Australia weighs tighter rules for digital asset-settled payment derivatives

Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission has proposed applying leverage caps and retail investor protection rules to some cryptocurrency-settled contracts for difference products, Cointelegraph reported. The regulator plans to extend existing CFD rules, which now apply to cash-settled contracts or those settled by offsetting obligations between counterparties, to contracts settled through digital asset transfers. Contracts could fall under the rules if they meet CFD requirements even when the underlying asset is not a cryptocurrency. Some crypto futures and options contracts with fixed expiry dates would be excluded. Public comments will be accepted through Nov. 9, according to Cointelegraph.