Australia's financial regulator will crack down on inactive crypto exchanges

Australia's anti-money laundering agency, AUSTRAC, has asked cryptocurrency exchanges that are registered but not actually operating to withdraw their registration voluntarily, or they will be forced to cancel. The agency said in a statement on April 29 that some of the current 427 registered exchanges that have not been operating for a long time may be acquired by criminals for fraud. Brendan Thomas, chief executive of AUSTRAC, stressed that registered companies need to update their operating status in a timely manner, otherwise they will face "use or cancel" disposal.
AUSTRAC plans to publish a list of registered exchanges to help the public identify legitimate platforms. Since 2019, 10 institutions have been disqualified, including FTX's local subsidiary, which was processed in June 2024. In February this year, the agency also took compliance review measures against 13 money transfer service providers and exchanges. At present, Australia has not introduced specific crypto regulations. The government intends to move forward with the regulatory framework to include exchanges in the existing financial services law before the May 3 general election.