Yesterday we told you the ATO was watching 1.2 million crypto accounts. Today the bigger story: the tax rules themselves are changing. Canberra’s capital gains tax overhaul will scrap the 50% CGT discount from 1 July 2027 — the single biggest change to how Australian crypto gains are taxed since the discount arrived in 1999.
The 50% CGT discount is going — you’ve got two years’ notice
From 1 July 2027, the 50% discount on gains from assets held longer than 12 months will be abolished, replaced with inflation-indexed cost bases and a minimum 30% tax rate on capital gains, as reported by Forbes and Coin Gabbar. Under transition rules, gains accrued before 1 July 2027 are generally protected by the old framework.
Why it matters: the hold-12-months-then-sell playbook has been the backbone of every Aussie holder’s tax planning. Indexation only shelters the inflation slice of a gain — for an asset class that moves like crypto, the effective tax take rises, and lower-bracket investors (who previously paid less than 30% after the discount) lose the most. The fine print isn’t law yet in final form, so don’t restructure anything off a headline — but do have the conversation with your accountant this financial year, not in June 2027.
Clarity Act hearing: plenty of testimony, no vote
The House Financial Services subcommittee’s field hearing at Federal Hall wrapped overnight — one year to the day after the House passed the bill. Witnesses from Nova Labs, Bullish, WisdomTree and Coin Center argued the case; Chairman Bryan Steil closed by calling on the Senate to get it done, per The Crypto Times’ live blog. A tokenisation bill was flagged as the next project, and a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill was also on the agenda.
Why it matters: a field hearing decides nothing — the bill still needs roughly seven Senate Democrats before the August recess. Markets treated it accordingly: BTC drifted, crypto stocks fell. If it does pass, expect fresh pressure on Canberra’s April 2027 Digital Assets Framework timetable to keep pace.
Market: Iran keeps a lid on it
A sixth day of US strikes on Iran, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and oil bid, ended Bitcoin‘s stint above US$65,000 and Ethereum‘s above US$1,900, per Yahoo Finance. At time of writing, Independent Reserve has BTC at A$90,145 (~US$63,100), down 2.4%, and ETH at A$2,597 (~US$1,832), down 3.4% over 24 hours. Fear & Greed sits at 27.
Why it matters: both majors are still ahead of week-ago levels (BTC ~+1%, ETH ~+7%). Geopolitics is doing the driving, not anything crypto-native — which cuts both ways if Hormuz reopens.
Visa launches its Stablecoin Platform
Visa unveiled a platform letting banks and fintechs plug stablecoin payments, transfers and settlement into its global network, per Coin Gabbar.
Why it matters: the card rails your bank already runs are going stablecoin-native before Australia’s licensing framework even starts. File it with DTCC’s live tokenised securities and the SWIFT/ANZ pilot — traditional finance isn’t waiting.
Crypto.com raises US$400M from Citadel Securities
Crypto.com secured US$400 million from Citadel Securities at a US$20 billion valuation and is expanding into tokenised securities and derivatives (Coin Gabbar).
Why it matters: Crypto.com serves plenty of Australians, and one of Wall Street’s biggest market makers buying equity in a crypto exchange is a bet that regulated crypto markets grow from here.
What to watch
The Senate whip count on the Clarity Act before the August recess; AUSTRAC’s VASP registration window closing 29 July; the Fed’s 28–29 July meeting; oil and Hormuz headlines; and — closest to home — the draft legislation detail on the CGT changes, where the indexation mechanics will decide how much this actually costs long-term holders.
If the tax news has you rethinking where and how you hold, our guide to Australian crypto exchanges compares the local options — CoinSpot remains our pick for beginners.
This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Crypto is volatile — do your own research and talk to a licensed professional before acting. Some links above are affiliate links; if you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no cost to you.