Block Earner dodges financial penalty in crypto-product case

The news: Crypto startup Block Earner will not face any pecuniary penalty over court findings that it contravened the Corporations Act by offering a (since closed) fixed yield product without a financial services licence.

The context: Lawyers for the company had asked Federal Court of Australia Judge Ian Jackman in May to consider excusing the company from any penalty given it had not acted carelessly or caused actual harm in its conduct.

The company had also argued that declarations it has been forced to make publicly in light of its wrongdoing were "a form of penalty".

When Jackman handed down his initial decision on the court case in February, it was the first outcome on a string of cases launched by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in late 2022 around whether crypto products are financial products and should be regulated as such.