Finder Wallet: Alleged Unlicensed Conduct

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ustralia's financial regulator has taken legal action against Finder Wallet - a subsidiary of the comparison website, Finder.com - due to their crypto-linked yield product.

On December 15th, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) brought a lawsuit against the startup alleging unlicensed conduct and inadequate risk disclosure.

From February to November 10 of this year, Finder Earn provided customers the opportunity to convert their deposits in Australian dollars into a TAUD stablecoin that was linked with the Australian dollar. This allowed Finder access to working capital and offered users impressive interest rates of 4.01% and 6.01%.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission noted that the product closely mirrored a debenture, mandating it to be subject to suitable licensing.

“This is ASIC’s third recent action against a firm offering a crypto-asset related product that we consider to be a financial product. Our message to industry is clear — just because an offer involves a crypto-asset related product does not guarantee it will fall outside the current regulatory regime,” According to ASIC deputy chair, Sarah Court.

Finder Wallet, after being notified of ASIC's concerns, put an end to its Finder Earn product and reimbursed all customers on November 24th. Now, ASIC is asking the court for declarations and financial penalties against the company.

Chris

An editor at Coincrop

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Jonathan is a Coincrop staff writer based in the UK, covering the best rates for cryptocurrency earning and borrowing products. When not at work, he's likely sailing.