The Australian Securities and Investments Commission today announced it has cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of Oztures Trading Pty Ltd trading as Binance Australia Derivatives. The regulator detailed that the cancellation is a response to a request from Binance received yesterday.
The licence cancellation will take effect on 14 April, the official announcement said. Binance clients will be required to close any existing derivative positions before 21 April when the crypto exchange will close any remaining open positions.
ASIC noted that the termination of Binance’s AFS license will not impact the company’s obligation to remain a part of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority until 8 April 2024.
The Aussie regulator has been conducting a focused evaluation of Binance’s financial services business in Australia, focusing on the categorisation of retail and wholesale consumers. ASIC issued a hearing notice on 29 March to assess whether to revoke or suspend the AFS licence held by Oztures Trading Pty Ltd.
ASIC Chair Joe Longo said:
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 under financial services laws in Australia, including access to external dispute resolution through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
Our targeted review of these matters is ongoing, including focus on the extent of consumer harms.
ASIC reminded that on 27 March the Commodities Futures Trading Commission initiated a civil enforcement lawsuit against Binance and the Group’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, for a a number of violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.
