Australia's markets regulator, ASIC, announced on October 12 a proposal to extend existing contracts-for-difference (CFD) rules to cover qualifying derivatives settled through digital assets. This move aims to close a regulatory gap that has allowed economically similar products to face different restrictions, bringing token-settled derivatives within existing retail safeguards, though some fixed-expiry crypto products would remain outside. The proposal follows ASIC's finding that retail CFD clients lost over A$458 million (approximately US$325 million) in the 2023–24 financial year, with 68% of clients losing money across all asset classes, not solely cryptocurrency derivatives. The changes would impose leverage restrictions, standardized margin close-out arrangements, negative balance protections, and limits on promotional incentives for affected brokers and platforms.