The fact that cryptocurrency exchange FTX Australia had an Australian financial license came as a surprise to some people who mistakenly believed that anything cryptocurrency was off limits to Australian regulators, writes Pamela Hanragan, professor of business law and regulation. from the UNSW Business School. 12 in an article in the analytical journal Conversation.
When cryptocurrency exchange FTX Group crashed in the Bahamas in November, its Australian subsidiaries FTX Australia Pty Ltd and FTX Express Pty Ltd also crashed. Australian companies went into receivership on November 11, and within days the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) suspended the Australian financial services license that FTX Australia had held since March 2022.
Dr. Hanragan recalls that when FTX started operations in Australia this year, its press release was headlined: “__FTX Launches Fully Registered and Licensed Operations in Australia”_. But, the expert clarifies, it means less than it seems.
The fact is that the Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensing regime, in place since the late 1990s, allows each firm to take certain actions in relation to certain financial products for certain clients. For example, FTX Australia’s license enabled it to transact, market enter and provide general advice on derivatives and foreign exchange contracts to retail and wholesale clients.
“And that’s it, — emphasizes the specialist in financial instruments. —
Please note that crypto assets [в лицензии] not specified, as well as activities in the format of exchange of crypto assets”.
The author of the article clarifies that the world as a whole has not yet decided whether crypto assets (as opposed to investments received from crypto assets) are, in principle, financial products. That is, its status roughly corresponds to the status of gold bars or fine art, where the asset itself is not a financial product, but a financial product can be created on its basis.
“If the cryptocurrency is not a financial product, then the licensing laws cannot be applied, which may explain why one of the two Australian-based companies, FTX Express, which ran the cryptocurrency exchange, did not obtain the license. of AFS”.sums up Hanragan.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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