Australia’s financial regulator has secured a court victory against financial services firm BPS Financial Pty Ltd, 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 a multi-year legal action brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which accused BPS of operating an unlicensed financial services business while making misleading claims about its crypto-linked payment offering.
In a statement released Tuesday, ASIC said BPS marketed the Qoin Wallet as a non-cash payment facility linked to its Qoin digital token. 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, in breach of the Corporations Act.
“Given the nature of these products, providers must hold the appropriate licences and authorisations, and investors must be able to rely on clear and accurate information—particularly as crypto products can be highly volatile, risky, and complex,” ASIC Chair Joe Longo said.
BPS Financial hit with fines and restrictions
The penalties included $1.3 million for unlicensed conduct and $8 million for misleading and deceptive representations. In her judgment, Justice Downes described BPS’s actions as “serious and unlawful misconduct,” citing the involvement of senior management and deficiencies in the company’s compliance systems.
Beyond the financial penalty, the court imposed a range of restrictions on BPS Financial. The company has been banned from operating a financial services business without a licence for the next 10 years, ordered to publish court-mandated notices on the Qoin Wallet app and website, and required to pay the majority of ASIC’s legal costs.
ASIC first launched civil penalty proceedings against BPS in 2022, alleging misleading representations and unlicensed conduct related to the Qoin token.
In earlier rulings issued in 2024 and upheld on appeal in 2025, the court found that BPS had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by making false claims about the Qoin Wallet. These included assertions that the product was officially approved or registered, that Qoin tokens could be easily exchanged for fiat currency or other crypto assets, and that the token was widely accepted by merchants.
ASIC eases licensing rules for stablecoins
In December, ASIC finalized new exemptions aimed at simplifying the distribution of stablecoins and wrapped tokens, removing the requirement for intermediaries to hold separate Australian Financial Services licences.
The changes allow firms to operate using “omnibus accounts” with appropriate record-keeping, extending earlier regulatory relief and lowering compliance costs for companies operating in the digital asset and payments sectors.
In a report released Tuesday titled Key Issues Outlook 2026, ASIC Chair Joe Longo identified several priority risk areas for the year ahead, including retail exposure to opaque private credit, operational failures in superannuation, high-risk investment sales that could undermine retirement savings, consumer harms linked to artificial intelligence, and regulatory gaps across digital assets and fintech.
