Australia has introduced a new consumer protection bill that officially brings crypto platforms under financial services regulation.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino submitted the 2025 Corporations Amendment Bill (Digital Asset Framework) to Parliament on Wednesday. The bill designates ASIC as the lead regulator and requires crypto exchanges and custody providers to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.
The framework creates two new product categories — digital asset platforms and tokenized custody platforms — and enforces standards on asset security, trade execution, and customer order handling.
Low-risk platforms holding under AUD 5,000 per customer and processing less than AUD 10 million annually may qualify for exemptions.The government says the bill could generate AUD 24 billion in annual productivity gains, while firms failing to protect client assets could face multi-million-dollar penalties.
A long-dormant whale has moved after nearly three years, selling 200 BTC for about 18.35 million USD
According to Lookonchain, wallet 1CA98y became active again for the first time since 2023 and unloaded 200 BTC today.
The address originally withdrew 400 BTC from OKX on April 1 2023, then worth 11.37 million USD at a price of around 28,432 USD.
Based on today’s sale, the whale’s total profit has exceeded 25 million USD, representing a gain of roughly 223 percent.
Alt5 Sigma Fires Acting CEO and COO Amid Fallout From Rwanda Money-Laundering Case
Alt5 Sigma, a company linked to the Trump family’s crypto project, has fired its acting CEO Jonathan Hugh and COO Ron Pitters, the firm announced on Wednesday. The company said the decision was not related to any specific misconduct.
Alt5 Sigma previously acquired the WLFI digital token in August for 1.5 billion USD from World Liberty Financial. One of its subsidiaries was found guilty of money laundering in Rwanda in May, and a court had ordered the imprisonment of subsidiary head Andre Beauchesne. Alt5 Sigma said its board was unaware of the Rwanda case until late August.
The company also suspended former CEO Peter Tassiopoulos in October. According to filings this week, Alt5 Sigma President Tony Isaac will replace Hugh as acting CEO.
