Highlights from Senator Andrew Bragg’s Reddit AMA on Australian crypto policy
Senator Andrew Bragg this morning participated in a reddit AMA on Australian crypto policy. The AMA was revealing in regard to some key crypto issues including CBDC’s and crypto electricity consumption. Here is a snapshot of some of the questions posed and Senator Bragg’s response.
Re CBDCs
Question
How would a CBDC be integrated into the Australian banking system? Would the big four banks have issues with giving up their position of power over the financial system?
Senator Bragg
The big four banks have done very well and we don’t make policy based on what’s good for them so the only question is what is the best policy outcome for Australia from an economic and security perspective
Question
How might a CBDC work in your vision of a future Australia? Might the CBDC eventually supplant cash? Given the obvious security and privacy concerns of the government having the keys to your bank account, how might those concerns be alleviated?
Senator Bragg
Effectively we already have a digital dollar, so we need to look at whether using the blockchain for a CBDC would provide an advantage. I am very concerned about the privacy implications of a retail CBDC, so we would need to address that as a precondition.
I do see a stronger case for a RBA wallet if we continue to see uncompetitive behaviour in the digital wallet space, but again there are privacy implications which must be addressed in a society like ours.
Question
Senator Bragg, there has been a notable attempt by the Chinese Government to create a digital sovereign currency, currently named the “Digital Yuan”, however progress has been considered by some to be slow, and others have raised concerns over privacy and governmental overreach.
Do you support the idea of an Australian Sovereign Digital Currency, and if so, how do you reconcile those claims of privacy violation and governmental overreach with the common theme of “less government involvement” forming a centre plank of Liberal party messaging?
Senator Bragg
I don’t think we’ll be taking lessons from the Chinese government on how to create a CBDC if we decide to go there! As I said, the privacy issues would have to be addressed as a precondition for movement.
Re crypto and energy policy
Question
Energy and cryptocurrency are now firmly entwined.
I believe a central plank of Australia becoming a crypto powerhouse is the provision of highly affordable energy.
Nuclear power, in my opinion, could be a key clean energy source for crypto as well as other benefits provided by it’s clean energy.
What’s your position on nuclear power for Australia?
Can you see the factory standardised SMRs (Small Modular Reactors) currently being finalised by Rolls Royce as a viable entry point for Australia?
Senator Bragg
We should seriously consider going nuclear. I will pursue this in the next term. I think it would help us move the clean energy transition even faster and provide more opportunities for digital asset mining.
The AMA emphasises that at the very least the current government is certainly thinking about the key issues facing the crypto community, but whether an RBA CBDC or nuclear powered mining is in Australia’s future remains to be seen.