The Federal Court of Australia ruled in favor of Australian fintech company Finder.com, declaring its earnings product Finder Earn as legal and compliant in a legal dispute with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), lasting nearly three years.
In Thursday's court ruling, Judges Stewart, Cheeseman, and Meagher confirmed the previous ruling, stating that Finder Wallet and Earn comply with consumer financial laws.
The Federal Court's preliminary ruling confirmed that Finder Earn is not a financial product, Finder stated in a blog post on Thursday.
This ruling came three months after ASIC appealed a March court decision, which previously determined that Finder's Earn product complies with Australian financial law.
According to Finder, the case is the first in Australia to test the legal definition of bonds in relation to cryptocurrency.
Finder Earn operated from February to November 2022, allowing users to convert Australian dollars into stablecoins on the platform and transfer them to Finder Wallet for an annual return of 4% to 6%.
The company also stated that it has refunded all customer funds, totaling over 500,000 TrueAUD (TAUD), approximately $336,000.
The Finder case marks a “victory” for the Australian fintech industry.
Finder welcomed the decision, calling it a milestone for the Australian fintech industry.
“This is not only a victory for Finder but also for the Australian fintech industry,” said Finder.com founder Fred Schebesta. “We need to provide Australians with compliant and safe channels to access next-generation investment opportunities, from staking and earnings to NFTs, because these emerging crypto services should also have trusted and well-regulated pathways just like other asset classes.”
“We established Finder Earn with transparency and integrity from start to finish, maintaining communication with ASIC,” he added, calling the lawsuit “a challenge of innovation surpassing regulation.” When asked about plans after a victory, he hinted at a significant project in preparation. “I am preparing some major projects as a continuation of this victory.”