Following the bankruptcy of FTX, many cryptocurrency exchanges have been under close scrutiny lately. Among them, Binance, undoubtedly the world’s most famous and widely used cryptocurrency exchange, is at the top of the list. While many countries, from Europe to America, have published many positive and negative reports, this time the news of a new investigation came from Australia.
Australian Authorities Have Launched An Investigation Against Binance
The Australian regulator announced yesterday that it has launched an investigation against the Binance exchange, which closed the derivatives accounts of almost 500 Australian customers because it was unclear in which category the users were registered. So what exactly does this investigation mean? What consequences could it have in the medium and long term?
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has launched an investigation into the derivatives division of the Binance exchange. Specifically, the exchange forced some of its users to delete their accounts yesterday by misclassifying them, which led to the investigation.
If the Australian court sees this as an ulterior motive, the investigation will surely be expanded. In fact, both the Australian government and survey results show that the public is not very hostile to cryptocurrencies.
However, the percentage of those who are not in favor of an exchange like Binance, which is also backed by the Chinese government, becoming a single hand in the country is also quite high. However, since many people believe that this is not a problem, the process can go on smoothly.
It Is Believed That 500 Accounts Were Affected By The Closure
Yesterday, the Binance exchange announced that futures trading in Australia is subject to certain laws. However, some clients who did not comply with these requirements were still able to trade on the exchange and their accounts were closed. Although the derivative positions of about 500 users were closed, Binance apologized for the losses and said that refunds would be issued.
Why Were The Accounts Closed?
Under Australian law, a “large investor” is an investor with the most trading experience and therefore the most capital. The other group of investors with less than a certain amount of capital is called “retail investors.” This group cannot trade derivatives. By including people who are not “large investors” in this group, the Binance exchange has unintentionally violated Australian law. ASIC also claims in its statement that it never met with Binance to discuss the matter and was never contacted by the exchange.
You may be interested in: Introducing SelfKey Token: A Guide for Beginners
