Afterpay owner Block sees role for crypto in ‘everyday payments’

The largest players in Australia’s financial system, however, have been more cautious towards bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Commonwealth Bank is the only big local bank that wants to give consumers access to crypto assets. CBA’s crypto pilot, which has moved slowly after attracting scrutiny from regulators, is aimed at allowing people to invest in cryptos, not to send bitcoin to other users.

ANZ Bank has shown some interest in stablecoins, and earlier this year it said it had executed the first Australian dollar stablecoin payment issued by an Australian bank.

Block made the comments to a Treasury consultation on the complex question of how crypto assets may be regulated. Fintech Australia, which counts Block among its members, said it would strongly support bringing all crypto assets into the financial product regulatory regime.

Block – led by Twitter co-founder and bitcoin enthusiast Jack Dorsey – does not yet offer cryptocurrency assets in Australia. But it is expected to offer crypto services here in the future, and the company said a survey it had conducted suggested Australians thought cryptocurrencies would catch on as a form of payment.

“Australians expect crypto to have a significant impact on the payment system in the future with 65 per cent of respondents believing businesses will accept bitcoin for everyday transactions by 2025,” Block said.

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