Webinar: TRM Talks: Australia by TRM Labs

An in-depth discussion of crypto policy down under

About This Webinar

It has been a busy 2023 in Australia with policymakers consulting on crypto licensing, AML/CTF reform, and more. Australia is home to a growing crypto ecosystem - crypto-assets are the second most popular investment after shares. With that growth has come regulatory scrutiny focused on consumer protection, combatting financial crime and creating a modern, risk-based regime for crypto-assets. In this webinar, TRM Talks is joined by Joni Pirovich at BADAS*L, Brad Brown at AUSTRAC, and Steve Vallas at Blockchain APAC to discuss crypto regulatory developments in Australia.

Joni Pirovich

Principal, Blockchain & Digital Assets – Services + Law (BADAS*L) and Founder, LawFi DAO

Joni is an advocate for responsible web3 innovation, founding LawFi DAO in July 2022 to further her contribution to web3 education and responsible policy development. BADAS*L was opened in early 2021 to operate as a distributed law practice where Joni provides legal and non-legal services to a range of clients including law firms in various web3 matters spanning tax, securities and financial services, IP, labour, litigation and AML/CTF compliance. The learnings from Joni’s distributed law practice filter through in the thousands of hours spent on policy contributions since 2018, available at https://badasl.com/policy. Joni was a contributor to the 2023 World Economic Forum DAO Policy Toolkit, sits on the DAO Panel for the UK Law Commission, and assisted the Utah Blockchain Taskforce with the introduction of the world leading limited liability dao legislative regime.

Bradley Brown

Acting Deputy CEO, Regulation and Reform, AUSTRAC

Bradley Brown is currently Acting Deputy CEO Regulation and Reform which has broad oversight of all regulatory activities in AUSTRAC from the development of policy through to its education, supervision and enforcement.

Brad’s substantive role is the National Manager, Regulatory Operations which he commenced in April 2022. In this role Brad is AUSTRAC's senior executive responsible for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) supervision, ensuring more than 17,000 Australian businesses in the financial services, gambling, remittance, digital currency and bullion industries comply with their AML/CTF obligations.

Brad joined AUSTRAC in 2004 after a 15 year career in law enforcement. Brad has performed senior executive leadership roles and management roles across AUSTRAC’s business within Intelligence, International Operations, Policy and Regulation. Brad holds a Masters in Policing, Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism.

Steve Vallas

Managing Director at Blockchain APAC

Steve Vallas is the Managing Director of Blockchain APAC. Digital Assets advisor at Zerocap and APAC advisor at GDF Global Blockchain Business Council, and was formally the CEO of Blockchain Australia.

Steve has played a longstanding role in shaping the Australian digital assets landscape through engaging with Australian regulators including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Commonwealth Treasury, ACCC, AUSTRAC and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Steve has contributed insights to Australian Senate hearings, advisory panels like the ASIC Digital Finance Advisory Panel and the Council of Financial Regulators. His involvement in the development of the sector has extended beyond Australia, engaging with New Zealand authorities such as the Financial Services Council, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Department of Internal Affairs, and Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.

Steve has engaged with international institutions, including the US Federal Reserve and the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Fostering partnerships and knowledge sharing with organisations like the German Ministry of Economics, APEC, Blockchain Ireland and the South Korean National Assembly.

Steve is committed to driving innovation and regulatory clarity within the digital asset ecosystem.

Angela Ang

Senior Policy Advisor, APAC, TRM Labs

As TRM Labs’ Senior Policy Advisor based out of Singapore, Ms. Ang brings with her a wealth of policy experience from both the public and private sectors.

Angela spent over a decade at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), where she was most recently Deputy Director in charge of licensing for payment service providers. As part of the pioneering team for Singapore’s payments regulatory regime, she oversaw the development and implementation of the licensing framework as well as the assessment of several hundred payments and digital asset license applications. Prior to this, Angela held a diverse range of roles at MAS including in regulatory policy, business development and consumer education, giving her deep insight into the full gamut of policymaking considerations for global financial regulators.

Ari Redbord (moderator)

Global Head of Policy, TRM Labs

Ari Redbord is the Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs, a blockchain analytics company. Prior to joining TRM Labs, he served as a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary and the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the United States Department of Treasury. In this capacity, he worked with teams from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and other Treasury and interagency components on issues related to sanctions, the Bank Secrecy Act, cryptocurrency, and anti-money laundering strategies.

Previously, Mr. Redbord served as a Senior Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he investigated and prosecuted cases related to cryptocurrency, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, export control, child exploitation and human trafficking. He has received numerous awards from FinCEN, the FBI, and the United States Attorney's Office, including the Attorney General's Award for leading an interagency task force dedicated to prosecuting those who abuse and exploit children.