As cryptocurrencies and their related markets make their way up, regulators across the world have warned users of managing their capital in the nascent field. This has been mainly due to the large number of fraudulent activities in the industry mostly fueled by ignorance and cheap phishing tricks. To combat this rising issue, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission [ASIC] has taken the onus to inform its citizens about the do’s and dont’s of crypto trading.
One of the first markers provided by the ASIC was to be on the lookout for cryptocurrency exchanges that do not comply with AML regulations or don’t possess an AFS license. In the latest ASIC report, it was stated:
“An entity is required to be licensed by ASIC if they provide financial services (such as advising or dealing) in relation to financial products offered in Australia. Financial products include derivatives such as options, futures, leveraged tokens, and binary options. The sale of binary options to retail clients was recently banned in Australia under an order that will remain in force for 18 months.”
The ASIC has had to take such a step because of cascading number of cases related to capital fraud. Over the past couple of years, several Australians experienced massive losses be in the form of futures, options, or leveraged tokens. Bringing these entities under the national mandate is expected to streamline the processes and make them much more transparent.
Users have also been urged to cross-check their references and exchanges before investing their hard-earned funds. The first step is to check if the exchange or crypto trading body holds an AFSL or Anti-Money Laundering [AML] system. The Commission further added that users need to be more vigilant when checking for licensing on crypto entities.