Australia moves to license crypto firms to bolster market security

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is set to implement a licensing regime for crypto service providers in the country, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported on Sept. 23. ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said the new rules would require local crypto firms to obtain licenses under the Corporations Act, as some of their services […]

The post Australia moves to license crypto firms to bolster market security appeared first on CryptoSlate.

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These Altcoins Are Seeing High Whale Interest After Fed Rate Cut

On-chain data shows three altcoins are observing a high transaction activity from the whales after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced a rate cut. Whale Transaction Count Has Spiked For These Altcoins Recently In a new post on X, the on-chain analytics firm Santiment has discussed the Whale Transaction Count trend for three altcoins. The “Whale Transaction Count” here refers to an indicator that keeps track of the total number of transactions taking place on a given cryptocurrency network that involves a value of more than $100,000. Transfers of this scale are typically associated with whales, the largest entities on the network, so the indicator’s value can provide hints about the current activity from this cohort. Related Reading: Crypto Shorts Suffer $147 Million Squeeze As Bitcoin Returns Above $63,000 When the value of this metric is high, it means the whales are making a large amount of moves right now. Such a trend implies these humongous holders have an active interest in trading the coin. On the other hand, the indicator having a low value suggests this group may not be paying too much attention to the asset at the moment as they aren’t making that many transfers. Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Whale Transaction Count for three altcoins, Immutable X (IMX), Fantom (FTM), and Basic Attention Token (BAT), over the last few weeks: As displayed in the above graph, large spikes in the Whale Transaction Count have been observed for all of these altcoins over the last couple of days. This would suggest that the whales have suddenly become very active on these networks. The timing of the spikes would mean this activity is likely related to the interest rate cut announced by the Fed. While the high values indicate a surge in trading interest from the whales, the Whale Transaction Count alone can’t tell us what sort of trades these humongous investors are making exactly. Buying and selling transactions both look the same from the perspective of the indicator, and thus, carry the same weightage in its count. What can provide hints about whether accumulation or distribution is dominant, though, is the surrounding price action. Bitcoin and the altcoins as a whole, including Immutable X and company, have surged since the Fed announcement, so the increased whale activity could be associated with buying. Related Reading: Will Bitcoin Bullish Swing Continue? Top Analyst Says Yes Naturally, any further spikes in whale activity aren’t necessary to be bullish, but Santiment notes that if Bitcoin and others continue to grow, then these altcoins can also thrive off a high Whale Transaction Count. IMX Price Immutable X has continued the latest bullish push during the last 24 hours with another surge of almost 10%, which has taken its price to $1.58. The below chart shows how the recent performance of IMX has been like. Featured image from Dall-E, Santiment.net, chart from TradingView.com

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Hut 8 and BITMAIN To Launch Next-Generation ASIC Bitcoin Miner with Liquid-to-Chip Cooling

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Crypto Scams Surge in 2024: ASIC Cracks Down on Fraudulent Schemes

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Bitdeer to expand operations with $150M convertible notes offering

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Australian watchdog files lawsuit against ASX over misrepresenting $165 million blockchain project

Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has filed a lawsuit against the Australia Securities Exchange (ASX) Ltd., accusing it of misleading statements about its blockchain trade settlement project, according to an Aug. 14 statement. False statements ASIC claims the ASX falsely stated in February 2022 that its project was “on track” for an April 2023 […]

The post Australian watchdog files lawsuit against ASX over misrepresenting $165 million blockchain project appeared first on CryptoSlate.

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CleanSpark's mining expansion continues with Wyoming facilities

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BitConnect promoter banned for 5 years by Sydney District Court

John Bigatton has been convicted for unlicensed financial advice, impacting the credibility of Australias financial sector.

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BitConnects Australian Frontman Has Been Convicted but Released

Two months after pleading guilty, BitConnects national promoter in Australia, John Bigatton, was convicted by the court for providing unlicensed financial advice. He was subsequently released on a recognisance of good behaviour for three years.

The Australian courts decision on Friday came after Bigatton pleaded guilty in May for his role in promoting the cryptocurrency scam to retail investors in the country. He promoted the fraudulent scheme on social media, hosted seminars across the country, and had face-to-face meetings with victims, persuading them to invest in the scheme.

Licensing Is a Must

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which indicted Bigatton, reiterated that many crypto assets are financial products, and even seminars and promotions around them would require a licence.

Providing unlicensed financial advice denies Australian investors access to key protections and undermines trust and confidence in Australias financial services industry, said ASICs Deputy Chair, Sarah Court. ASIC is committed to taking action against the unlawful promotion of high-risk digital assets to protect Australian investors.

This matter sends a clear message to Australians: that ASIC has and will act when unlicensed operators try to take advantage of Australian investors.

A $2.4 Billion Scam

Although the case has been legally framed around unlicensed financial activities, BitConnect was a massive scam. The scheme lured victims with absurdly high fixed interest rates.

BitConnect promoted its scheme heavily worldwide in 2016 and 2017. It incentivized invites and referrals to expand its network of investorsor rather, victims. The crypto scheme suddenly evaporated in 2018, and its websites and social media handles disappeared. This led to investigations by agencies in several countries.

The scam is estimated to have duped its investors out of approximately AU$2.4 billion globally.

According to ASIC, Bigatton promoted BitConnect locally in Australia, including its lending platform and tokens. He conducted four seminars nationwide and promoted it with two social media posts.

He claimed that BitConnect Coins would increase in value to at least US$1,000 and the scheme was better than any term deposit.

[The] offending involved a breach of trust in that the recipients of the financial product advice were entitled to have an expectation that they were receiving advice from a sufficiently licensed and regulated individual, the Aussie Judge stated.

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ASIC Fails to Impose Any Penalty on Block Earner for Unlicensed Offerings

A federal court in Australia has favoured Block Earner, a cryptocurrency company, by relieving it from the liability of paying a penalty for offering interest-bearing crypto products without an appropriate licence.

A Regulatory Disappointment?

The judgement today (Tuesday) followed actions by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) against Web3 Ventures Pty Ltd, which operates as Block Earner. The regulator said it is reviewing the decision.

Block Earner offered several cryptocurrency-based fixed-yield earning products, including USD Earner, Gold Earner, and Crypto Earner, collectively known as Earner Products. The company operated as an AUSTRAC-registered digital currency exchange but did not hold an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence.

According to ASIC, these 'Earner Products' are financial products that fall under managed investment schemes and require proper licensing. It is now seeking declarations, injunctions, and pecuniary penalties.

Block Earner had already ceased offering the Earner products on November 16, 2022, which was less than a month after receiving ASICs initial letter labelling the products as a managed investment scheme and an investment facility. However, the company maintained that it discontinued the product due to commercial reasons.

"From the beginning, it was never our intention to break or circumvent the rules," said Charlie Karaboga, CEO of Block Earner. "As a startup, we did everything within our power to comply, including obtaining legal advice and creating a comprehensive risk framework. While we are obviously disappointed about the findings of contravention in relation to the Earner product, we are pleased that the judge recognized our honest efforts and relieved Block Earner from liability for the penalty.

Courts Mixed Decisions

Interestingly, the Aussie court also agreed earlier this year that Block Earner needed an AFS licence to offer its products. However, the court quashed the regulators allegations of characterising Block Earner's variable yield crypto-asset-based offering as a financial product.

In the latest ruling, the court highlighted that Block Earner acted honestly and not carelessly when it offered the Earner product.

ASIC was seeking a civil penalty of AU$350,000 from Block Earner. However, the crypto business countered in court that no penalty should be awarded, with an alternative proposal of AU$60,000 in penalty, which is three times the benefit the company received from its Block Earner products.

It is appropriate that no penalty be awarded, consistent with my conclusion that Block Earner should be relieved from liability, the judge wrote in the judgement. Even if I had not granted that relief, I would not have awarded any penalty.

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Block Earner spared penalty in regulators crypto yield suit

The Australian federal court relieved Block Earner from paying a penalty in the local financial regulators legal action over unlicensed crypto yield-bearing products.

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Crypto firm Hiddup rebrands amid $41M investigation and legal woes

Hiddup continues advertising returns ranging from 6 to 16% per annum through blockchain mining on its website while facing legal action.

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ASIC Seeks to Impose Penalty on This Crypto Firm Since 2022, Court Interferes

TheAustralian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has filed an appealagainst a federal court ruling that absolved cryptocurrency provider Block Earner of paying a penalty for offering unlicensed financial services relatedto its digital assets product.

ASIC Appeals CourtDecision Relieving Block Earner of Penalty in Crypto Case

TheAustralian regulator announced on Tuesday that it has appealed the FederalCourt's decision and will continue to seek the imposition of a financialpenalty. In the past, it had requested AU$350,000.

Interestingly,the Court hadpreviously found that Block Earner engaged in unlicensed financial servicesand operated an unregistered managed investmentscheme from March to November 2022.

Despiteacknowledging the seriousness of Block Earner's contraventions, theCourt granted relief on June 4, citing among other factors that the companyhad acted honestly and not carelessly when it offered the Earner product. ASIChas challenged this ruling, filing a Notice of Appeal that outlines the groundson which it believes the Court erred in granting the relief.

We have appealed the Federal Courts decision to relieve Block Earner from liability to pay a penalty for contraventions related to its crypto-related Earner product https://t.co/zAzlxNfjqv

From thebeginning, it was never our intention to break or circumvent the rules," CharlieKaraboga, CEO of Block Earner, commented after the latest Courts decision."As a startup, we did everything within our power to comply, includingobtaining legal advice and creating a comprehensive risk framework.

What Now?

BlockEarner, an AUSTRAC-registered digital currency exchange that operates withoutan Australian Financial Services (AFS) license, had faced allegations from ASICthat both its fixed-yield Earner product and its variable-yield Access productconstituted financial products requiring a license.

While theCourt upheld ASIC's claims regarding the Earner product, it dismissed theallegations related to the Access product. ASIC has confirmed it will notappeal the Court's findings on the Access product.

Crypto-backedproducts should be considered financial products that require licensing underthe law, Sarah Court, ASIC's Deputy Chair, commented in February. Cryptoassets are risky, inherently volatile, and complex. ASIC remains concerned thatconsumers do not fully appreciate the risks associated with products involvingcrypto-assets.

The FullFederal Court will hear ASIC's appeal on a date yet to be determined. Theoutcome could set a precedent for how Australian regulators approachenforcement actions against crypto firms and the standards to which such firmsare held in complying with financial services laws.

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Home miners may benefit from NiceHash, Marathon Digital collaboration

The new NiceHash firmware will combine the advantages of two products.

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Bitfinex: Bitaxe Ultra is Pioneering Open-Source Bitcoin Mining Hardware

Discover the Bitaxe Ultra, an open-source Bitcoin ASIC miner leveraging Bitmain's BM1366 chip for efficient home mining. (Read More)

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