Binance Australia Derivatives, operated by Oztures Trading, has been fined $6.9 million after a court found it wrongly classified more than 85% of its customers as wholesale investors between July 2022 and April 2023, according to a press release issued on Friday by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
This misclassification exposed 524 retail investors to risky crypto derivatives without the required collateral, resulting in more than $8 million in losses and fees.
Binance admitted to major compliance failures, including flawed onboarding processes, insufficient staff training, and poor oversight by compliance officers. Customers were able to repeatedly attempt qualifying quizzes until they passed, and some were approved without proper verification.
In addition to the fine, Binance paid $9 million in compensation and must cover ASIC’s legal costs.
“All financial services companies must comply with the law from day one and have appropriate customer onboarding systems and processes in place. This includes financial services relating to crypto and digital assets,” ASIC said.
ASIC launched an investigation into Binance’s Australian derivatives operations in 2022. The investigation resulted in the cancellation of Oztures’ financial services license in April 2023 and the closure of its derivatives business.
Binance said in a statement that the fine relates to a historical issue involving customers who were misclassified.
The company said it identified and reported the issue to the regulator and fully remedied it in 2023. At the same time, Oztures voluntarily surrendered its license and ended its derivatives operations.
Although its Australian case was resolved, Binance now faces new scrutiny in the United States after reports alleging it handled nearly $2 billion through accounts linked to Iran, sparking a DOJ investigation.
Binance has denied any wrongdoing, saying the reports were false, harmful and misleading, and filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over an article published in February 2026 that it triggered unnecessary government investigations and damaged its reputation.
