ASIC Grants License Exemptions for Stablecoin Intermediaries in Australia

Australia's Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced significant regulatory relief for stablecoin intermediaries, exempting them from financial services licensing requirements. The financial regulator revealed it has granted class relief for entities distributing stablecoins from licensed issuers in a Thursday announcement. This exemption eliminates the need for intermediaries to obtain separate Australian financial services (AFS) licenses, Australian market licenses, or clearing and settlement facility licenses when handling stablecoins issued by existing AFS license holders. Stablecoins, cryptocurrency tokens pegged to traditional financial assets like fiat currencies, have become central to global cryptocurrency regulation efforts, following similar regulatory developments in markets including the United States and Hong Kong. Australia has demonstrated growing commitment to integrating digital assets into its economic framework, evidenced by this year's Treasury whitepaper outlining government plans to embrace tokenization, real-world assets, and wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to enhance financial market efficiency.