Federal Court fines BPS A$14m, bans unlicensed Qoin wallet and flags Australia’s crypto compliance gap
Australia’s Federal Court ordered BPS Financial to pay A$14 million after finding the company operated its Qoin Wallet as an unlicensed payment facility and made misleading claims about Qoin’s approval, liquidity and merchant acceptance. The ruling covers conduct between January 2020 and mid‑2023 and includes A$1.3m for unlicensed financial services, A$8.0m for misleading and deceptive representations, court-mandated corrective notices on the app and website, a 10‑year prohibition on providing unlicensed financial services, and most of ASIC’s legal costs. The judge called the conduct “serious and unlawful misconduct,” citing executive involvement and weak compliance systems. The decision follows ASIC civil proceedings begun in 2022 and an upheld appeal finding. ASIC emphasised the need for licensed providers and clearer disclosures as part of broader regulatory work, noting recent measures that relax some stablecoin distribution rules and its Key Issues Outlook 2026 highlighting digital assets and fintech as ongoing risk areas. For traders: expect increased enforcement risk for tokens marketed as payment solutions in Australia, higher reputational and liquidity risk for non‑compliant projects, and potential short‑term market volatility around affected tokens or platforms.
Bearish
The ruling directly targets the Qoin project and the platform operator rather than broader major chains, so price impact is expected to be negative for Qoin and closely associated tokens/platforms. Short-term effects: increased sell pressure and volatility for Qoin (and any listed token tied to BPS) as traders react to enforcement, potential delistings, and fears over redemption/liquidity. Market confidence in similarly marketed payment tokens in Australia may erode, leading to wider sell-offs in the niche. Medium-to-long term: enforced compliance and clearer disclosures can restore trust, but non‑compliant projects face higher operational costs or exit, compressing supply-side offerings and potentially uplifting compliant competitors. Overall, the immediate outlook is bearish for the mentioned token(s) due to legal penalties, a 10‑year ban on unlicensed operations, reputational damage, and the chance of frozen or illiquid user balances.