Australia’s financial watchdog secured a court victory against financial services company BPS Financial Pty Ltd (BPS), with the Federal Court ordering the company to pay 14 million Australian dollars ($9.3 million) in penalties over the promotion and operation of its Qoin Wallet product.
The ruling follows years of legal action brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which accused BPS of running an unlicensed financial services business while making misleading claims about its crypto-linked payment product.
In a Tuesday news release, the regulator said BPS promoted the Qoin Wallet as a non-cash payment facility tied to its Qoin digital token. However, the court found that between January 2020 and mid-2023, the company issued the product and provided financial advice without holding an Australian Financial Services Licence, breaching the Corporations Act.
“Given the nature of these products, providers must have the appropriate licenses and authorisations, and investors must be able to make decisions based on clear and correct statements, especially as crypto products can be highly volatile, inherently risky and complex,” ASIC Chair Joe Longo said.
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BPS Financial hit with fines, restrictions
The penalty handed down included $1.3 million for unlicensed conduct and $8 million for misleading and deceptive representations. In her judgment, Judge Downes described BPS’s actions as “serious and unlawful misconduct,” noting the involvement of senior management and the company’s inadequate compliance systems.
Beyond the financial penalty, the court imposed a series of restrictions on BPS. The company has been barred from operating a financial services business without a license for the next 10 years. BPS has also been ordered to publish court-mandated publicity notices on the Qoin Wallet app and website and to cover most of ASIC’s legal costs.
In 2022, ASIC launched civil penalty proceedings against BPS Financial over alleged misleading claims and unlicensed conduct linked to its Qoin token.
In earlier judgments handed down in 2024 and upheld on appeal in 2025, the court found BPS engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by making false statements about the Qoin Wallet. These included claims that the product was officially approved or registered, that Qoin tokens could be readily exchanged for fiat currency or other crypto-assets, and that the token was widely accepted by merchants.
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ASIC eases licensing rules for stablecoins
In December, ASIC finalized new exemptions to simplify the distribution of stablecoins and wrapped tokens, removing the need for intermediaries to hold separate Australian Financial Services licenses.
The measures allow firms to use “omnibus accounts” with appropriate record-keeping, extending earlier relief and reducing compliance costs for businesses operating in the digital asset and payments sectors.
In a Tuesday report titled “Key issues outlook 2026,” ASIC’s Longo flagged retail exposure to opaque private credit, operational failures in superannuation, high-risk investment sales that threaten retirement savings, AI-related consumer harm and regulatory gaps in digital assets and fintech as key risk areas for the year ahead.
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