Asic brings relief for intermediaries dabbling in stablecoins

ASIC has granted class relief for intermediaries engaging in the secondary distribution of a stablecoin issued by an Australian financial services (AFS) licensed issuer.

As and when more issuers of eligible stablecoins obtain an AFS licence, ASIC will consider extending the above relief to intermediaries distributing those stablecoins.

ASIC is committed to supporting responsible innovation in the rapidly evolving digital assets space, while ensuring important consumer protections are in place by having eligible stablecoins issued under an AFS licence.

The first-of-its-kind relief exempts intermediaries from the requirement to hold separate AFS, Australian market, or clearing and settlement facility licences when providing services related to stablecoins issued by an AFS licensee.

Intermediaries benefiting from this relief must make the exempt stablecoin’s product disclosure statement available to their clients (where an issuer has prepared a Product Disclosure Statement).

The relief will take effect once registered on the Federal Registration of Legislation.