A blitz on dormant registered crypto exchanges is being undertaken by Australia’s financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, to eliminate scammers.
Australia’s financial intelligence agency has told inactive registered crypto exchanges to withdraw their registrations or face cancellation, due to concerns that scammers could exploit dormant firms.
Currently, 427 crypto exchanges register with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), but on April 29, the agency stated that criminals could exploit a significant number of inactive exchanges vulnerable to acquisition.
The agency is contacting any so-called digital currency exchanges (DCEs) that appear to have stopped trading, and AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas stated they will instruct them to “use it or lose it.”
He added that businesses registered with AUSTRAC must keep their details updated, including information about services they no longer provide.
Businesses that wish to offer conversions between cash and crypto to Australians, including crypto ATM providers, must first register with AUSTRAC, which monitors crimes such as money laundering, terror financing, and tax evasion.
The agency can cancel a registration if it reasonably believes that the business is no longer active or offering crypto-related services.
Since 2019, AUSTRAC has canceled the registration of ten firms, most recently FTX Express in June 2024, the local subsidiary of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX.
AUSTRAC Set to Publish Public Registry of Registered Crypto Exchanges
Following its blitz on inactive crypto exchanges, AUSTRAC stated that it will publish a list of registered exchanges to help Australians verify legitimate providers.
Thomas stated that the goal is to make it more difficult for criminals to scam people and to improve the integrity and accuracy of AUSTRAC’s register.
He said that if a DCE intends to offer a service, it must contact us; otherwise, we will cancel the registration and add this information to the register.
In February, the Anti-Money Laundering regulator took action against 13 remittance service providers and crypto exchanges, while it continues investigating over 50 others for possible compliance issues.
Authorities refused to renew registration for six providers because key personnel had committed serious offenses, including convictions, prosecutions, or charges.
Australia has yet to pass crypto regulations. In August 2022, the ruling center-left Labor Party initiated a series of industry consultations to draft a crypto regulatory framework.
In March, the government proposed a new crypto framework to regulate exchanges under existing financial services laws ahead of the federal election scheduled for May 3.
