Australia High Court backs regulator on crypto yield licence

Australia’s High Court has unanimously ruled that a former fixed-yield cryptocurrency product offered by the company Block Earner required a financial services licence, handing a significant victory to the national financial regulator. The court’s decision, issued on June 17, 2026, overturns a previous ruling that had favored the company and clarifies that existing financial laws apply to certain digital asset offerings.

The High Court found that Block Earner’s now-discontinued "Earner" product, which offered fixed returns to users who deposited digital assets, qualified as both a facility for making financial investments and a derivative under the Corporations Act. The court determined that investor returns were linked to the value of underlying digital assets and exchange rate movements. The ruling sends the case back to the Full Federal Court to determine potential penalties against Block Earner.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) launched civil penalty proceedings against Block Earner in November 2022, arguing the product was offered without the required Australian Financial Services Licence, leaving investors without key consumer protections. The...