Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has told a local industry upshot that Australia's digital asset plan to create cryptocurrency-related legislation is "coming" soon and could be enacted in 2022.

He also backed plans to run the sector on renewable free energy as office of the regime's notwithstanding-to- be-established goal of achieving 'internet zero' carbon emissions.

Speaking at the virtual NFT Fest event supported by Blockchain Australia on Thursday, Bragg stated that the select Senate committee investigating the topic will publish its report by the cease of October and that it will include regulatory recommendations that tin be legislated over the adjacent 12 months.

"The review is due to conclude in about three weeks from at present and the promise that I made you, I volition keep. We will requite you a programme, and that program will be designed to put Commonwealth of australia at the front end end of the digital asset guild and the earth," he said.

The crypto-friendly Senator hosted the Senate inquiry into "Australia as a Applied science and Financial Centre," in 2022, but emphasized on Thursday that now is the time to put solid frameworks in place as opposed to prolonging the procedure with further reviews.

While there is nevertheless a lot of work to do, Bragg hopes the programme will be adopted no matter which political party is elected in the next federal ballot due 2022:

"I think that you lot deserve more only a series of recommendations for new inquiries, task forces and further review. And then we will be making some hard recommendations. [...] Nosotros will want the major parties, including my party, to prefer these policies every bit part of their ballot manifestos."

While Bragg didn't outline the specifics, he stated that the plan volition include recommendations for a "robust policy framework" focused on iii objectives: consumer protection, investor promotion and market competition.

"Now, for those of yous that say we don't want to have regulation. I would remind you that your industry reps and the vast bulk of the industry is asking for some regulation, so in that location will be some regulation," he said.

The Senator also stated that he is "very conscious" almost non wanting to stifle innovation in crypto via regulation that suits the "incumbent vested interests" who want to see the sector "destroyed past a regulation that was designed for a whole different purpose."

Related: 17% of Australians now own crypto, totaling $8B between them: Survey

Speaking on environmental concerns over crypto'south energy consumption — as well as the government'due south ambitions to transition to a "cyberspace-goose egg economy" — Bragg stated that he wants to run into the crypto sector operate using solely renewable energy:

"I'll simply put the elementary fact that we are trying to get to internet goose egg. Nosotros want to get at that place equally before long every bit we can. I personally think information technology's highly, and strongly in our economic interests to transition to a net-naught economy. And in the expanse of digital assets using a lot of electricity, we want that to happen on a renewable footing."

"So I call up it'due south a unique opportunity for the industry to pull this, pull those two things together," he added.