On Monday, June 26, Blockchain Australia introduced Simon Callaghan as the new CEO of the industry’s peak body. Callaghan intends to foster crypto regulations. However, he doesn’t want the region or the regulators to echo the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s blueprint.
Also Read: Australia: Banks Asked to Report Crypto Exposure
According to the new CEO, Australia’s government should look up to the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Singapore for a positive direction. Contrarily, via two recent lawsuits, U.S. regulators deemed a host of tokens to be unregistered securities. Explaining why Australia shouldn’t adopt such an approach, Callaghan said,
“Regulation by enforcement is the equivalent of having a hammer and seeing everything as a nail. I don’t think that’s the right approach for Australia to be taking.”
The executive praised the Hong Kong Monetary Authorities for “encouraging banks to work with the sector.” In fact, he branded that to be the “right approach.”
Also Read: Hong Kong Regulators to Assist Crypto Firms with Banking
Binance Australia, Ripple, Circle, Mastercard looking for regulatory clarity
Callaghan has spent ample time in leading advisory firms in the industry. According to his LinkedIn, he previously worked as the Asia Lead and Head of OTC Markets at Celsius. In fact, he also served as the Vice President for Business Development at Vauld. Callaghan is currently the Digital Assets Program Lead for Cambridge University and is also the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Corporate Service Provider MOOPS Tech.
Callaghan will represent the association’s 112 members in his newly assumed role at Blockchain Australia. Ripple, Binance Australia, Mastercard, and Circle, are a few notable ones. Chalking out how they’re calling for regulatory clarity, the executive said,
“Everyone wants to know where the goalposts are so people can operate their businesses, build their technologies and create jobs.”
Recently blockchain industry experts in Australia called out the crypto restrictions placed by top banks. Blockchain Australia announced recently revealed that it intends to tackle this issue “head-on” by using “real data.” According to the industry body, the blanket restrictions have “very costly side effects.” Callaghan revealed that he has already scheduled meetings “in the coming weeks” with the banks. This is being done to understand their position and school of thought. He added,
“I don’t think you can just blanket everything in crypto as a scam, you actually need to look at the data.”
Also Read: Australia: Crypto Industry Body Mauls Banking Restrictions Imposed