(Bloomberg) -- Australia outlined plans to arm its officials with more tools to police the volatile crypto sector, including additional manpower for the securities regulator in the wake of the global implosion of the FTX exchange.

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is expanding its digital-asset team and enforcement measures, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a statement Friday. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is boosting efforts to curb scams after a spate of demands for crypto ransoms.

Regulators around the world are intensifying scrutiny of the digital-asset sector following a rout last year pockmarked by corporate blowups. The most notable collapse was the bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX and sister trading house Alameda Research. He faces trial in the US after pleading not guilty to a suite of criminal charges, including fraud.

Australia also released a consultation paper Friday on token mapping, describing it as the process of identifying the key properties of products in the crypto ecosystem and mapping them against existing regulatory frameworks.

The government plans to propose a regime for crypto custody and licensing in mid-2023 for public evaluation. 

Digital assets have begun recovering after a $2 trillion slump. A gauge of the largest 100 tokens is up 35% so far in 2023, outperforming global stocks. 

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