Australia Penalizes Kraken with $5.1M Fine Over Compliance Issues
An Australian court fined Kraken’s operator, Bit Trade, $5.1 million AUD for unlawfully offering a margin lending product to over 1,100 customers without proper regulatory approval.
The product, offered since 2021, allowed loans in digital assets or fiat currencies without a required target market determination (TMD). Customers incurred over $7 million in fees, with losses exceeding $5 million, including one individual losing nearly $4 million.
The ruling highlights Kraken’s serious compliance failures, driven by revenue motives, and serves as ASIC’s first penalty against a digital asset exchange for lacking a TMD.
Clever Robot News Desk 16th December 2024
Related Article
