Australia’s corporate regulator has shown crypto platforms what licensing will look like. On October 15, ASIC released Consultation Paper 392, with draft guidance and standards to put the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 into practice. The new laws take effect on April 8, 2027.
The regime covers two kinds of business. Digital asset platforms hold digital tokens for clients and provide related platform services. Tokenised custody platforms record assets held for clients as digital tokens.
Firms will need to apply for, or vary, an Australian financial services licence, and provide customer disclosure documents and platform rules. They will also have to meet standards for asset holding, transactions and settlement, plus net tangible asset requirements where relevant. The guidance also covers existing licensees, market participants, payment providers and other businesses that use or deal with digital assets.
ASIC proposes a streamlined licensing path for existing licensees and for businesses that applied under Information Sheet 225 to add a digital asset or tokenised custody authorisation. It has recorded more than 140 applications from businesses seeking to provide digital asset-related financial services. More than 110 of those came in during its sector-wide no-action period, which ran from October 2025 to September 30, 2026.
“Our approach is based on the principle of ‘same activity, same risk, same regulatory outcome’ to align Australia with the approach of comparable overseas jurisdictions,” said Commissioner Alan Kirkland.
Submissions close at 5pm AEDT on November 27, 2026.
Herald View
The more consequential part of CP 392 is the inclusion of tokenised custody platforms. Licensing for crypto exchanges was expected. Bringing tokenised custody into the same regime means banks, fund administrators and custodians piloting tokenised assets will be held to the same asset-holding and net tangible asset standards as crypto-native firms. The streamlined path for existing licensees and INFO 225 applicants gives established players a timing advantage. For the more than 140 applicants, the capital requirements are the variable to watch. The final net tangible asset levels will decide how many smaller platforms can afford to stay licensed after April 2027.
