The AFSL tracker
Australia's Digital Assets Framework (assented 8 April 2026) requires crypto platforms to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence when the regime commences on 9 April 2027. Platforms wanting transitional relief must lodge their licence application by 30 September 2026 — a deadline ASIC extended from 30 June. This page tracks who holds a licence, what that licence actually covers, and who is still relying on relief — checked by hand against ASIC's own register, because no feed publishes this.
4
hold an AFSL of some kind
2
on transitional relief or applying
7
days to apply — 30 Sep 2026 cut-off
9 Apr 2027
deadline: licence or leave
How Australia got here
- 1 2023–2024
Consultation
Treasury consults on regulating digital asset platforms as financial products — the "regulate the platform, not the token" model.
- 2 2025
Legislation
The Digital Assets Framework bill is introduced and debated, settling the licensing perimeter and transitional arrangements.
- 3 8 Apr 2026
Assent
The framework becomes law. ASIC transitional relief lets registered platforms keep operating while applications are processed.
- 4 1 Jul 2026
Travel Rule
AUSTRAC's reformed AML regime bites: crypto transfers must carry sender and recipient information, and virtual asset service providers face full transaction-monitoring obligations.
- 5 30 Sep 2026
Application deadline
ASIC's extended cut-off (moved from 30 June) for platforms to lodge licence applications and keep operating under transitional relief — announced June 2026, alongside broader eligibility for intermediary structures.
- 6 9 Apr 2027
Commencement
The regime bites: platforms serving Australians above the small-scale exemption must hold an AFSL — or stop.
What holding an AFSL actually requires
A licence isn't a sticker — it's a set of ongoing obligations that address the specific ways crypto platforms have historically failed their customers:
ASIC oversight
Licensees answer to ASIC: conduct obligations, breach reporting, and the power to suspend or cancel a licence that's abused.
Capital & solvency
Minimum financial resources and solvency requirements — a buffer between a platform's bad quarter and your assets.
Custody standards
Client asset segregation and custody obligations, so customer coins aren't working capital — the failure mode behind FTX and every collapse like it.
Real dispute resolution
Membership of AFCA, the external dispute resolution scheme — a complaints path that ends somewhere other than the platform's own support queue.
The tracker
Reading the statuses: ✓ Licensed cleared the bar early; ◌ Transitional relief is the normal, compliant state until 2027; ✕ None known deserves your questions as the deadline nears.
| Platform | AUSTRAC | AFSL status & what it covers | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coinbase Australia | ✓ Registered | ✓ Licensed · #569752 Covers: Advice, dealing and making a market in derivatives and non-cash payment products. The broadest crypto-platform licence granted so far, though spot trading still sits outside the licensing perimeter until 2027. Coinbase Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 654 922 442) | AFSL granted 2 April 2026 — the first crypto exchange licensed under the new framework. Corrects an earlier record of AFSL 541612, which does not exist on ASIC's register. | link |
| CoinSpot | ✓ Registered | ✓ Licensed · #562554 Covers: Non-cash payment products only. This licence exists for the CoinSpot Mastercard, a prepaid card issued by EML Payment Solutions (AFSL 404131). The crypto exchange is not covered by it. Casey Block Services Pty Ltd (ACN 619 574 186) | AFSL granted 29 April 2026, for the prepaid card rather than the exchange. | link |
| eToro AUS Capital | ✓ Registered | ✓ Licensed · #491139 Covers: Advice, dealing, market making and custody across securities, derivatives, FX and managed funds — held since 2017. It contains no digital-asset authorisation, and eToro states its crypto wallet services are not provided under it. eToro AUS Capital Limited (ACN 612 791 803) | A long-standing multi-asset licence that predates crypto regulation and does not extend to it. | link |
| Swyftx | ✓ Registered | ✓ Licensed · #568543 Covers: Advice on and arranging deposit products, derivatives and non-cash payments; issues non-cash payment products. Not the spot exchange — Swyftx states it holds no AFSL for spot crypto trading, and its derivatives are issued by Eightcap (AFSL 391441). Swyftx Pty Ltd (ACN 623 556 730) | AFSL granted 3 July 2026. Holds an AFSL, but not one covering the crypto exchange itself. | link |
| Binance Australia | ✓ Registered | ◌ Transitional relief Oztures Trading Pty Ltd (ACN 142 898 324), trading as Binance Australia Derivatives | No current AFSL; application lodged and pending. Its derivatives licence (425165) was cancelled by ASIC on 6 April 2023 at Binance's request, not surrendered quietly. In March 2026 the Federal Court ordered a $10 million penalty for misclassifying over 85% of Australian clients as wholesale. | link |
| Bybit | ✕ not registered | ✕ None known | No Australian entity on AUSTRAC's register or either ASIC register. Excluded from our directory under the listing policy. Note that "Investbybit Pty Ltd" on AUSTRAC's register is Binance Australia, not Bybit. | link |
| Kraken (Bit Trade) | ✓ Registered | ◌ Transitional relief Bit Trade Pty Limited (ACN 163 237 634) | Holds no AFSL of its own and says so. Operates through authorised representative appointments under Beaufort Fiduciaries (545124, wholesale derivatives) and Flexewallet (448066, payments). Paid an $8 million penalty in December 2024 over its margin product. | link |
Buying and selling crypto on a spot exchange is generally not a financial product under current law, so no Australian licence covers it — that is precisely what the 2027 regime changes. The licences above cover adjacent things: derivatives, payment products, traditional investments. CoinSpot's, for instance, exists for its prepaid card, and Swyftx states plainly that it holds no AFSL for spot crypto trading. Read the tick as evidence a platform is engaging with the regulator, not as protection on your trades.
Every row checked against ASIC's register on 17 Sept 2026 · sources & method
Why this matters: after 9 April 2027, an unlicensed platform (outside the small-scale exemption) can't legally serve Australians. Licensing brings capital requirements, dispute resolution and ASIC oversight — the strongest consumer-protection upgrade Australian crypto has had. We alert on every status change.
FAQ
Does AUSTRAC registration mean a platform is licensed?
No — and the difference matters. AUSTRAC registration is an anti-money-laundering obligation: identity checks and transaction reporting. It says nothing about capital, custody or conduct. The AFSL is the consumer-protection layer. Most platforms are still operating under ASIC relief rather than a licence, and the ones that do hold a licence mostly hold it for something other than spot trading.
Is an unlicensed platform unsafe?
Not automatically — operating under ASIC relief is the expected state for most compliant platforms, not a red flag. What deserves attention is the trajectory: platforms that have already secured a licence cleared the bar early, and any platform still showing "none known" as 2027 approaches is running out of runway.
What happens on 30 September 2026?
That is the date by which a platform must have lodged its licence application (or arranged cover another way) to keep relying on ASIC's no-action position. It is an action deadline rather than an expiry: a platform that lodged in time stays covered until ASIC decides, which can take many months. One that did not is exposed from 1 October, and ASIC has said penalties can reach 10% of annual turnover. ASIC does not publish pending applications, so from October a "relief" status means we cannot see which side of the line a platform is on.
What happens to platforms that don't get licensed?
After 9 April 2027, operating above the small-scale exemption without a licence means they can't legally serve Australian customers. In practice, expect unlicensed platforms to either exit Australia or restrict Australian accounts — one more reason to prefer platforms visibly engaging with the process.
General information only, not legal advice. Status reflects our latest automated verification; always confirm against ASIC's registers for decisions that matter.