Regulating a new phenomenon: examining the legal nature and taxation of cryptocurrencies in Australia and Singapore

This article discusses the legal nature and taxation of cryptocurrencies in Australia and compares it with Singapore. Singapore as well as Australia is a developed country in relation to the digital economy and e-commerce and one of the leaders in global digital transformation. The Australian economy is arguably less oriented towards international trade than the Singaporean economy however; Australia is one of the major financial centres in Asia-Pacific region. Therefore, this article aims to compare Australian and Singaporean legislative approaches to cryptocurrencies and to identify some strategies helping to facilitate legal solutions to tax treatment of cryptocurrencies. It can be argued that by advancing and streamlining the tax regime related to cryptocurrencies Australia, Singapore and other countries would be able to react to rapid advancement of digital currencies more effectively.