By
Bhushan Akolkar
April 26th, 2024
Recently, Australia has been intensely involved in advertising itself as an epicenter of all crypto-related activities.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the thirty-year-old American entrepreneur and the Chief Executive Officer of FTX, presented the opening statement at 2022’s Blockchain Week. The Blockchain Week was inaugurated at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)’s official headquarters. Giving his speech online from the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried seized the opportunity by launching FTX Australia in his keynote.
The expansion of FTX to different continents around the world, like Europe and Australia, has started getting significant attention off lately. FTX was also the naming rights sponsor for the Blockchain Week event and therefore, the announcement of a unit in Australia through this event was only fitting.
According to the CEO of the company, the past few months have seen immense work in this direction and consequently, the project has been at the top of the company’s list priority-wise. Bankman-Fried wants FTX to be an exchange that is licensed and operated within regulations in as many nations as possible, and hence, the move to open a branch in Australia can be thought of as a part of a major plan.
Recently, Australia has been intensely involved in advertising itself as an epicenter of all crypto-related activities. Government officials like Federal Minister for Financial Services and the Digital Economy Senator Jane Hume claimed that the nation is open for business when it comes to crypto.
In a conference recently, Hume welcomed everyone who wanted to be a frontrunner on the digital end. Her speech resonated with those of Senator Andrew Bragg, who gave the first speech at the conference. Bragg revealed a proposal of legislation to improve rules for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Hume in her speech also associated crypto with the internet of the nineties. She acknowledged the fact that virtual asset technology can contribute more than 2.6 percent to the Australian gross domestic product and generate about two hundred thousand job offers by 2030. Having said that, Hume also explained the importance of having the right kind of regulatory framework that would allow the industry to grow and develop into an indomitable asset.
A survey/ opinion poll that was conducted recently showed that the present government in Australia is amassing relatively low support in comparison to the party in opposition. This might hamper or modify the plans Hume or Bragg has for the crypto space. However, the liberal conduct of the Senator and her colleagues towards the crypto industry will draw more attention from the younger generation, which is more involved in the digital space.