Coinbase Becomes First Crypto Exchange to Secure AFSL Licence in Australia

Coinbase, the largest publicly listed cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has been granted an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) with retail derivatives authorisation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The company says it is the first crypto exchange to receive the approval directly from the regulator, and has flagged plans to expand into equity trading and payments in Australia off the back of the licence.

The announcement, made on 8 April 2026, comes just one week after Australia’s landmark Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 cleared both houses of Parliament on 1 April. That legislation, which now awaits royal assent, will require all crypto exchanges and digital asset custody providers operating above defined thresholds to hold an AFSL — bringing them under the same regulatory obligations as traditional brokers and fund managers.

Coinbase’s APAC Managing Director and Australian Country Director, John O’Loghlen, has been a consistent voice in shaping the country’s approach to digital asset regulation. When the bill passed Parliament last week, O’Loghlen described it as a defining moment for the industry, while urging the government to maintain momentum on broader reforms. He said the legislation holds digital asset exchanges to the same operating standards as other financial services providers and gives consumers greater confidence to transact in crypto assets.

O’Loghlen also called on Canberra to prioritise the development of a stablecoin framework and broader tokenisation reforms, signalling that while the bill strengthens Australia’s standing in the global digital economy, the job is far from finished.

A regulatory journey years in the making

The AFSL licence represents the culmination of a years-long engagement between Coinbase and Australian regulators. O’Loghlen, a New Zealand native based in Sydney, joined Coinbase in 2022 after leading the expansion of Alibaba Group and Ant Group across Australia and New Zealand. He previously spent more than a decade in China building businesses in the food delivery space, following an earlier career in investment banking with Goldman Sachs in London, New York, and Beijing.

Under his leadership, Coinbase Australia introduced PayID for direct Australian dollar transfers, rolled out Retail Advanced Trading for local customers, and launched 24/7 in-app chat support — incremental steps toward building a fully localised product offering. The AFSL licence now opens the door to a significantly broader suite of regulated financial services, including equity trading and payments.

Coinbase executives have been actively engaged with the Australian Treasury on policy consultations dating back to at least 2023, contributing to discussions around token mapping, custody best practices, cybersecurity, privacy, and digital identity frameworks.

The Digital Assets Framework Bill

The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025, introduced by Assistant Treasurer and Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino in November 2025, creates two new regulated categories under the Corporations Act: Digital Asset Platforms (DAPs), which hold crypto on behalf of users, and Tokenised Custody Platforms (TCPs), which hold real-world assets and issue corresponding digital tokens.

Operators of both must obtain an AFSL from ASIC, bringing them under the same core rules as brokers or fund managers, including requirements to safeguard client assets, provide standardised disclosures, avoid misleading conduct, and maintain dispute resolution and compensation systems.

Rather than attempting to regulate crypto assets themselves, the law targets the intermediaries that control customer funds, aiming to reduce risks such as commingling, insolvency, and misuse of assets — failures that have cost investors billions globally in the wake of collapses like FTX.

The bill includes a proportionality mechanism. Platforms with annual transaction volumes below AUD 10 million (roughly USD 7 million) are exempt from the strictest licensing requirements, a carve-out designed to protect smaller innovators while ensuring the largest operators meet rigorous compliance standards.

Of the approximately 400 crypto platforms registered with AUSTRAC in Australia, only a fraction currently hold ASIC authorisation. The new law is expected to dramatically reshape that landscape over the 18-month transition period following royal assent.

Industry reaction

The broader Australian crypto industry has largely welcomed the regulatory clarity. OKX Australia CEO Kate Cooper called the bill’s passage a pivotal moment that lays the foundation for institutional participation. Robert Francis, managing director of eToro Australia, said bringing digital assets under ASIC regulation provides the confidence many investors have been waiting for, adding that it should encourage institutions and older investors to view crypto as a legitimate investment opportunity.

Crypto.com‘s Australian general manager, Vakul Talwar, expressed optimism that the licensing process would become more efficient for subsequent applicants now that the legislative framework is in place.

However, not all concerns have been resolved. Advocacy group Stand With Crypto Australia noted that while the bill gives users long-overdue certainty and protections, debanking remains a serious and unresolved problem for crypto businesses across the country. The persistent difficulty crypto firms face in securing and maintaining banking relationships has been a recurring friction point — one that Coinbase itself has raised publicly.

Legal experts have also flagged potential issues with the bill’s terminology. Firms such as Piper Alderman have argued that broad definitions around “digital token” and “factual control” could inadvertently classify software developers and multi-party computation providers as regulated custodians, a concern that may require further refinement as ASIC develops its guidance.

Australia in the global context

Australia’s approach — integrating crypto into the existing financial services framework rather than building a parallel regime — positions it alongside jurisdictions like the European Union, which implemented its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation last year, and Singapore, which has maintained a proactive licensing stance through its Monetary Authority.

Policymakers see the framework as a way to capture a larger share of what is estimated to be an AUD 24 billion annual digital finance opportunity. For Coinbase, which now operates in over 10 regulated markets globally including the US, UK, Germany, France, Ireland, Singapore, and Brazil, Australia represents a strategically important market in the Asia-Pacific region.

With the AFSL licence secured and plans for equity trading and payments on the horizon, Coinbase is betting that regulatory legitimacy will be the key differentiator in a market where consumer trust and institutional participation are still developing. Whether the rest of the industry can clear the same bar — and whether Canberra delivers on the outstanding stablecoin and tokenisation reforms — will determine whether Australia truly becomes the APAC crypto hub its regulators and industry leaders are banking on.