By Paul Clifford, Senior Adviser at Six O’Clock Advisory

14 April 2026

The Australian crypto industry has taken a major step towards achieving what it’s long been seeking. Mainstream legitimacy.

Last week, The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill passed both houses of Parliament, and with it came the regulatory clarity that the industry has spent years chasing.

There’s more work to do, of course, but it’s worth reflecting on what it means for the industry and how it can ensure it wins in a new world.

In addition to changing what digital currency businesses can do, the legislation alters what is expected of them. Platforms holding client assets will be held to the same standards as brokers and fund managers. Precisely where the industry wants to be if it’s to break the shackles and expand its horizons.

While performance in financial services is essentially about the quality of the product, it’s also about trust as it relates to everyday Australians who might invest, for instos allocating capital, for the talent the industry needs to attract, and for policymakers who shape the operating environment.

Trust is built through actions, and enabled by communication. Each requires unrelenting focus and consistency and, arguably, the communication side of the ledger is where the hardest work now lies. That’s because much of the Australian crypto sector has developed its communication instincts in what it sees as a ‘hostile’ environment, underpinned by a dynamic of regulation by enforcement.

In that climate, keeping a low profile has been a rational strategy for many crypto leaders. It’s made sense to be somewhat defensive, essentially inward-facing, and primarily speaking to believers rather than sceptics. The newly-minted Digital Assets Framework paves the way for a change to that mindset, and the industry needs to acknowledge and embrace the opportunity.

In that sense, the US market is a useful reference point.

The arrival of the current ‘pro-crypto’ administration brought with it a noticeable change to the posture of the industry’s leaders, with many showing a greater willingness to engage openly and to make the affirmative case for blockchain technology rather than simply defend its right to exist.

The same opportunity is now afforded to Australia’s digital asset leaders, because the true benefits of crypto will be realised in this market if the sector can explain what it does, why it matters, and what it can offer so-called mainstream investors.

Here’s how the opportunity can be realised:

1. Move early and decisively to expand your audience

The market should no longer be defined within the confines of ‘crypto natives’ and ‘early adopters’. The new regulatory environment opens the door to audiences which have been traditionally hard to shift including institutional investors, mainstream media, and the retail investment market. Each has varying levels of understanding, their own perspective, and a different threshold for what earns their trust. Acknowledging and addressing their respective concerns, perceptions, and motivations is key to breaking the nexus

2. Meet challenging conversations head-on

The tendency to avoid media outlets and financial markets forums which are perceived as, and may well be, anti-crypto is not unique to the sector. While it might feel like the safe approach, it creates a vacuum that’s ultimately filled by dissenting, sometimes less-informed voices.

The goal isn’t necessarily to change minds, it’s about playing to the fundamental principle of any properly-functioning investor market… that it operates on a fully and appropriately informed basis at all times.

3. Have a view and be prepared to advance it

We’re living in an era of information overload, thanks primarily to the rise and rise of AI-generated content. In that context, the way to cut-through, and to ensure that the message is heard, is to have and prosecute a meaningful, considered perspective on the issues that matter to the market.

Fence-sitting or parroting consensus positions might steer the ship clear of counterviews or even criticism, but it won’t cut-through the mire in an intensely-competitive environment. Leaders with a consistent and credible point of view will rise above noise.

4. Bring evidence rather than enthusiasm

The evangelical posture of some voices across the digital assets sector has created genuine scepticism among segments of business, media and government – the very people that the industry needs on-side or, at least, willing to listen and take a balanced view.

A well-chosen insight or statistic is worth more than ten assertions about transforming the financial system. For leaders who want to be taken seriously by mainstream investor audiences, evidence should always be the priority.

5. Don’t wait for the ‘perfect’ moment

While there might be a temptation to see how things play out in a new legislative environment, particularly given the prevailing uncertainty in global markets, the opportunity to get ahead of the game is there for crypto industry players who demonstrate leadership and shape the narrative around the sector. Those who move deliberately, now, can claim a competitive advantage.

Australia has stated ambitions to be a global leader in digital finance, but it can’t be achieved by one piece of legislation alone. It calls on leaders to build trust and credibility around the sector both through what they do, and what they say.