In brief
- ASIC has accused Bitget of offering unlicensed crypto futures to Australians, lacking an AFS licence and bypassing investor protections.
- Bitget’s products offer up to 125x leverage, far above ASIC’s 2:1 limit, exposing users to major financial risks, ASIC said.
- Global regulators have issued similar warnings since 2022, with actions taken in Spain, Japan, Germany, and other jurisdictions.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has issued a public warning against Bitget, accusing the crypto exchange of offering high-risk crypto futures products without a license.
ASIC said Bitget and its parent company, BTG Technology Holdings Limited, are promoting “unlicensed cryptocurrency futures products” to Australian investors, in a statement released Sunday.
“Bitget does not hold an Australian Financial Services licence,” the regulator said, “meaning it is not permitted to promote or encourage Australian investors to invest in its financial products.”
ASIC’s warning is the latest in a series of regulatory crackdowns, it says, is aimed at protecting retail investors from speculative, complex, and unregulated crypto financial products.
Similar action was taken last year when ASIC revoked Binance Australia Derivatives’ license and accused the platform of misclassifying retail clients, thereby stripping them of key consumer protections, including product disclosure statements and dispute resolution.
“The Australian government has been quite slow to clarify their expectations, and to this day, still have not done so in binding legislative form,” Bridget Nichols, chief commercial officer at crypto asset manager Monochrome, told Decrypt, when asked about challenges exchanges face in acquiring licensing for complex crypto products.
While ASIC limits leverage ratios for licensed crypto derivatives at 2:1 to protect retail investors, Bitget offers leverage up to 125:1.
“For every dollar invested at this leverage rate, there is potential for 125 times magnified gains or losses for investors,” the regulator warned, saying that “trading in highly leveraged derivative products can result in substantial losses.”
“If you invest in something that is unlicensed and unregulated in Australia, it’s harder to get help if things go wrong,” ASIC warned.
Without an AFS licence, Bitget users are not protected by safeguards such as internal dispute resolution or client money protection.
While acknowledging that “investor protection considerations are paramount so ASIC has the correct focus,” Nichols said “inhibiting innovation is an unfortunate bi-product, as ASIC is unable to keep up with technical advancements in the digital assets industry.
“Wrapping traditional finance around digital assets is the only currently available solution for regulatory clarity in Australia,” she said, calling Monochrome’s launch of a Bitcoin ETF, a “challenging path” that took three years.
Bitget remains registered with Australia’s financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, for basic exchange services but lacks the broader financial services license required for derivatives trading.
The warning comes as international regulators increasingly scrutinize Bitget’s operations, as cited in ASIC’s statement.
Since 2022, authorities in Spain, Austria, Germany, Canada, France, Cyprus, Malaysia, and Japan have issued similar warnings or taken regulatory action against various Bitget entities.
Decrypt has approached Bitget with a request for comment.
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