Australia's markets regulator to prioritize shielding citizens from crypto harm

cointelegraph.com:

Australia’s financial regulator, Australia's Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has pledged to put crypto assets and decentralized finance (DeFi) firmly in its sights over the next four years. 

According to ASIC’s newly released “Corporate Plan” released on Aug. 22, the financial regulator said it will be focusing on “digitally enabled misconducts” as “emerging technologies and products change our financial ecosystem” as part of its four-year strategic plan which stretches to 2026. 

Joe Longo, chair of ASIC said the regulator would be focusing in particular on scams and crypto-assets.

“Our regulatory environment is changing and evolving — climate risk, our aging population, emerging data and digital technologies, and significant volatility in the crypto-assets market are all having a transformational impact.”

He noted that Scamwatch, a website that provides information to consumers and businesses about recognizing, avoiding, and reporting scams, received 4,783 reports of crypto investment scams and $99 million in reported losses in 2021.

ASIC said the actions will “protect investors from harms posed by crypto-assets” and include supporting the development of an effective regulatory framework, implementing and monitoring the regulatory model for exchange-related products, and raising public awareness of the risks inherent in crypto-assets and DeFi, among other actions.

In a Aug. 23 Sydney Morning Herald report, Longo again warned against investing in crypto, describing it as "a highly risky and highly volatile activity," and consumers "should be really careful before you do it."

“ASIC is not against innovation, and will do whatever it can to look for lawful ways of using the underlying technology, the distributed