Independent Reserve welcomes action on regulatory reform to protect Aussie crypto investors

Australian cryptocurrency exchange, Independent Reserve, has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement to deliver a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for digital assets that protects Australian consumers, but warns more must be done, faster.

The move follows the collapse of one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX, last week. Independent Reserve CEO, Adrian Przelozny, said, “The FTX situation is very disappointing for the whole industry. It highlights the urgent need for greater transparency and accountability, and for a regulatory framework to protect consumers.

“We commend the Federal Government on its intention to introduce reforms next year – what we need is less talk and more action, and we need it now,” he said.

In 2021, The Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre, chaired by Senator Bragg, handed down a set of recommendations which – if adopted – would revolutionise the Australian crypto sector and improve consumer protection, therefore driving innovation, confidence, and growth in the industry.

“The Albanese Government now has a unique opportunity to enable Australia to be a worldleading digital economy and society. The introduction of stronger regulation and policy change will drive investment, provide certainty to the sector and ultimately, increase

consumer protection. There is no better time than now for them to lead the way with these reforms. But they need to move on it as a matter of focus – the time for talk is over, the time for action is now,” he said.

“As more Australians invest in digital assets, it’s critical that we have a robust and competitive regulatory, tax and policy framework that deals with these assets. We must take urgent action to ensure that what happened with FTX cannot happen here in Australia.

“For consumers to have recourse in a situation such as this, custody must be done onshore, in Australia, by a qualified team adhering to a strict set of risk policies with external oversight by independent auditors.

“For too long, investors have had to weigh up access to the growth of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies with the risks of investing in a largely unregulated environment. Australian investors deserve better,” he said.

“I’m pleased to be able to reassure Independent Reserve customers that there is no impact to them from recent events. We have no exposure to FTX or the FTT token.

“We have always taken a conservative approach in managing our business and client assets. This includes:

• Keeping full reserves of all client assets.
• Keeping the vast majority of client assets in offline cold storage vaults.
• Not commingling Independent Reserve’s digital assets and funds with those of our clients.
• Undergoing regular financial audits to obtain external assurance. We are ISO27001 certified as assurance of our processes and security protocols.

We have done this voluntarily,” he said.