According to a press release on Thursday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has revoked Binance Australia’s derivatives license in response to a request from Binance on April 5.
Binance Australia will close all its clients’ open derivatives positions by April 21. The platform had only 104 users as of yesterday, according to a tweet from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. He added that Binance’s spot cryptocurrency exchange in Australia would continue to operate.
Binance Australia said it was ending its derivatives product to focus on a narrower set of goals. ASIC Chairman Joseph Longo said that AFS licensees must classify clients as retail or wholesale based on the law. Australian financial-services laws give regular people who trade in crypto derivatives necessary rights and protections, such as the ability to use the Australian Financial Complaints Authority to settle disputes outside of Australia.
Longo also said that ASIC supports a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in Australia, with the government having the final say.
Last week, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit against Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, for offering unregistered derivatives products in the U.S.