The Australian Federal Court has ruled in favor of fintech company Finder.com, concluding a nearly three-year legal battle with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) over its yield-generating product, Finder Earn.
In a decision handed down Thursday, Justices Stewart, Cheeseman, and Meagher upheld a previous judgment that both Finder Wallet and the Finder Earn product complied with Australian consumer financial laws.
“The court confirmed the initial finding that Finder Earn was not a financial product,” Finder stated in a blog post following the ruling.
This decision follows ASIC’s appeal of a March court ruling, which had already found Finder’s Earn product to be compliant with the country’s financial regulations.
According to Finder, the case was the first in Australia to test the legal definition of a debenture in the context of cryptocurrency.
Finder Earn, which ran from February to November 2022, enabled users to convert Australian dollars into stablecoins on the platform and transfer them to Finder Wallet in return for an annual yield of 4% to 6%.
The company stated that it fully returned customer funds, totaling over 500,000 TrueAUD (TAUD), or approximately $336,000.
Finder case seen as a “victory” for Australia’s fintech sector
Finder celebrated the court’s decision, describing it as a significant milestone for Australia’s fintech industry.
“This is a win not just for Finder, but for fintech in Australia,” said Fred Schebesta, founder of Finder.com, in a statement to Cointelegraph. “Australians deserve compliant and secure access to emerging investment opportunities—whether it’s staking, yield products, NFTs, or beyond. These crypto services should have trusted, well-regulated pathways just like any other asset class.”
Schebesta emphasized that Finder Earn was built with “transparency and integrity from day one,” noting the company had consulted with ASIC throughout the process. He described the legal battle as a case of “innovation pushing ahead of regulation.”
When asked about the future following the legal win, Schebesta hinted at a new venture. “I have something massive I’ve been working on that will build upon this win,” he said.
