ASIC consults on custody, trading and capital standards for digital asset platforms

Serguey Asael Shinder15 October 2026, 06:562 min read

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released Consultation Paper 392 on 15 October 2026, setting out how it plans to implement the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026. The Act brings digital asset platforms (DAPs) and tokenised custody platforms (TCPs) into the financial services licensing regime and, according to ASIC, commences on 9 April 2027.

What is in the 77-page paper. Preliminary draft standards, proposed modifications and relief under the Corporations Act, and a draft regulatory guide for DAPs and TCPs. ASIC stresses that the attached drafts are illustrative and that the final instruments may change considerably; parts of the design also depend on regulations the Government is still preparing.

Selected proposals.

• No domestic custody requirement: ASIC proposes not to require that underlying assets be held in Australia, and asks whether fallback arrangements for emergencies would then be needed.
• Wallet records: operators would keep records of wallet structures, addresses and control arrangements for at least seven years and report to ASIC quarterly a list of wallets and addresses holding client assets.
• Trading conduct: standards would require operators to mitigate trading misconduct; ASIC asks whether a duty to notify it when a platform suspends or removes a client for suspected misconduct could have unintended effects.
• Money and capital: DAP and TCP operators would face tailored cash-needs, audit and net tangible asset requirements, with three alternative approaches to the NTA test out for comment. For licensees dealing as principal, the paper proposes surplus liquid funds of $50,000 plus 5% of adjusted liabilities between $1 million and $100 million and 0.5% above that.
• Stablecoins in capital: ASIC proposes excluding "restricted stablecoins" from what AFS licensees may count towards financial requirements.

Timeline. Comments are due by 27 November 2026 to ASIC's fintech team. ASIC plans to review feedback and settle the guidance between November 2026 and March 2027 and to publish the final instruments and guidance in March 2027.

Source: ASIC, Consultation Paper 392 "Digital asset law reform implementation: Proposed standards and guidance" — https://download.asic.gov.au/media/0pqj5lgc/cp392-published-15-october-2026.pdf