SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, October 16, 2026—What would need to happen for a cryptocurrency exchange to operate in Australia if the authorities required that company to have at least A$14 million in assets? For certain exchanges, the answer could be a determining factor when pursuing expansion, restructuring, or abandoning the market.
Australia’s financial regulator is considering the very same requirement in the context of significant reforms it is implementing to provide additional protections for customers while moving closer to traditional finance standards in its regulation of digital-asset businesses.
On October 15, 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published its Consultation Paper 392, outlining the need for stricter financial, custody, and trading requirements for digital asset exchanges and tokenized custody providers. However, the A$14 million requirement is currently only necessary at this stage.
The establishment of such a financial hurdle could impact the crypto sector in Australia
According to ASIC’s first capital proposal, exchanges that are not entitled to use the third-party custody concession will have to maintain positive tangible assets equal to A$14 million or 10% of average income, whichever is higher.
The regulator is evaluating two alternative models with initial capital requirements of A$7 million and A$2 million, respectively. Therefore, the final configuration may have a significant impact on which firms will be able to use the new regime.
Smaller exchanges have another possibility. Platforms of the services of independent custodians may have the starting requirement of A$200,000, but it depends on other calculations involving assets and average revenues.
Customer protection takes the lead
Proposed changes go beyond the issue of capital. The ASIC is prepared to introduce stricter control over clients’ funds, improve record keeping, ensure regular reporting of crypto wallet schemes, and provide clearer disclosure of risks related to custody. Companies will also be prohibited from trading with their customers and will have to follow steps aimed at avoiding a preferential treatment of certain tokens.
The regulator’s approach is based on the principle of “same activity, same risk, same regulatory outcome.”
The need for more defined regulations is already apparent. ASIC has gotten over 140 requests from companies wanting approval to supply financial services dealing with digital currencies up until October 2026, out of which 110 have been received during the interim exemption period ending on September 30, 2026.
Countdown towards 2027
ASIC is getting inputs from the players in the trade until 5:00 PM AEDT on November 27, 2026. The final guidance statement and the regulation would be made public by March 2027, ahead of the new regulatory regime coming into effect on April 8, 2027.
The question to be asked is if Australia is in a position to enhance the public’s confidence without monopolizing the industry in favour of a select few players in the locomotive sector of the industry. For exchanges dealing with virtual currencies, the following six months could prove to be critical in finding out whether it will be possible to use compliance as a stepping point for successful development or will incur a cost that not all small firms can pay.
