Australian Court Dismisses Lawsuit by Market Regulator Against Finder in 'Landmark' Ruling for Crypto Industry
Summary
The Australian Federal Court dismissed ASIC's case against Finder Wallet, ruling that its Finder Earn product is not a debenture and did not violate the Corporations Act. The court ordered ASIC to pay the defendant's costs. This is the first case in which an Australian authority considered a crypto asset as a debenture. Finder stopped offering its Earn product in November 2022. ASIC has 28 days to appeal the ruling. Australia's Treasury plans to release draft legislation covering licensing and custody rules for crypto asset providers by 2024, with exchanges having 12 months to transition to the new regime.
