspective as it continues to unfold, and provide insight into the key issues to consider in engaging with this refreshed and reimagined currency infrastructure.
27 April 2021
OUR FINTECH, CRYPTO & BLOCKCHAIN INSIGHTS
Crypto custody: ASIC expands its Regulatory Guidance under RG 133
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has reissued Regulatory Guide 133 Funds management and Custodial Services: Holding assets (RG 133).
15 January 2025
Spotlight on crypto tax avoiders: Consultation Paper released on Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework
The Australian Treasury has released a long-awaited consultation paper on Australia’s implementation of the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) (OECD Crypto Rules).
03 December 2024
ASIC v Finder Wallet: the meaning for markets beyond crypto
On 14 March 2024, the Federal Court found that Finder Wallet Pty Ltd (Finder Wallet) did not contravene financial services regulatory obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) in making its “Finder Earn” digital asset product available.
05 April 2024
Block learner: key lessons from the Federal Court’s first crypto enforcement judgment
On 9 February 2024, the Federal Court handed down its judgment in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Web3 Ventures Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 64 (ASIC v Web3 Ventures).
26 February 2024
Funding winter – fixing the damaging valuation gap in APAC’s ailing Fintech companies
Amid a climate of high interest rates and other macroeconomic challenges, are APAC’s Fintech companies really unable to attract new investors and capital?
12 October 2023
Senator Bragg's crypto bill "rejected" by Senate Economics Legislation Committee
As crypto regulations continue to unfold around the world, Australia is currently in the throes of considering the most appropriate model of crypto-asset regulation.
06 September 2023
Non-bank lenders: key issues in the thin capitalisation amendment bill
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
APRA finds gaps in compliance with CPS 234
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
A reminder about FSCODA following recent enforcement action by APRA
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
Expanding Mainland China NFT platforms into Hong Kong – What do you need to know?
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
Fintech regulatory timeline
A timeline of key dates in the Australian fintech regulatory space in 2023 and beyond.
08 May 2023
Cryptocurrency is “property” under Hong Kong law: Part 1 – what are the key implications and what is the judicial position in Mainland China?
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
Move Fast and Make Things: Edition 3
KWM’s newsletter for venture capital backed companies, smart capital and crypto.
26 April 2023
Crypto litigation risk heats up: promoters & VCs on notice
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
How technology is transforming green finance: blockchain carbon credit bonds break new ground
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
Not by the same token - Treasury releases its Token Mapping consultation
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
Consumer Data Right in 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
Modernising Australia’s financial system - Developing a Strategic Plan for the Payments System
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
Not your regular Merger
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
Making it through the VC ‘funding winter’: convertible notes and investor-friendly terms become more prominent
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
Move Fast and Make Things: Edition 2
KWM’s newsletter for venture capital backed companies, smart capital and crypto.
26 September 2022
Crypto's sanctions storm
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
VC Meets Crypto - 5 Lessons from the Metaverse
The cryptocurrency industry has come a long way in a few short years.
16 May 2022
Themes emerging from recent crypto attacks
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
What is an NFT?
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
Of charlatans and poor choices: how restrictions on crypto assets are growing worldwide
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
Report from Project Atom – Australia’s wholesale CBDC experiment – released
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
Trust by design: Balancing accessibility and security in blockchain
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
China's ICO Ban: the future of digital asset transactions
The "10 Things You Need to Know about Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)" published on our WeChat in July lists 10 key points about ICO for market players. However, on 4 September, seven ministries jointly issued an Announcement on Preventing Risks from Token Financing (the "Announcement"). All token financing activities were called off - a sudden death sentence for ICOs in China.
06 September 2017
10 things you need to know about Ethereum
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
10 things you need to know about Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
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
Putting Australia on the blockchain map - Standards Australia releases Roadmap for Blockchain Standards
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
