Binance’s Australian unit has been fined A$10mn ($6.9mn) by the Federal Court for misclassifying clients during onboarding. The breaches exposed retail investors to higher-risk crypto derivative products without the required consumer protections.
Binance Australia Fined $6.9mn for Client Misclassification
27 March 2026 - 11:30 CET
In a Statement of Agreed Facts, Binance admitted it allowed 524 retail investors to trade these products between July 2022 and April 2023 after wrongly classifying them as wholesale clients. Poor staff training enabled clients seeking verification as sophisticated investors to retake a multiple-choice quiz until they passed.
The fine comes on top of A$13mn (~$9mn) already paid in compensation to affected investors.
Responding to a query by Reuters, a Binance spokesperson described the matter as historical and related to Binance Australia Derivatives, also known as Oztures. The issue was self-identified, reported to the regulator, and fully remediated in 2023. Oztures closed its derivatives business and returned its Australian licence, they said.
