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High Court of Australia backs regulator in Block Earner crypto case

High Court of Australia backs regulator in Block Earner crypto case

A unanimous ruling found Block Earner’s fixed-yield digital asset product required an Australian financial services licence, overturning a 2025 appeal win for the company and sending the matter back to the Full Federal Court on penalties.

Fact Check
The official ASIC media release 26-124MR (published 17 June 2026) directly corroborates every component of the claim: a unanimous 7-0 High Court ruling that Block Earner's fixed-yield 'Earner' digital asset product was a financial product requiring an Australian financial services licence, overturning the Full Federal Court's 2025 appeal decision, with the matter returning to the Full Federal Court on penalties. The prior ASIC release (25-194MR) confirms the procedural background of the special leave grant and the March 2026 hearing. As the regulator and a party to the case, ASIC is an authoritative primary source.
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Summary

Australia’s High Court unanimously ruled 7-0 for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in its appeal over Block Earner’s fixed-yield digital asset product, finding the offering required an Australian financial services licence. The court overturned an April 2025 Full Federal Court ruling that had found the Earner product was not a financial product, and held that Web3 Ventures Pty Ltd’s offering qualified both as a facility for making a financial investment and as a derivative. The case stems from Block Earner’s Earner product, offered between March and November 2022, which generated returns by lending customers’ Australian dollars or crypto deposits to third parties and paying fixed yields. The matter now returns to the Full Federal Court as ASIC continues its penalties appeal, in a decision that underscores how Australia’s broad, technology-neutral financial laws can apply to digital asset products.

Terms & Concepts
  • derivative: A financial contract whose value or payouts are linked to movements in underlying assets, rates, or benchmarks.
  • Australian financial services licence: A regulatory licence required to offer certain financial products or services in Australia.
  • financial product: A broadly defined legal category under Australian law that can capture investment or risk-management arrangements, including some digital asset offerings.