Australia could unlock up to $17 billion annually from digital asset markets, but significant regulatory hurdles must be cleared first, according to a new industry report. The Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre warns that without action, projected gains could be dramatically lower.
Australia faces regulatory uncertainty and coordination challenges that are constraining its digital finance industry, according to a new report from the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre. The research group, which produced the report with the Digital Economy Council of Australia, stated that establishing a regulatory sandbox for testing technology like tokenized financial markets is one potential solution.
The report, financed by crypto exchange OKX, estimates that streamlined regulations could help Australia secure significant economic gains from several areas. These include more efficient markets with broader investor access, as well as streamlined cross-border payments using tokenized money like stablecoins.
Nearly half of the potential asset-related gains are predicted to come from collateralized lending and financing markets operating on tokenized systems. “Nearly half of the asset-related economic gains arise from enabling collateralized lending, repo, and invoice financing markets on tokenized rails, where smart contracts automate collateral management, margining, and settlement,” the report states.
Kate Cooper, the CEO of OKX, emphasized that the projected benefits depend on regulatory progress. Cooper said that “Long-term economic benefits will only be realised through clear regulatory frameworks and infrastructure built to institutional standards.”
On the current trajectory, the DFCRC estimates Australia will secure only about $710 million in economic gains from crypto by 2030, a fraction of the potential $17 billion annual opportunity. The report suggests that deploying tokenized government bonds and a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a sandbox could underpin market development.
