Australia’s corporate watchdog has won a Federal Court ruling ordering BPS Financial to pay A$14 million ($9.3 million) in penalties over the promotion and operation of its Qoin Wallet product.
The court found BPS ran an unlicensed financial services business and made misleading claims about Qoin Wallet between January 2020 and mid-2023, breaching the Corporations Act, following action brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
“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,”
Said ASIC chair Joe Longo.
The penalties include $1.3 million for unlicensed conduct and $8 million for misleading and deceptive representations linked to BPS’s promotion of the Qoin Wallet and its associated digital token.
The court also barred BPS Financial from operating a licensed financial services business for 10 years and ordered it to publish corrective notices and cover most of ASIC’s legal costs.
Earlier rulings in 2024, upheld on appeal in 2025, found BPS falsely claimed Qoin was officially approved, widely accepted by merchants and easily exchangeable for fiat or other crypto-assets.
The decision comes as ASIC continues to refine its approach to digital assets, recently easing licensing rules for some stablecoins while warning of growing risks across crypto, fintech and high-risk investments.