Don’t follow the US: Blockchain Aus CEO hammers ‘regulation by enforcement’
Blockchain Australia’s new CEO Simon Callaghan hopes the Federal Government will take its cues on crypto regulation from the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Singapore — and definitely not the United States.
In his new position, Callaghan aims to steer crypto rule-making in the country and avoid making similar moves to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — which is suing the world’s two largest exchanges and has branded at least 68 tokens as securities.
“Regulation by enforcement is the equivalent of having a hammer and seeing everything as a nail. I don’t think that’s the right approach for Australia to be taking.”
On June 26, Callaghan was announced as the industry peak body’s new CEO. He was most recently the digital assets program lead for Cambridge University and a co-founder of corporate service provider MOOPS Tech.
Callaghan’s previous roles include a year as the Asia lead for crypto lender Celsius as, but he left several months before the firm’s collapse. He has also had a brief stint at crypto lender Vauld.
His appointment comes after nearly a year of limbo following the departure of former CEO and industry advocate Steve Vallas in July 2022. The CEO role was briefly filled by Laura Mercurio in September last year, but she parted ways with the organization just weeks later over a difference of vision, effectively leaving Australia’s blockchain industry without an advocate for the better part of a year.
In his new role, Callaghan will represent the association’s 112 members, including Binance Australia, Circle, Ripple, and Mastercard, all of who are calling for clearer regulation, adding:
The Australian government has not taken a hardline stance on crypto, unlike American regulators and the Biden administration,
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