The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has terminated the license of Oztures Trading Pty Ltd, which trades as Binance Australia Derivatives, following a focused investigation into Binance’s activities in the country.
A statement released by ASIC has revealed that as of April 14, 2023, customers of Binance Australia Derivatives will no longer be able to add to their derivatives holdings or create new positions on the platform as the license termination takes effect.
Binance is also expected to liquidate any remaining open positions on April 21, 2023, and customers have been requested to close any existing derivatives positions before that date.
Despite the cancellation of the license, Binance is permitted to continue its membership of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority until April 8, 2024, under the terms of the cancellation agreement.
ASIC has focused on Binance’s categorization of retail and wholesale clients of its financial services company in Australia, and per Section 915C of the Corporations Act of 2001, a notice of hearing was published on March 29, 2023, to gather comments on whether to suspend or revoke Oztures Trading Pty Ltd.’s AFS license.
According to ASIC Chair Joe Longo, Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensees must classify their clients as either retail or wholesale. Retail clients who trade cryptocurrency derivatives are entitled to fundamental rights and consumer safeguards, including access to third-party dispute resolution through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
Oztures Trading Pty Ltd was originally granted the license, but after its ownership changed in January 2022, the new license holders began trading derivatives under the name “Binance Australia Derivatives” in July 2022.
It is noteworthy that Binance’s other firms have also received warnings and regulatory measures in the countries where they operate.
On March 27, 2023, the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission publicly accused Binance Group CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) of several violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations. This news resulted in the withdrawal of approximately $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies from the wallets of the Binance exchange platform.
On February 24, 2023, a report indicated that ASIC was conducting an active review of Binance Derivatives in Australia, specifically with regard to the company’s categorization of its clients as wholesale or retail.
This review followed Binance’s closure of derivatives positions for 500 users who were mistakenly identified as wholesale investors. Under Australian law, retail clients are not permitted to trade futures or derivatives.
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