The Australian Government announced an ambitious whole-of-government approach to regulating and integrating digital assets into the broader economy, inspired by work done in the European Union (EU) and Singapore.

In a white paper published by the Australian Treasury, the country’s government says it will embrace tokenization, real-world assets (RWAs), and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as part of a broader push to modernize its financial system.

While ruling out a retail CBDC for now, the government sees a wholesale CBDC version and tokenized settlement infrastructure as key to unlocking market efficiency and broader asset access.

The government says that the Australian Treasury, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, as well as the Reserve Bank of Australia are planning to launch pilot trials that use tokenized money, including stablecoins, to settle transactions in wholesale tokenized markets.

«Markets for tokenized assets may be able to increase automation, reduce settlement risk, lessen reliance on multiple financial intermediaries, simplify trading processes, reduce transaction costs, and provide broader access to traditionally illiquid assets,» the report reads.

The white paper also presents a licensing structure for crypto exchanges, which will be known in Australia as Digital Asset Platforms (DAPs).

Operators of DAPs will need to meet financial services obligations such as capital adequacy and disclosure requirements while also using third-party custodians to store customer assets.

The Government is also planning on addressing industry concerns of de-banking through its DAP licensing regime, it said in the white paper, to allow for banking partners to better engage in risk management.

This anti-debanking effort in Australia follows continued U.S. hearings on the topic, where Senator Tim Scott’s FIRM Act seeks to stop regulators from using «reputational risk» to block out crypto firms from accessing banking rails.

Tokyo-based Metaplanet is forming a strategic board of advisors with Eric Trump as one of the appointees, as the company continues to spur bitcoin (BTC) adoption, according to a press release on Friday.

“We are honored to welcome Eric Trump as the first member of our Strategic Board of Advisors and look forward to welcoming him to our annual meeting,” said Simon Gerovich, Representative Director of Metaplanet Inc, in the release.

“His business acumen, love of the Bitcoin community and global hospitality perspective will be invaluable in accelerating Metaplanet’s vision of becoming one of the world’s leading Bitcoin Treasury Companies.”

The newly established board will comprise influential voices, speakers and thought leaders, though Metaplanet did not share specifics.

Trump, son of President Donald Trump, has emerged as a key figure in recent months mainly after his ties to World Liberty Financial, a Trump family crypto venture launched in September 2024. He has since publicly endorsed bitcoin and ether (ETH) investing on X.

Metaplanet holds over 3,200 BTC as of Friday, after their latest reported purchase on March 18 when they acquired an additional 150 BTC for approximately 1.8 billion yen (around $12.5 million at the time).

The Lazarus Group, a hacking group closely associated with North Korean, holds more bitcoin (BTC) than Tesla (TSLA), the electric car manufacturer led by Elon Musk, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.

At press time, Lazarus held 13,441 BTC worth $1.14 billion, according to data source Arkham Intelligence. That’s 16% more than Tesla’s bitcoin stash of 11,509 BTC.

Last month, Lazarus Group struck crypto exchange Bybit, draining $1.4 billion in ether (ETH) from the platform. Recently, some of the stolen funds have been converted into bitcoin, with 12,836 BTC distributed across 9,117 unique wallets, as Bybit’s CEO Ben Zhou confirmed.

Tesla acquired its bitcoin stash four years ago and has been HODLing ever since, making it the world’s fourth-largest publicly listed company in terms of BTC holdings.

The striking contrast between Tesla and Lazarus Group emerged even as President Donald Trump’s positive stance on cryptocurrency has sparked calls for accelerated BTC adoption among corporations and sovereign nations worldwide.

On Thursday, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to making the U.S. the «undisputed Bitcoin superpower and the crypto capital of the world.» Against this backdrop, it will be interesting to see if Tesla and other U.S. corporations respond to being overshadowed by a North Korean hacker.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government holds 198,109 BTC worth over $16 billion, representing coins seized in enforcement actions. Trump recently announced the same as the strategic reserve.

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