Australia Cracks Down on Inactive Crypto Exchanges to Combat Criminal Use

Australia’s financial intelligence agency is stepping up efforts to tighten oversight of crypto exchanges, warning that inactive platforms risk deregistration if they fail to voluntarily withdraw.

In an April 30 press release, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said many registered digital currency exchange providers appear to have ceased operations but remain listed, potentially exposing the system to criminal exploitation.

AUSTRAC stated it has begun contacting exchanges that no longer seem active, out of the 427 businesses currently registered.

“Businesses registered with AUSTRAC are required to keep their details up to date; this includes details about services that are no longer provided,” the agency said.

“Our intelligence shows cryptocurrency can be exploited by criminals for money laundering, scams and money mule activities, and we’re seeing far too many people falling victim to scams involving digital currency.”

AUSTRAC said that all exchanges and crypto ATM providers must be officially registered before offering fiat-crypto conversion services, noting that inactive businesses are a vulnerability that could be targeted and misused.

AUSTRAC warns inactive crypto exchanges to deregister or face cancellation

Australia’s anti-money laundering regulator, @AUSTRAC, has warned inactive cryptocurrency exchanges, including FTX Express and AccE Australia, that their registrations will be canceled unless they…

Nicole Thomas, AUSTRAC’s national manager for regulatory operations, described the crypto sector as “high risk,” adding that registration lends a degree of legitimacy that bad actors can exploit if oversight lapses.

The agency warned it may cancel registrations if there are reasonable grounds to believe a business is no longer operational.

Additionally, AUSTRAC said it will soon launch a publicly searchable register, enabling consumers to verify whether a crypto exchange is officially registered and under regulatory scrutiny.

Earlier this month, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that it had shut down 95 firms believed to be operating under false pretenses.

ASIC noted it has been ramping up enforcement, taking down an average of 130 scam websites per week.

To date, it has disabled more than 10,000 malicious websites, including over 7,200 fake investment platforms and 1,500 phishing scams.

In a related crackdown, ASIC also recently targeted crypto ATM operators who failed to meet anti-money laundering regulations, following a spike in suspicious activity linked to the machines.

Last month, the Australian Federal Police (AFP), National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC), and Binance Australia issued warnings to victims about the sophisticated fraud scheme, which leverages fake messages to deceive users into transferring their crypto holdings.

At the time, the AFP revealed that over 130 potential victims had been notified as part of a proactive crackdown on the scam.

Fraudsters reportedly used SMS and encrypted messaging platforms to pose as Binance representatives, falsely claiming that victims’ accounts had been compromised.

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