Australian observers monitor Bitcoin exchanges

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The news means that the exchange of cryptocurrencies in the country will have to register in Austrac and be placed in a special register. They will also have to establish other procedures, including countering the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing, checking the identity of clients and maintaining some records for seven years, a ZDNet reports.

The mission to counteract the illegal use of cryptocurrencies, the announcement comes after the Australian Senate approved the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2017 on Wednesday.

The bill is the second prominent part of the Australian legislation which should be adopted in the last few months.

After passing the next bill in the country's parliament in October, the long controversial "double taxation" of cryptocurrencies (first when buying them, and then when buying items subject to the tax) finally came to an end.

The situation arose in accordance with the previous law, adopted in 2014, which considered cryptocurrencies as barter goods for the purpose of taxation of goods and services (GST) - legislation that quickly received criticism from technicians who claimed that this was hindering industry and innovation.