{ "id": 53578, "date": "2025-11-07T09:39:44", "date_gmt": "2025-11-07T02:39:44", "guid": { "rendered": "https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/australia-risks-missed-opportunity-by-shirking-tokenisation-top-regulator\/" }, "modified": "2025-11-07T09:39:44", "modified_gmt": "2025-11-07T02:39:44", "slug": "australia-risks-missed-opportunity-by-shirking-tokenisation-top-regulator", "status": "publish", "type": "post", "link": "https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/en_us\/australia-risks-missed-opportunity-by-shirking-tokenisation-top-regulator\/", "title": { "rendered": "Australia risks \u2018missed opportunity\u2019 by shirking tokenisation: top regulator" }, "content": { "rendered": "
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The head of Australia\u2019s market regulator, Joe Longo, is looking to embrace tokenization in Australia\u2019s capital markets, fearing the country will fall behind if it doesn\u2019t act. <\/p>\n

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Australia\u2019s capital markets risk being outpaced by other countries unless it embraces new technology such as tokenization, says the country\u2019s head market regulator.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs other countries adapt and innovate, there\u2019s a real risk Australia could become the \u2018land of missed opportunity\u2019 or be passive recipients of developments overseas,\u201d Australian Securities and Investments Commission Chair Joe Longo told<\/a> the National Press Club on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe choice is innovate or stagnate \u2014 to evolve or become extinct.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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ASIC Chair Joe Longo delivering a keynote address at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Source: <\/em>National Press Club of Australia<\/em><\/a>
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Over $35.8 billion<\/a> worth of real-world assets<\/a> are currently tokenized onchain, which Boston Consulting Group estimated could rise to $16 trillion by 2030, while McKinsey & Co predicted a more conservative $2 trillion over the same time frame.<\/p>\n

Market regulators in the US have also floated the idea of 24\/7 trading<\/a>, which \u201cmay be more viable in some asset classes than others,\u201d leading finance leaders such as BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to push for the tokenization of everything from stocks and bonds to money market funds as a solution.<\/p>\n

Others outpacing Australia on innovation, says Longo<\/h2>\n

Longo said Australia was an early adoptor of electronic trading systems with the Australian Securities Exchange\u2019s securities settlement system, the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, or CHESS. He noted that the first tokenized bond was issued in Sydney in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, other countries are outpacing us,\u201d he said. \u201cDistributed ledger technology that facilitates asset tokenisation could fundamentally transform our capital markets, in the same way as the introduction of CHESS once did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Longo said he met with US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins<\/a> last month, who made him realize that Australia is in a battle with others to court as much capital as possible to \u201cseize a larger slice\u201d of the rapidly emerging tokenization market.<\/a><\/p>\n

ASIC takes steps to \u201csupport innovation\u201d<\/h2>\n

Longo said the regulator is looking to \u201cdo more to support innovation from the ground up\u201d and will relaunch its Innovation Hub to support innovation by helping startup fintech firms navigate regulations.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>Regulators must protect the architecture of freedom<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

It comes about a week after ASIC released<\/a> its updated guidance on how digital asset innovation should be balanced with investor protection.<\/p>\n