Crypto is just finance with new plumbing - Australia’s ASIC fintech chief

Dr. Rhys Bollen, ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader for FinTech, has argued that digital assets should be regulated based on their "economic substance" rather than their technological form. In a March 2026 paper, Bollen asserted that crypto does not disrupt fundamental financial functions like capital allocation or risk management, and should therefore be integrated into Australia's existing Corporations Act framework rather than being treated as a separate, discrete asset class.