ASIC Raises Low-Volume Market Exemption by 67% to A$2.5…
Australian financial-market operators can process up to A$2.5 million of completed transactions in a 12-month period while remaining eligible for low-volume licensing relief under ASIC Corporations Instrument 2026/756. The previous ceiling was A$1.5 million, making the increase A$1 million or 66.7%.
The separate activity limit remains unchanged at no more than 100 completed transactions during the period. An operator must satisfy both tests. A market with 101 small trades does not qualify merely because its value is below A$2.5 million, and a market with ten transactions exceeding the value ceiling also falls outside the class relief.
The instrument does not create an unregulated category of exchange. It removes the requirement to hold an Australian market licence for markets that remain within a narrow scale threshold and comply with the relief conditions. ASIC can still supervise conduct under other provisions, and businesses must assess whether separate financial-services, product, clearing, or disclosure obligations apply.
The Increase Restores Capacity Lost to Inflation
ASIC said the threshold had not changed since 2016 and cited inflation among the reasons for the revision. Leaving a nominal ceiling unchanged for ten years gradually reduces the real level of activity that qualifies. The new figure restores room for small markets without changing the transaction-count test.
The 66.7% uplift is larger than a simple annual inflation adjustment might suggest, but the dual threshold limits its effect. An operator that uses the full 100 transactions can now average A$25,000 per completed transaction, compared with A$15,000 under the previous value ceiling. A venue with fewer transactions can have a higher average ticket while remaining below A$2.5 million.
That structure targets markets that are small in both frequency and aggregate value. It may suit specialised, experimental, private, or narrowly distributed facilities where the fixed cost of a full market licence would be disproportionate. The relief is less useful to a venue whose business model depends on rapid scaling because exceeding either limit changes its licensing position.
ASIC consulted through Consultation 60 and received three submissions. All supported continuing the relief in principle, while two raised concerns about the appropriate thresholds. ASIC concluded that the adopted limits balance regulatory risk with compliance costs.
The 100-Transaction Cap Still Does Most of the Regulatory Work
Increasing the value limit sounds substantial, but preserving the 100-transaction maximum keeps the exemption narrow. A consumer-facing venue processing frequent low-value orders would cross the count test quickly. The relief is therefore not a general sandbox for retail exchanges.
Transaction count can also be easier to supervise than an economic test alone. Value may change with asset prices, foreign exchange rates, or the structure of a trade. A fixed count draws a clearer boundary around operational scale, although operators still need accurate records for both measures.
The new instrument runs until 1 October 2031. It replaces the 2016 measure because Australian legislative instruments generally sunset after ten years unless remade or preserved. The five-year life gives ASIC another review point sooner than the previous instrument’s full decade.
That shorter period is sensible while market structures change. Tokenisation, fractional interests, bulletin-board models, and private-market platforms can blur the line between a matching service and a financial market. A higher value threshold may reduce friction for small operators, but technology can allow a facility to expand faster than the original low-volume concept anticipated.
Relief Does Not Resolve Other Australian Licence Questions
The instrument addresses the Australian market licence only. It does not automatically remove the need for an Australian Financial Services licence or a clearing and settlement facility licence. FinanceFeeds recently explained how digital-asset firms can face three separate Australian licence categories, depending on the products and services they provide.
That distinction is relevant because ASIC has been adjusting relief in targeted areas rather than creating broad exclusions. It has reduced duplicate licensing requirements for certain stablecoin and wrapped-token intermediaries, while maintaining oversight of the issuer and market infrastructure. It also extended short-selling relief for market makers in specified precious-metal products.
Each measure solves a defined compliance problem. None should be read as a retreat from licensing. FinanceFeeds reported that ASIC required crypto businesses relying on temporary no-action treatment to begin the formal application process. The regulator has also continued enforcement against firms that fail broader obligations.
The Benefit Is Proportional Regulation, Not Deregulation
Full market licensing imposes governance, operating, financial-resource, technology, surveillance, and reporting requirements designed for infrastructure that can affect investors and market integrity. Applying the complete framework to a venue with a handful of modest transactions may prevent useful services from operating at all.
The low-volume instrument accepts that trade-off while setting an observable boundary. Raising the value ceiling updates the economics of the exemption, and keeping the count limit prevents a high-frequency retail platform from entering through the same door. ASIC’s use of targeted relief in the reportable-situations regime follows a similar approach: change a threshold where compliance is disproportionate without removing the underlying rule.
Operators should still plan for the point at which relief stops applying. A successful market can cross the ceiling during a 12-month period, and licensing work cannot begin after the threshold has already been exceeded. Systems should monitor completed transaction count and value continuously, not only at year-end.
The result is a meaningful but contained adjustment. A$2.5 million gives small markets more economic room than the decade-old limit, while 100 transactions and the remaining legal framework constrain the regulatory exposure. ASIC has lowered the fixed-cost barrier for genuine low-volume facilities without creating a general exemption for new trading venues.