- ASIC won a case against Bit Trade, the firm responsible for Kraken’s Australian operations.
- ASIC also shut down 7,300 phishing and investment scam websites, of which 650 were tied to crypto.
- Amid regulatory uncertainties, WonderFi has announced expansion in Australia.
Australia has initiated a regulatory crackdown against crypto firms operating in the region, aiming to push digital asset service providers to complete proper registration processes before providing their services to the citizens of the country. In the latest events, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) cracked down on Bit Trade, the firm responsible for crypto exchange Kraken’s Australian operations.
On August 23, Justice John Nicholas ruled that Bit Trade offered its product to “retail clients without first making a target market determination,” violating the Corporations Act. The judge agreed with ASIC, stating that Bit Trade failed to meet legal requirements for margin products and operated as an unlicensed credit facility.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said that the victory of the regulator in the court signifies that it is vital for the crypto sector to follow the regional requirements and also brings forth the “importance of compliance with the design and distribution obligations.” Court further added:
“We initiated proceedings to send a message to the crypto industry that we will continue to scrutinize products to ensure they comply with regulatory obligations in order to protect consumers.”
A few days ago, the ASIC confirmed in another announcement that it had successfully removed 5,530 fake investment platform scams, 1,065 phishing scam hyperlinks, and 615 cryptocurrency investment scams. Notably, the regulator seeks to make investment in cryptocurrencies safer for Australians along with bringing the crypto firms operating without proper requirements beneath the legal guillotine.
Amid the regulatory uncertainties in Australia, prominent digital asset platform WonderFi, said in a press release earlier this month that it is expanding operations in the country with the purchase of FX Institutions Pty. Ltd, a firm registered in Australia to offer crypto trading and payment remittances.
WonderFi owns Bitbuy and Coinsquare, two of Canada’s largest crypto platforms. CEO Dean Skurka sees “tremendous potential” for growth in Australia.
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