ASIC has opened consultation on licensing, custody and capital rules for crypto platforms in Australia. Applications close 7 October 2027.
Australia's securities regulator opened a consultation on Thursday. It covers the standards crypto exchanges and custody providers will have to meet to keep serving Australian customers.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission published Consultation Paper 392. It proposes standards on holding client assets, running a trading venue and holding enough capital. Feedback runs until 5pm AEDT on 27 November 2026, with final instruments and guidance expected in March 2027.
For anyone holding coins on a platform that serves Australian users, the change arrives in two dates. The new law commences on 8 April 2027. A platform operating on that date must apply for an Australian financial services (AFS) licence, or a variation of one, by 7 October 2027. Firms with an application on file by then can keep trading while ASIC reviews it.
The regime rests on the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026. It passed Parliament on 1 April 2026 and received Royal Assent on 8 April 2026. It creates two new financial products, digital asset platforms (DAPs) and tokenised custody platforms (TCPs). ASIC administers the licensing.
Bringing digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms into the financial services regulatory framework means consumers can have greater confidence when trading digital assets.
That is ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland, in the media release that accompanied the paper.
CP 392 sets out six stages. The paper was released on 15 October 2026 and feedback is due on 27 November 2026. ASIC reviews that feedback between November 2026 and March 2027, then publishes its instruments and guidance in March 2027. The law commences and licence applications open on 8 April 2027. The transition window for existing firms closes on 7 October 2027.
The paper is direct about what the last two dates mean for incumbents. If you are currently operating a platform that will be considered a DAP or a TCP on 8 April 2027, you must apply for an AFS licence or a variation by 7 October 2027. You can keep operating while ASIC assesses the application.
ASIC also proposes to streamline licensing. Existing AFS licensees and businesses that applied in response to Information Sheet 225 could have DAP or TCP authorisations added to what they already hold. It said it has recorded over 140 applications from businesses seeking to provide digital asset-related financial services. More than 110 came in response to INFO 225 during the sector-wide no-action period from October 2025 to 30 September 2026. In June 2026 ASIC extended that no-action deadline to 30 September 2026, describing it as a pragmatic response to industry transition challenges.
The standards are provided for in section 912BE of the Corporations Act, covering asset-holding, and section 912BF, covering transactional and settlement standards. Financial requirements are handled in a similar way to Regulatory Guide 166.
ASIC says the asset-holding standards, built on existing principles in RG 133, would cover holding assets on trust and segregating client assets and money from the operator's own. They would also cover client withdrawal rights and liquidity, and the use and supervision of service providers. Where an operator relies on a non-trust arrangement such as bailment, it would have to show how that arrangement protects clients' interests and rights. That includes protection in an insolvency of the operator or another relevant person.
The transactional and settlement standards would cover an obligation to operate the platform in a fair, orderly and transparent manner. They would also cover execution and trading practices such as best execution, pre and post trade price transparency, listing and admission criteria, supervision of trading, operational resilience, record keeping and settlement arrangements. ASIC assesses that most DAP operators will have to comply, and that some standards may also apply to TCPs. Complying with them is a core obligation for breach reporting under section 912D(3).
They would not apply to custody-only DAPs, to transactions in spot tokenised tangible property tokens or exempt derivatives, or to most of a TCP's operations.
ASIC's financial requirements will likely include a cash needs, or liquidity, requirement, and a net tangible assets (NTA) requirement. The financial requirements would also have to be reviewed regularly by a registered company auditor. It intends to impose the same tailored cash needs and audit requirements as those applying to investor directed portfolio service operators.
Three NTA models are on the table. Model 1 applies where third-party custody conditions are not met. It requires the greater of A$14 million, indexed annually by reference to the consumer price index, or 10% of average revenue.
All three models carry the same concession. It applies where an operator uses a third-party custodian for all of its underlying assets:
Model 3 sets a lower base with fixed add-ons. The add-ons are A$500,000 for a DAP operator acting as an agent, A$750,000 for one operating a neutral trading venue, and A$1 million for one trading as principal with its clients. All three figures are indexed by CPI. The NTA requirements would apply only to licensees authorised to issue, that is operate, DAPs or TCPs.
ASIC says it compared its proposals with minimum capital requirements in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore and Hong Kong. It does not consider its models comparatively disproportionate or burdensome. It also notes that Model 3's lower base and fixed add-ons are designed to accommodate smaller DAPs and TCPs.
Operators would have to keep records of wallet structures, wallet addresses and other information about the control of underlying tokens for at least seven years. They would also report quarterly a list of wallets and addresses holding client assets.
CP 392 is explicit about the limit. The proposed requirement would not ask operators to hand over private keys, seed phrases, authentication credentials or other information capable of authorising a transfer. "We do not seek this type of information," ASIC wrote.
ASIC proposes not to require domestic custody of underlying assets held by DAP and TCP operators. It would allow offshore custody while seeking feedback on whether Australian operators should have emergency access to private keys if an overseas parent or a related company fails. ASIC said such a fallback could help in that situation, but would likely introduce operational complexities and risks for domestic responsible managers. It wants views before deciding.
On stablecoins, ASIC proposes to exclude "restricted stablecoins" from satisfying NTA requirements. A restricted stablecoin would include one that meets the definition of cash or cash equivalents. That covers a stablecoin issued, possessed or held by the licensee, an associated entity, or a person under common control. The proposal applies to all AFS licensees, including firms outside digital assets. It affects only which stablecoins can be used in NTA calculations, not their general business use.
The consultation stays open until 5pm AEDT on 27 November 2026. After that ASIC reviews the feedback, settles its guidance and finalises the instruments. Publication is pencilled in for March 2027, and further consultations are possible if needed. The next hard date for an exchange serving Australian users is 7 October 2027, when the transition window closes.
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