ASIC claims victory in Qoin wallet scandal

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• ASIC wins case against BPS Financial, which sold Qoin wallet and cryptocurrency
• BPS Financial sold Qoin tokens to consumers and “Qoin merchants” in violation of corporate law
• The judge distinguished the Qoin blockchain and wallet from the unified scheme and clarified their legal status.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) recently won a case against BPS Financial Pty Ltd (BPY) in relation to the Qoin wallet. cryptocurrency. BPS sold Qoin tokens to retail customers and business owners, known as “Qoin merchants”, as a means of payment for goods and services provided by those merchants, but Justice Kylie Downs said BPS sold the Australian financial services company It was determined that not owning the company was in violation of the Companies Act. license. The ruling also established an important distinction between the Qoin blockchain and wallets representing a single scheme.

Merchant Received $40 million in Qoin tokens

BPS promotes Qoin Tokens to retail consumers and business owners (“Qoin Merchants”) as a means of payment for goods and services provided by Qoin Merchants, attracting over 93,000 users and generating over 40 million yen from the sale of Qoin Tokens. Received revenue in excess of $. September 2022.

ASIC took legal action against BPS in October 2022, alleging that BPS falsely assured consumers that they could confidently exchange their Qoin tokens for other crypto assets or fiat currencies for unauthorized conduct. and accused the company of providing false, misleading or deceptive information regarding the Qoin facility. such as the Australian dollar through an independent exchange.

Additionally, the regulator said BPS misrepresented that the number of merchants accepting Qoin tokens was increasing, falsely claimed that Qoin functionality and wallet applications were officially regulated and approved in Australia, and that financial services It claimed to have insisted on compliance with regulations.

Merchant BPS found guilty

Mr Justice Downs agreed that the Qoin Wallet was a financial product (specifically a non-cash payment instrument) and found that BPS had breached the Companies Act since January 2020, except at intervals of 10 months. I concluded.

BPS committed fraud by falsely claiming that the Qoin wallet was officially approved, available at a growing number of merchants, and could be exchanged for other crypto assets or Australian currency through independent exchanges. It turns out that

The court emphasized that BTX Exchange, the only exchange that accepted Qoin before November 2021, was controlled by BPS and lacked independence.

Merchant The ruling includes important distinctions between blockchains.

Despite ASIC’s argument that the Qoin blockchain and Qoin wallet constitute a single scheme, the court rejected this, stating that the Qoin blockchain and Qoin wallet do not directly enable non-cash payments. I emphasized that no. This refusal is blockchain Experts acknowledged that while infringements should be prosecuted, the underlying technology remains unclear.

ASIC Chairman Joe Longo emphasized Regarding the significance of this ruling, it points out that it is the first court ruling on a non-cash payment system related to virtual currencies.

ASIC has taken a range of enforcement actions against cryptocurrency businesses to clarify regulated products and when licenses are required. These proceedings should send a message that the products of the cryptocurrency industry will continue to be scrutinized by ASIC to ensure consumers are protected and comply with regulatory obligations.