(March 27): The Australian court has imposed a A$10 million penalty on Binance Australia Derivatives over onboarding failures that led to millions of dollars in client losses and fees.
The Federal Court found that Oztures Trading Pty Ltd, which operated the platform, misclassified more than 85% of its Australian customer base as wholesale clients between July 2022 and April 2023. The designation allowed hundreds of retail investors to access high-risk crypto derivatives without the safeguards required under Australian law, according to the court.
Binance admitted the failures exposed 524 retail clients to complex products, resulting in A$8.66 million in trading losses and A$3.89 million in fees, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said in a press release on Friday. The court said the breaches stemmed from deficient onboarding systems, weak compliance oversight and inadequate staff training.
“This wasn’t just a technical breach — it directly resulted in over A$12 million in client losses,” ASIC chair Joe Longo said in a statement, adding that the case should serve as a warning to global crypto firms operating in Australia.
Binance, which operates the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has faced sustained regulatory scrutiny in recent years, contributing to a period of significant upheaval.
Changpeng Zhao, the Binance co-founder known as CZ, stepped down as chief executive officer in late 2023 after pleading guilty to anti-money laundering violations, though he retains a controlling stake. The company has since been led by co-CEOs Richard Teng, a former regulator, and Yi He, the other Binance co-founder, with whom Zhao has children.
See also: Bitcoin faces US$14 bil options expiry while Middle East turmoil mounts
In October, President Donald Trump pardoned Zhao for his 2023 conviction, more than a year after the crypto mogul served four months in prison.
Among Binance’s failings cited by the court was allowing clients seeking “sophisticated investor” status unlimited attempts to pass a qualification quiz. Compliance staff also failed to properly verify supporting documentation, according to the court.
The penalty is in addition to the roughly A$13.1 million in compensation Binance paid to affected customers under ASIC oversight in 2023. The company also agreed to cover the regulator’s legal costs.
See also: UK to ban political crypto donations on risk of interference
ASIC first launched its investigation in 2022 and later cancelled Binance Australia Derivatives’ financial services licence in April 2023.
A Binance spokesperson said the penalty relates to a historical matter involving 524 “mistakenly classified” clients.
“The issue was self-identified, reported to ASIC, and fully remediated in 2023, with approximately A$13 million compensated to affected users. Oztures ceased its derivatives business and voluntarily gave back its AFSL in 2023,” the spokesperson said.
Uploaded by Felyx Teoh
