Crypto’s legitimacy is increasing as a result of government attention

By Jon Bragg

April 08 2022
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Major developments in regulation and the first stablecoin minted by an Australian bank are adding to crypto’s legitimacy, an expert says.

ANZ’s launch of the first Australian dollar stablecoin is a key contribution to crypto’s legitimacy, according to CMC Markets head of sales & trading APAC Ash Glover.

The bank announced last month that it had successfully executed the first ever Australian-bank issued stablecoin payment pegged to the Australian dollar.

“This is going to go a long way to legitimising cryptocurrencies not just in Australia but around the world,” Mr Glover told nestegg.

“If you’ve got a big four bank in Australia looking to adopt crypto as part of their payment procedures, this is making huge headway for not just the other big four banks, but the second tier banks and business in general, to be able to start taking payments over the blockchain and really getting away from the current fiat payment systems we have in place at the moment.”

Mr Glover suggested that increased attention from governments, regulators and central banks, both locally and internationally, would also help legitimise crypto.

“They’ve been on the outside of crypto for some time,” he said.

“As crypto has exploded over the years, I think they’ve finally realised the writing is on the wall and they’re going to miss the boat if they don’t get involved.”

The Australian government is currently consulting on its proposed licensing and custody regime for crypto providers and has pledged to take “minimalist” action in the emerging sector.

“Again, it goes a long way to legitimising cryptocurrency, and when it comes into that regulatory environment, when consumers feel they’ve got that level of protection in place. I think when the regulators become involved, it does become fully legitimate,” said Mr Glover.

“We’ve just gone through the same thing over the last couple of years in the CFD industry where ASIC had their product intervention order, and that changed the landscape of CFD trading for the better.”

As for his overall outlook for crypto, Mr Glover said he remained positive as a result of ongoing developments in the market.

“I think the space, as it becomes more legitimate over time, is going to develop into something we’ve never seen before, as banks and central banks allow it to be used for payments as well,” he said.

“The space is just going to grow in the future, and I think more altcoins and more focus on NFTs in the short term is what we’re going to see as we move forward through this year at least.”

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