For years, Australian blockchain projects, especially the infrastructure focused ones, had to operate in a grey zone (with technology that looked like financial plumbing without a clear legal category to call home). However, that status quo changed earlier this month when the Australian Senate passed the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill. The bill, which passed both houses without the procedural drama that has stalled similar efforts elsewhere, does something consequential, i.e. it carves out a dedicated legal category called Public Digital Token Infrastructure (PDTI). Under this definition, open, publicly accessible protocols without a critically irreplaceable central participant are not treated as financial products, a managed investment scheme, and most importantly, a clearing and settlement facility. Why the Clearing and Settlement Carve-Out Matters Clearing and settlement licensing in Australia has historically been the preserve of established financial market operators so that under the old framework, any protocol that touched the mechanics of settling asset transfers risked crossing a regulatory line that would require it to obtain a CS facility licence. However, the introduction of the PDTI has changed that metric almost overnight as non-custodial DeFi protocols (qualifying as public digital token infrastructures) are no longer held to that standard at the protocol layer. In other words, a service that does not hold client assets or private keys, and has no ability to direct payments, falls materially outside the new regulatory perimeter. Moreover, the legislation also introduced additional clarity on non-custodial staking and wrapped tokens, two areas that have traditionally left developers second-guessing their digital architecture designs for years. For context, the Australian digital asset market is set to present a AU $24 billion opportunity in the near future and the bill’s proposed framework lets that opportunity develop under regulated conditions rather than in spite of them. In all of this, Redbelly has emerged as a purpose-built blockchain for regulated real-world asset environments (EVM-compatible, deterministic through Byzantine fault-tolerant consensus, and resistant to MEV manipulation). Moreover, the PDTI definitions effectively describe what Redbelly already is, which is an open, public protocol without a single controlling participant. That positioning matters not as a marketing claim but as a legal one since the network already supports clearing and settlement functions without requiring the licences that would otherwise apply to traditional financial market infrastructure. The practical delivery of this runs through two distinct product layers, with the first one being ‘Averer,’ which handles identity, custody, and the wallet experience. To put it simply, it is the layer through which institutional partners onboard users in a way that is compliant without being clunky. In all of this, the zkIdentity module issues verifiable credentials that confirm a user’s eligibility requirements for a given product without duplicating KYC checks across every venue. On the other hand, the ‘tokeniser’ layer manages permissioning and issuance, governing who can hold what, under what conditions, and ensures asset tokens are distributed within the compliance guardrails that institutional participants require. Lastly, it bears mentioning that during mid-2025, the Reserve Bank of Australia conditionally selected Redbelly as part of Project Acacia , making it the first public blockchain to host a central bank digital currency in an RBA-led pilot. That pilot tested on-chain securitisation with CBDC settlement, with use cases spanning tokenised bonds, carbon credits, and construction invoice financing. What Comes Next The DAF Bill doesn't resolve every open question but as things stand, businesses holding digital assets for their clients have until mid-2026 to apply for Australian Financial Services Licences (to take advantage of ASIC's transitional no-action relief). The rules around custodial platforms are tighter, and the fact-sensitive nature of the non-custodial analysis means some providers will need careful legal review of where they stand. But for Redbelly, the law's passage represents a transition from building ahead of regulation to building within it. So, now that the infrastructure exists, the pilots are live, the bet seems to have been paid off for the firm. Interesting times ahead, to say the least! Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
