The Albanese government’s failure to legislate rules for cryptocurrency exchanges, including consumer protections, has left millions of Australians exposed as bitcoin’s dramatic price spike since the US election lures more investors, Coalition senator Andrew Bragg warned on Sunday.

Speaking at the Australian Crypto Convention – which attracted an estimated 10,000 people to the International Convention Centre in Sydney over the weekend – Senator Bragg, who led the push for crypto laws in the Morrison government, said Treasury and Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones had “failed to comprehend the urgency for these reforms”.