ASIC Files Appeal Against Federal Court’s Finder Wallet Decision

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has taken a leaf out of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) book. The Aussie regulatory body launched a case against Finder Wallet, a service that allowed local residents to earn a yield on the stablecoin TrueAUD. But after the lawsuit was dismissed, ASIC refused to back down – and is now appealing its loss to the Federal Court.

Related: CommBank Faces Backlash for Blocking Customer Crypto Purchases

Finder Wallet Victim of “Regulation-by-Enforcement” Approach

Finder.com.au is a prominent Australian financial platform that allows people to compare various products and find economical solutions to things like insurance, vacuum cleaners and crypto exchanges. As part of the company’s venture into cryptocurrency, Finder Wallet offered up to 4% yield on AUD converted into TrueAUD. However, the earning service was never truly able to find its feet after ASIC came knocking in late 2022.

ASIC alleged that Finder Earn flouted rules by “providing unlicensed financial services, breaching product disclosure requirements and failing to comply with design and distribution obligations”. And while the Federal Court disagreed, ASIC are doubling-down and appealing the court’s decision.

The news comes as the United States grapples with several high-profile lawsuits of its own, with regulators SEC going in hard at industry players like Coinbase, Binance and XRP.

Crypto advocates in Australia are displeased across the board at the move from ASIC. The chair of Blockchain Australia emphasised that regulatory action stifled innovation and caused uncertainty among financial providers in the nation.

Blockchain Australia has advocated for many years for fit-for-purpose regulation, and we have seen the damage in the US that the regulation-by-enforcement approach causes.

Michael Bacina

The crypto community was similarly unimpressed.