Australia’s New Corporations Amendment Act Sets $9.7M Capital Requirement for Crypto Exchanges

Australia’s securities regulator just kicked off a formal consultation on new rules covering capital requirements, custody arrangements, and trading conduct for crypto platforms. The goal is full implementation by April 2027, and the industry has until late November to weigh in.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission released the proposals off the back of the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act, which passed earlier this year. That legislation created the legal scaffolding. Now ASIC is filling in the details — and there are a lot of them. Three separate capital models are on the table. One of them would require platforms to hold at least $9.7 million AUD in net tangible assets. Platforms must report quarterly on the wallet structures and addresses holding customer assets. Records need to be kept for seven years. And offshore custody — meaning assets held by an overseas parent or affiliate — would be permitted, but with a catch: ASIC wants clear emergency access protocols for private keys if that overseas entity runs into trouble. ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said the guidelines reflect digital assets’ growing influence in traditional finance.

Seven years of records. That’s not a light compliance lift.

Custody, Conflicts, and Capital

The offshore custody piece is probably the most nuanced part of the whole package. It’s basically an acknowledgment that crypto is global — platforms aren’t always holding assets in a single jurisdiction, and pretending otherwise wouldn’t work. But ASIC wants safeguards. If the overseas parent collapses or freezes operations, Australian customers need a path to their assets. The consultation is asking the industry to help figure out what that path looks like in practice. No details yet on what ASIC considers an acceptable protocol. Unclear whether existing arrangements would qualify or whether platforms would need to restructure entirely.

On trading conduct, the rules would ban platforms from trading as principal on their own exchange. That’s a direct shot at conflicts of interest — the kind of situation where a platform is essentially playing against its own customers. Order matching platforms specifically would need to keep their own trading activity walled off from client transactions. There’s a carve-out being considered for affiliated market makers, but even that comes with strings. Liam Hennessy, whose name appears in the source material without a firm title, said platforms relying on affiliated market makers may need to rethink their models under the new framework.

That’s a pretty significant operational challenge for some operators.

Industry Welcomes the Framework — With Caveats

The reception from industry has been broadly positive, at least publicly. Amy-Rose Goodey, CEO of the Digital Economy Council of Australia, called it a pivotal moment for regulatory reform and said the focus now shifts to implementation. That’s a diplomatic way of saying the hard work starts here.

See also: Sberbank Authorized for Crypto Trading, Joins VTB on Russias Operator List

OKX Australia CEO Shange Chandra was a bit more direct. She said the proposed standards will reward compliant operators and push harder on those who haven’t invested in getting their houses in order. She also acknowledged that the capital requirements — particularly the $9.7 million AUD net tangible assets model — demand real investment and serious diligence when it comes to handling client money. It’s not a framework designed to be easy to meet. That’s kind of the point.

Platforms that want a license need to apply by October 7, 2027. They can keep operating while ASIC reviews their applications, which gives the industry some runway. But the standards themselves are expected to be finalized by March 2027, a month before the law formally kicks in on April 8, 2027.

What the 18-Month Roadmap Actually Means

ASIC’s plan is structured as an 18-month rollout. Feedback on the consultation closes November 27. From there, the regulator works toward publishing final standards and guidance in March 2027. Then the law goes live April 8. Then licensing applications are due by October 7, 2027. It’s a tight sequence, and operators who are still figuring out which capital model fits their business don’t have a lot of time to sit on the question.

The quarterly custody reporting requirement adds an ongoing compliance layer that’s pretty different from what most crypto platforms have dealt with before. Reporting wallet structures and addresses to a regulator every three months — and maintaining seven years of records — is closer to how traditional financial institutions operate than anything the crypto industry has typically accepted.

More context: Sberbank Approved for Bitcoin Trading, Aiming for 4 Trillion Ruble in Year One

And that’s probably the whole idea. ASIC wants digital asset operators meeting roughly the same level of scrutiny as conventional financial services firms. Whether the industry can get there by April 2027 is the open question.

Feedback is due November 27.