Policy Event Β· High impact

Coinbase Becomes First Crypto Exchange to Receive Direct AFSL Approval from ASIC

Coinbase has become the first cryptocurrency exchange to receive direct Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) approval from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). This milestone follows Australia's Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 enacted in April 2026, which requires crypto exchanges and custody providers to obtain AFSL. The approval positions Australia as a potential APAC crypto hub alongside Hong Kong and Singapore.

High impactπŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί AustraliaLicensingRegulationExchangeBTCETHCoinbase

APAC FINSTAB analysis

For APAC operators, this creates a high-impact signal around licensing, regulation, exchange in Australia. Protocols/assets in scope: BTC, ETH. Named institutions or platforms: Coinbase. Teams should monitor the original source, map the change to licensing, custody, disclosure, and market-access obligations, and update their jurisdiction playbooks before the next compliance review.

Compliance read-through: map this event to entity licensing, market-access, custody, disclosure, token listing, and operational-risk obligations before expanding or marketing in the affected jurisdiction.

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