Australia pushes draft law to adopt OECD crypto tax reporting standard, with first international data exchanges slated for 2028

Australia has unveiled a draft bill to implement the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), paving the way for automatic international exchange of crypto tax information starting in 2028.

The Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2026 is open for public comment until Oct. 28 and forms part of Australia’s commitment alongside 77 jurisdictions to adopt CARF, following earlier consultations in late 2023 and 2024 and the government’s 2025-26 fiscal outlook that forecast the first cross‑border data swaps.

Ex-Trump crypto adviser Bo Hines retained a one‑third stake in Nxum, the firm that netted US$6.3 million from Tether while he lobbied for the GENIUS stablecoin bill, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The disclosure highlights a potential conflict of interest, showing how the stablecoin legislation directly benefited a company tied to the former White House adviser, who kept in touch with partners via Signal during his government tenure.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a firm co‑founded by Bo Hines, former crypto advisor to Donald Trump, profited after helping secure passage of the GENIUS Act on stablecoins.

The development raises questions about the influence of former administration officials on crypto policy, even as the GENIUS Act seeks to create a clearer regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States.

Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Crypto Council, confirmed his departure after nearly two years in the Trump administration, stripping the White House crypto bill of its key negotiator.

His exit comes as the administration’s flagship digital-asset legislation stalls in Congress, raising questions about the future of Trump’s crypto agenda and feeding today’s crypto news with speculation over regulatory delays.

Sweden’s Riksbank has urged parliament to start drafting legislation for a potential digital krona, warning that the nation’s payment infrastructure could fall behind as the ECB advances its digital euro and stablecoin usage rises.

In an Oct. 7 letter to the Finance Committee, the central bank pointed to the ECB’s planned digital euro pilot in 2027 and a possible public launch in 2029, stressing that without a comparable digital krona Sweden risks losing competitiveness in domestic payments amid growing foreign‑currency stablecoin adoption.

Australia is set to enforce a A$14 million capital requirement for crypto custodians, introducing a A$200,000 custody floor alongside asset and revenue tests.

The move is part of a broader regulatory crackdown aimed at boosting transparency and curbing risk in the digital asset space, potentially pushing smaller operators out of the market or driving them to partner with larger firms capable of meeting the new compliance standards.