DFCRC: “Australia to miss out on a $17bn opportunity… urgent need for digital asset regulation”

Australia could generate annual economic benefits worth A$24bn by developing digital assets and the tokenisation market, but may miss out on most of that opportunity if regulatory reforms are delayed, an analysis finds.

According to a report by Cointelegraph on the 3rd (local time), the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) said in its report, “Unlocking Australia’s A$24bn Digital Finance Opportunity,” that without a clear regulatory framework, constraints on the growth of related industries are unavoidable. A$24bn is equivalent to about $17bn.

The report cited regulatory uncertainty, lack of coordination among agencies, and the absence of pathways to scale pilot projects as key impediments. As a remedy, it proposed introducing a regulatory sandbox that would allow testing of tokenised financial-market use cases. This, it said, would strengthen collaboration between regulators and the industry and improve licensing regimes.

It also called for introducing tokenised government bonds and wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) within the sandbox to spur development in the tokenisation market, collateralised lending, repos, and related financial services.

DFCRC assessed that tokenisation can generate trade gains by expanding investor access, deepening liquidity, and increasing market participation. It explained that tokenised money such as stablecoins and CBDCs can streamline cross-border and domestic payments to reduce costs, while smart contracts can also enable automated collateral management.

The report said, “Nearly half of the asset-related economic benefits arise from implementing collateralised lending, repos, and accounts receivable financing on tokenisation infrastructure.”

However, the outlook could change markedly if regulations are not improved. DFCRC estimated that if current trends persist, Australia’s annual economic gains by 2030 would be limited to A$1bn—about $710m.

Kate Cooper, CEO of OKX, said, “The long-term economic impact can only be realised with a clear regulatory framework and institutional-grade infrastructure,” adding, “That is the path to building trust, attracting capital, and securing Australia’s place in the next global financial order.”