Key takeaways:
- The Australian Securities & Investment Commission prevailed in court over BPS Financial.
- The court decided that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Corporations Act were violated.
The Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) prevailed in court over BPS Financial. Regarding its Qoin token-powered non-cash payment service, the company is accused of engaging in dishonest business practices.
The Australian Federal Court determined that BPS made four false claims. BPS stated specifically that Qoin was accepted by an expanding network of merchants, freely exchangeable for other cryptocurrency assets or fiat, legally compliant, and registered or sanctioned by the government.
The court decided that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Corporations Act were violated. It directed the parties to discuss the next steps before to this year’s hearing, which might involve fines.
In January 2020, BPS introduced Qoin. According to its website, the wallet, blockchain, Qoin token, and “payment facility” make up the Qoin ecosystem.
By the end of June 2021, 394 million Qoin tokens were circulating, and Qoin boasts over 100,000 registered merchants and 100,000+ users.
In November 2021, a class action lawsuit was brought against BPS for being a pyramid scam, lying, and breaking the law. It seems that the case is still open. In February 2021, Qoin faced expulsion from the Blockchain Australia industry association as well.
In October 2022, ASIC began taking legal action against BPS. The court’s verdict was in its favor, according to its statement, and it was the first to rule against a cryptocurrency-based non-cash payment service.
In December 2022, ASIC filed a lawsuit against the financial product comparison website Finder.com for providing an illegal cryptocurrency yield-bearing product. ASIC is appealing the court’s ruling from March, when it ruled against the company.
In August 2023, the ASIC filed a lawsuit against eToro, a social investing platform. The lawsuit was directed at the firm’s cryptocurrency trading division, which was accused of being dishonest, inefficient, and unfairly executing its contract for difference (CFD) offering. ASIC asserted that about 20,000 of eToro’s customers lost money when trading CFDs between October 2021 and June 2023.
