Binance Australia Loses License

CANBERRA, AU – The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced in a press release Thursday they have canceled Binance Australia’s derivatives license citing non-compliance with financial services law. 

The move comes after ASIC launched an investigation in February after the exchange suddenly terminated 500 customer accounts, as previously reported by BCCN3. Binance Australia must cease derivatives trading operations by April 21. CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted that the exchange will not cease operations in Australia.

There are some misinformation (and confusion) about #Binance Australia.@Binance_AUS requested to cancel the derivatives license yesterday. The platform had exactly 104 users as of yesterday.@Binance_AUS will CONTINUE to operate the spot exchange in AU. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/nEExtG4U90

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) April 6, 2023

In the release, ASIC chairman Joseph Longo stated, “It is critically important that AFS licensees classify retail and wholesale clients in accordance with the law. Retail clients trading in crypto derivatives are afforded important rights and consumer protections [...] including access to external dispute resolution through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority."

The license revocation comes as Binance also faces a lawsuit from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for selling unregistered derivatives products, highlighting an uptick in crypto law enforcement worldwide.