Australia’s next federal election, set for mid -May, could be a key point of inflection for the participation of the institutional crypto, according to the newly designated CEO of Crypto Exchange OKX Australia.
In a conversation with Cointelegraph, OKX Australia CEO Kate Cooper said one of her hopes for the upcoming election was the introduction of crypto law designed and consulted in the last two years.
In August 2022, the Australian government announced that it will start a series of consultations To industry players, investors and stakeholders to start drafting a Outline of regulation For the cryptocurrency sector.
Source: Kate Cooper
“I think the industry as a whole is screaming for the clarity of regulation and well -regulating,” he said.
There is already a retail of retail users thanks to the current bull market, according to Cooper, but the clarity of the regulation will pour more institutional adoption.
Before Getting The OKX helmet on March 6, Cooper stint at the major Australian banks NAB, where he was executive of digital assets and head of change, and in Westpac as the head of change.
He is also the CEO of Australia of the institutional crypto platform Zodia Custody.
“Certainly, when I was in NAB, the main barrier that really entered or moved beyond the proof-of-concept phase was the clarity of regulation,” he said.
“I think for institutional adoption, we need regulation clarity. I think for consumers’ retail, almost a third of Australians are holding some form of digital assets, most cryptocurrencies; they need protection.”
Government change may be at an end for Australia, with a federal election held on or before May 17.
The two main contenders are the center-right coalition and the current government, the center-left Labor Party. The latest poll of Yougov Shut up The coalition holding a slightly leading to the government of labor, leading to 51% to 49%.
The latest data of Yougov predicts the coalition holding a small lead in the labor government. Source: YouGov
In the meantime, crypto Investors can be an influential bloc of voting.
If the successful party is to enforce the law, Cooper predicts “a proliferation of activity with stablecoins” can be observed.
“Worldwide, we’ve seen 2024 as Stablecoin years, moving to proof-of-concepts and real-world applications,” he said.
“Thinking that there is clarity given to a new framework of regulation, I know in a fact that there are players in Australia who have prepared to jump on that opportunity.”
Related: Australian crypto investors are sitting on the sideways’ for clearer laws: CEO of Swyftx
Stablecoins saw a massive adoption in 2024, with an annual Stablecoin transfer volume of $ 27.6 trillion, exceeding the combined volume of visa and MasterCard by 7.7%, According to a January 31 report of Crypto Exchange CEX.IO.
Cooper said the banking community, for one, is already involved in crypto and digital assets as widely as the first new class of 25 years.
“It’s a long journey, but surely, we see an increase of maturity on the banks that have strengthened. I think we are moving (…) in tangible, real cases of using the world,” he added.
Leading to election, Understand the current ruling party of Australia has no plans To establish a crypto reserve, despite US president Donald Trump The effort has been announced in the United States on March 2.
Cooper said the decision was understood because “Australia has more than one conservative watch and see what other constituents are doing”.
However, he thinks that whatever wins the election, they need to address how Australia will position himself as a leader in the digital economy and create a approach to Capitalize with Blockchain’s Potential.
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