The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has recently announced the cancellation of Binance Australia's derivatives license following a review period of the company's activities. Binance Australia is the Australian arm of the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume. Customers of Binance must close all their positions latest by April 21, 2021 as per the instructions of ASIC.

ASIC conducted a targeted review of Binance's businesses during the review period. As per the press release, ASIC Chair Joe Longo emphasized the importance of licensees classifying their clients as either retail or wholesale and regulating them as per the law. He further said that these regulations will ensure that retail clients of crypto derivatives are provided protection through services providers, such as access to Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

It is evident that other crypto exchanges have also been targeted by the ASIC for their compliance standards and have come under ASIC's radar. The exchange also faces an infringement notice from the ASIC, investigation into its financial and business practices in September 2019. In addition to this, Binance also announced that it would be permanently stopping its services in Australia citing difficulties in obtaining the “Australian Financial Services license.

All in all, the ASIC's latest press release has put Binance under significant pressure as its operations in Australia have been hindered. It is of utmost importance that all cryptocurrency exchanges should comply with Australian regulations if they are providing services to Australians. Although Binance had been operating in Australia for two years, it could not achive the standards required by the ASIC and associated laws and regulations. This situation implies that ASIC not only has a zero tolerance towards any violations of its regulations but also works to protect Australians from any financial malpractice.



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