Meme coins are falling through Australia's regulatory cracks
Meme coins are increasingly becoming tools for everything from self-enrichment to fundraising in the United States. In Australia, however, oversight is limited.
Donald Trump’s launch of his own cryptocurrency, $TRUMP, just days before his inauguration has sparked a wave of high-profile 'meme coins' — including from figures such as Elon Musk’s father and the founder of Vine.
While the US administration’s stance on cryptocurrency is becoming clearer, meme coins remain a conspicuous gap in Australian financial regulation.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) “current view”, a spokesperson said, “is that memecoins are unlikely to be considered financial products and regulated by ASIC".
In the absence of new cryptocurrency legislation, ASIC has been targeting crypto products or companies it believes breach existing financial product regulations. Meme coins, which are experiencing a surge in trading volume and attention, are not expected to be a focus for the regulator, the spokesperson said.
