Cryptocurrency

Finder just had a big win against the corporate cop, ASIC, over its crypto wallet

- March 14, 2024 2 MIN READ

Finder’s crypto product, Earn, complied with the financial law, the Federal Court has found, dismissing legal action launched by the corporate regular against the fintech. It was a comprehensive win against the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for Finder, with Justice Brigitte Markovic also awarding costs against the regulator. ASIC sued Finder Wallet for… Read more »

Binance
Cryptocurrency

Binance CEO departs after guilty plea over money laundering as US authorities belt the crypto exchange with a $6.6bn fine

- November 22, 2023 3 MIN READ

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has resigned from the cryptocurrency exchange he founder as past part of a guilty plea deal with US authorities over money laundering and US sanctions violations, that involved funded terrorist groups such as Hamas. Zhao was hit with a US$50 million fine while his company will pay US$4.3 billion (A$6.6bn)… Read more »

FTX Sam Bankman-Fried
Cryptocurrency

Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction for fraud at FTX is a reminder of the risk of crypto trading

- November 6, 2023 3 MIN READ

It is not just crypto tokens that have spectacular downfalls. So can crypto personalities. Sam Bankman-Fried founded FTX, one of the world’s largest exchanges for so-called cryptocurrencies, which collapsed last year owing billions of dollars. Now he has gone from being hailed as potentially the world’s first trillionaire to a lengthy term in prison. After… Read more »

dogecoin, cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency

The Australian government wants crypto exchanges to have a financial services licence

- October 17, 2023 3 MIN READ

Cryptocurrency exchanges will need to need to hold an Australian financial services licence (AFSL) under plans to regulate the sector from the federal government. A proposal paper on regulating the sector has been released by Treasury for feedback by December 1. The government wants to use existing financial services laws with threshold triggers, including an… Read more »

FTX Sam Bankman-Fried
Cryptocurrency

Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial hears how a simple tweak to the data allowed him to syphon off $12 billion from investors

- October 11, 2023 3 MIN READ

A simple database flag enabled cryptocurrency magnate Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to siphon billions of customer dollars into a lavish lifestyle that ultimately left failed exchange FTX over $12 billion ($US8 billion) in debt, a US court has heard as SBF’s trial nears its conclusion. Once the second largest cryptocurrency exchange with a valuation of $47 billion, the… Read more »

bitcoin
Cryptocurrency

ASIC has launched legal action against the Kraken crypto exchange alleging more than 1,100 customers lost $13 million on a product that didn’t meet regulatory rules

- September 21, 2023 2 MIN READ

Financial regulator the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has launched Federal Court against Bit Trade Pty Ltd, the company behind the Kraken crypto exchange in Australian, alleging it failed to comply with regulations designed to protect consumers. ASIC’s case alleges Bit Trade’s failure to make a “target market determination” for its margin trading product,… Read more »

Andrew Bragg
Cryptocurrency

After 15 months in power, federal Labor continues to hasten slowly on regulating cryptocurrency

- September 5, 2023 4 MIN READ

Regulation of Australia’s cryptocurrency sector remains a distant possibility, despite a catastrophic 12 months for the industry, after a government-dominated committee preferred to kick the can further down the road rather than embrace a private senator’s bill on the issue from opposition senator Andrew Bragg. The Senate Economics Legislative Committee, chaired by Labor’s Jess Walsh,… Read more »

Cryptocurrency

Binance Australia forced to suspend PayID deposits, withdrawals also hit, as crypto exchange debanked amid scams crackdown

- May 18, 2023 3 MIN READ

Crypto investors hoping to get their cash in a hurry through Binance Australia will be forced to wait a day or two longer after the crypto exchange said it has been forced to stop offering PayID deposits for Australian dollar account holders following “a decision made by our third party payment service provider”. The bebanking… Read more »

Binance
Cryptocurrency

Coporate cop ASIC cancels Binance Australia’s licence after it misclassified retail investors, leaving them without consumer protections

- April 11, 2023 3 MIN READ

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange can no longer legally operate within Australia after financial regulator ASIC cancelled the firm’s financial services license due to policy breaches that left consumers financially exposed. Although it was licensed to sell financial derivatives to wholesale customers, Binance Australia Derivatives – the trading name of Oztures Trading Pty Ltd –… Read more »

Andrew Bragg
Cryptocurrency

Senator Andrew Bragg gets cracking on crypto regulation with private bill

- March 31, 2023 2 MIN READ

Senator Andrew Bragg is pushing once again to introduce regulation for the cryptocurrency sector in Australia, amid ongoing exchange collapses and US regulators investigating alleged illegal activity by Binance. The NSW Liberal, now in opposition, introduced a private senator’s bill to the Senate on Wednesday, accusing financial services minister Stephen Jones of being “uninterested in… Read more »

Binance
Cryptocurrency

US regulators launch legal action against crypto giant Binance alleging they broke US money laundering laws

- March 28, 2023 2 MIN READ

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has launched a suit against the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, claiming the company was deliberately skirting local regulation and knowingly facilitated the illicit flow of money. In a complaint against Binance, its founder Changpeng Zhao, and chief compliance officer Samuel Lim, the CFTC alleged the Binance team… Read more »