ASIC asks High Court to allow it to appeal Block Earner's fine escape
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The news: ASIC is seeking special leave from the High Court to appeal a Full Federal Court ruling that crypto startup Block Earner was allowed to issue crypto-based fixed-yield return products without a licence because it was not a financial product.
The numbers: In June 2024, the Federal Court freed Block Earner from a $350,000 fine because it considered the since closed Earner product was not a financial product. ASIC’s appeal and Block Earner’s cross-appeal over that ruling were heard on 6 March 2025 before the Full Federal Court sided with the Coinbase-backed startup on 22 April.
The context: ASIC wants the High Court to rule on the definition of a financial product to clarify when interest-earning products and products involving a conversion of assets from one form into another are regulated.
The corporate regulator argues that the definition is drafted in a broad and technology-neutral way and that there is a public interest in clarifying this.
Block Earner’s product, which was issued without a financial licence, allowed consumers to earn fixed yield returns from lending specified crypto-assets.
The source: ASIC media release
