Overview
- ASIC announced on Friday that it has moved the no-action deadline from June 30 to September 30, 2026 to give digital-asset firms more time to seek or amend Australian Financial Services (AFS), market or clearing licences.
- The extended relief now explicitly covers businesses operating through authorised representatives and intermediary arrangements with existing AFS licence holders and remains conditional on notifying ASIC and attending pre-application meetings.
- About 30 licence applications have been received since ASIC updated Information Sheet 225 in October 2025, which clarified that many tokens, stablecoins and tokenised securities can qualify as financial products under the Corporations Act.
- The High Court’s Block Earner ruling reinforced ASIC’s legal view that some crypto products are already financial products, prompting more firms to pursue AFS, market or clearing authorisations even as they use the transition window.
- Firms that do not complete licences by the extended deadline could face enforcement risk during the gap before the Parliament’s Digital Asset Framework takes effect on April 9, 2027, and ASIC has warned many applicants may later need new DAP or TCP permissions.