The contents of this announcement or newsletter are point-in-time statements. Please note the date of publication.

Regulatory and Legal update

In the ASIC proceedings against the wallet issuer BPS Financial Pty Ltd “BPS”, judgment was delivered on 3 May 2024. On the same day BPS provided a media statement to the community, including a link to the full judgment. BPS advised that it was grateful for the clarity that the judgment provided, and that the authorised representative agreement with the Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) holder Billzy Pty Ltd has been updated to align with this Federal Court ruling. The updated agreement has been submitted to ASIC.

On 20 June 2024 BPS was notified by sealed Notice of Appeal that ASIC is appealing the judgment as it relates to the authorisation of BPS by PNI Financial Services. BPS now has 21 days from 20 June to determine any cross appeal. Thereafter the court will provide the parties a date for the appeal/s to be heard.  BPS will monitor the outcome of any appeal and respond accordingly to ensure that its licensing arrangements remain compliant with the law.

It was noted in the recent media that ASIC has also issued Notices of Appeal to the other two crypto related judgments in favour of Finder Wallet and Block Earner.

In the representative proceedings the class action parties, including the Qoin Association, attended a full day mediation on Friday 5 April 2024. The mediation was adjourned to 19 June 2024 and has now been further adjourned to 31 July 2024 to allow for ongoing discussions and communications between the parties. Due to the confidential nature of the mediation no further information can be disclosed at this stage. The parties can provide a further update as soon as the mediation has either been concluded or alternatively terminated.

Both BPS and the Qoin Association have been working hard over the past two years to defend the digital wallet product as well as the larger project in these proceedings. Although it has been extremely costly in legal fees and human resources, the teams remain confident to resolve the matters to the benefit of the community.