Australian Cryptocurrency Market Heats Up: ETF Expansion and Regulatory Reforms Running Parallel, Bank Restrictions Still to Be Overcome

XRP-1.05%
ETH-1.99%

On February 27, during the XRP Australia 2026 event in Sydney, several industry executives stated that Australia’s cryptocurrency market has made significant progress in user growth and regulatory communication, but bank restrictions and legal uncertainties still pose practical obstacles.

John O’Loghlen, Managing Director of the US’s largest compliant CEX in the Asia-Pacific region, pointed out that the Australian Treasury and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have strengthened digital asset industry capabilities, leading to more professional regulatory discussions. At the same time, products like spot Bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs have provided institutional investors with clearer compliant pathways for participation.

Market data also shows increased penetration. The 2025 report from Independent Reserve states that 31% of Australians hold or use crypto assets, up from 28% in 2024, with another 29% of respondents planning to allocate related assets in the next year.

Kate Cooper, head of a CEX in Australia, said that self-managed super funds (SMSFs) trustees and high-net-worth investors are becoming the main drivers of growth. Many newly established SMSFs are focused on investing in digital assets to diversify their portfolios.

However, the issue of bank “de-risking” remains unresolved. Cooper admitted that crypto businesses still face restrictions in accessing banking services. O’Loghlen called for avoiding including non-custodial wallet developers and public blockchain infrastructure providers in licensing frameworks for intermediaries when advancing payment service regulatory reforms.

Additionally, the lawsuit between Block Earner and ASIC is still under appeal, and legal boundaries have not been fully clarified. With changes in the political cycle, the pace of related legislation may also vary. The Australian crypto industry is entering a more cautious development phase amid the ongoing struggle between user expansion and compliance.

View Original
Disclaimer: The information on this page may come from third parties and does not represent the views or opinions of Gate. The content displayed on this page is for reference only and does not constitute any financial, investment, or legal advice. Gate does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information and shall not be liable for any losses arising from the use of this information. Virtual asset investments carry high risks and are subject to significant price volatility. You may lose all of your invested principal. Please fully understand the relevant risks and make prudent decisions based on your own financial situation and risk tolerance. For details, please refer to Disclaimer.

Related Articles

Bitwise donates $100,000 to Ethereum open-source developers

Bitwise Asset Management announces a $100,000 donation to Ethereum open-source developers to support Protocol Guild and PBS Foundation. This is part of Bitwise's annual support for open-source developers, which previously included a $233,000 donation to Bitcoin developers.

GateNews6m ago

Bit Digital: As of the end of February, Ethereum holdings increased to 155,434.4 ETH, valued at over $305 million

ChainCatcher News, according to PRNewswire, the Nasdaq-listed Ethereum treasury company Bit Digital released a holdings update report. As of today, the company's Ethereum holdings have increased to 155,434.4 ETH, valued at approximately $305.4 million, with an average purchase price of $3,045. Additionally, the company disclosed that as of today, a total of 138,2696 ETH have been staked, accounting for about 89% of its total holdings, generating approximately 313.9 ETH in staking rewards.

GateNews10m ago

The market declines again, and the whale that rebounded and accumulated $14.54 million worth of ETH on 02.26 is now reducing its holdings.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that according to Ai Aunt monitoring, the market has declined again, and the large whale who rebounded and accumulated on 02.26 with 14.54 million USD worth of ETH is reducing their holdings. An hour ago, they sold 4,000 ETH on-chain at an average price of 2077.39 USD (valued at 8.309 million USD), with a previous one-week accumulation price of 2075.45 USD. Therefore, this sale only yielded a profit of 7,760 USD. Currently, they still hold 3,008 ETH on-chain.

GateNews36m ago

ETH short-term upward movement of 0.99%: Driven by whale inflows and external capital transfers, a structural rebound

From 01:30 to 01:45 (UTC) on March 6, 2026, ETH achieved a return of +0.99% within 15 minutes, with a price range of 2065.42 to 2088.57 USDT, and an amplitude of 1.12%. The volatility during this window was significantly higher than the daily average, increasing short-term market attention. Liquidity was relatively low, and some large transactions drove the trading volume upward. The main driver of this abnormal movement was the concentrated inflow of whale funds into decentralized exchanges and large transfers. On-chain monitoring detected multiple large ETH fund inflows into DeFi protocols and trading platforms, effectively pushing

GateNews41m ago

Data: In the past 24 hours, the entire network has been liquidated by $252 million, with long positions liquidated by $170 million and short positions liquidated by $81.7741 million.

ChainCatcher message, according to Coinglass data, in the past 24 hours, the entire network experienced liquidations of $252 million, with long positions liquidated at $170 million and short positions at $81.77 million. Among them, Bitcoin long positions liquidated at $69.2463 million, Bitcoin short positions at $27.4732 million, Ethereum long positions at $36.4551 million, and Ethereum short positions at $22.6325 million.

GateNews58m ago

Bitcoin drops to $70,600, Ethereum holds at 2,055. Analysts: Bull market score is only 10; don't put too much faith in this rebound.

Bitcoin has recently continued to hit new lows, currently trading at $70,923, and CryptoQuant has warned that the recent rebound is only a short-term rally in a bear market, with a bull market score of only 10 points. The US stock market has declined across the board, and the crypto market is also under pressure. The future trend depends on whether spot demand turns positive. There are multiple scenarios in the market, including possible sideways consolidation or a drop to the $56,000-$60,000 support zone. Ethereum has shown relative strength in this wave of market movement, but if Bitcoin continues to decline, its support levels will need to be observed.

動區BlockTempo1h ago
Comment
0/400
No comments