Labor urged to champion crypto following US election

Coalition MPs are calling for Australia to embrace cryptocurrency and deliver the online form of money ‘legal certainty’, as Donald Trump’s victory with the backing of blockchain investors sets the American economy on a new course.

Republican president-elect Donald Trump gives a keynote speech on the third day of the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. Picture: Getty Images

Coalition MPs are calling for Australia to embrace cryptocurrency and deliver the online form of money “legal certainty”, as Donald Trump’s victory in the US election with the backing of blockchain investors sets the American economy on a new course.

The call for Australia to better accommodate the crypto industry – which reportedly spent more than $200m in the US election and is increasingly finding allies in the Republican Party – comes as Jim Chalmers warns Australia has “more at stake than most” when it comes to international trade wars.

In a speech to the Tech Council summit in Melbourne, Liberal MP Simon Kennedy voiced support for the sector and called for clearer regulation from the government.

At the same event, major crypto exchange Coinbase on Monday helped launch Stand With Crypto, a crypto advocacy group whose analog in the US directed millions in campaign donations and scored candidates up and down the ballot by how crypto-friendly they were. It gave Mr Trump an A and Joe Biden a D.

Despite support from the traditionally left-wing Silicon Valley, some crypto bosses are at war with the Biden White House because of what they see as excessive regulation.

Some figures in Mr Trump’s orbit are strong supporters of crypto, including Elon Musk and the vice-president-elect, JD Vance. Mr Trump himself launched a crypto venture earlier this year and said it would help make the US into the “crypto capital of the world”.

Mr Trump’s poll win sparked concerns the Republican’s intention to impose a suite of hefty tariffs, particularly on China, would have a range of flow-on effects on the Australian economy.

In a speech to the Australian Institute of International Affairs, the Treasurer said Australia urgently needed to look at “de-risking” and protecting its supply chains.

“De-risking is legitimate, it can be warranted, it can be made necessary because of unreliable supply chains or other forms of economic or geopolitical tension,” Dr Chalmers said. “Nobody wins from a trade war, but we have more at stake than most.”

Despite this, he said it was imperative Australia didn’t completely “de-couple” itself from countries like China and the US.

“Because of our outward-facing economy, decoupling could limit our markets and constrain our growth,” he said.

Stand With Crypto’s website says it wants to “advocate for fair regulation” and “educate policymakers, businesses and public on blockchain benefits”.

“Together, we can shape the future of blockchain technology and drive meaningful change.”

Mr Kennedy, who replaced Scott Morrison in the NSW seat of Cook, told the event the crypto sector hadn’t got the regulatory certainty it had been “crying out for” because of a “lack of government leadership”.

“Australia must act now,” Mr Kennedy said.

“Australia must provide regulatory certainty to the homegrown blockchain industry.

“The government has failed to progress regulation to protect consumers and encourage blockchain innovation to grow jobs.”

He spruiked the Coalition’s record on crypto and called for a licensing framework to regulate digital asset platforms and payment service providers.

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has long been advocating for crypto and has previously introduced a bill on the matter.

“I think that the crypto industry knows that if we are elected, that we will deliver legal certainty,” Senator Bragg said.

“We’re yet to announce all the details of our policy, but we have a strong policy for the last election … and that remains our starting point.”

Opposition financial services spokesman Luke Howarth said he had consulted with figures in the crypto industry who had told him they were not making progress in conversations with Labor.

“When I’ve spoken to a few people in the industry, they’re not happy with Labor, they can’t get in to see them or talk to them,” he said.

Liberal MP Aaron Violi said it was clear the Albanese government had “no interest in developing or supporting the tech sector” in Australia and pointed to how it did not appoint a minister for the digital economy.

“Many of the economic challenges we face today can be unlocked through the growth of the tech sector,” he said.

The Labor government’s special envoy for digital resilience, Andrew Charlton, told The Australian that the government was “committed to creating a strong digital assets industry”. “Australia can’t be left behind – crypto is not only an important financial asset, the technology underneath it will be transformative for the finance industry,” he said.

The government in late 2023 opened up submissions on regulating digital asset platforms to address “consumer harms in the crypto ecosystem” but submissions have not yet been published.