The Australian government’s Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology has released a draft report that mentioned blockchain technology more than 50 times. The report is in response to the country’s first recession in 30 years as a result of the global pandemic, which was confirmed in the June quarter’s negative growth announced on September 2. The report mentions many recommendations about how the nation can “embrace technology and become globally competitive,” said committee head, Senator Andrew Bragg.
Blockchain’s potential is estimated at $175 billion annually within five years.
Committee head Senator Andrew Bragg said that it is his hope this interim report can be seen as a series of quick wins: new jobs and more choices. There are dozens of references to blockchain and distributed ledger technology in the report. The report also cites submissions to the committee that blockchain’s potential is “estimated at $175 billion annually within five years and $3 trillion by 2030”. The report quoted Piper Alderman partner Michael Bacina as saying blockchain’s use cases would grow exponentially across the financial and regulatory sectors in the future.
The tax treatment of Initial Coin Offerings was also addressed in the report.
The tax treatment of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) was explicitly addressed with the recommendation that the regulatory framework around ICOs should be developed to encourage blockchain development rather than inhibit it. Power Ledger’s co-founder and Executive Chairman, Dr. Jemma Green, highlighted that more than $26 billion had been raised through ICOs. However, Australia has captured less than one percent of this value. Other use-cases for blockchain cited include digital ledger as a reporting and management tool for property data and investments, and within the credentialing sector.
Several other countries are also exploring different use cases of blockchain technology in different sectors. The Russian government recently revealed that they would use the blockchain tech in the upcoming local elections, as Sahil Kohli reported.
