Exchanges

AUSTRAC Registered Crypto Exchanges: 2026 Status Tracker

AUSTRAC registration and AFSL status of 12 Australian crypto exchanges, verified June 2026 — and what the new licensing law changes by April 2027.

YCG Research Desk

Published

12 June 2026

Fact-checked & updated

12 June 2026

Every one of the 12 major crypto exchanges in this tracker is registered with AUSTRAC — but registration is an anti-money-laundering obligation, not a licence, an endorsement or protection for your funds. Below is the verified June 2026 regulatory status of each platform: AUSTRAC registration, AFSL status, enforcement history, and what changes by April 2027.

This page is a maintained tracker, not a one-off article. Statuses were last verified on 12 June 2026 and are re-checked monthly, because Australia is mid-way through the largest regulatory transition in the sector’s history. For fee and feature comparisons of the same platforms, see our Australian crypto exchange comparison; for the broader legal picture, see whether crypto is legal in Australia.

What AUSTRAC registration is — and what it is not

AUSTRAC is Australia’s financial intelligence agency. Since April 2018, any business exchanging digital currency for money (or vice versa) in Australia must register as a digital currency exchange (DCE) provider under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006. Registered providers must verify customer identities, monitor transactions, report suspicious matters and cash transactions of $10,000 or more, and keep records.

From 31 March 2026, the AML/CTF Amendment Act 2024 reforms took effect: existing DCE registrations automatically carried over to the new virtual asset service provider (VASP) category, which also captures token custody, transfers and crypto-to-crypto exchange. The “travel rule” — passing sender and recipient information along with transfers — applies from 1 July 2026.

What registration is not matters more than what it is:

Not a licence. AUSTRAC checks key personnel and money-laundering risk before registering a provider. It does not assess solvency, custody arrangements, trading systems, fees or fairness to customers.
Not a government endorsement. AUSTRAC itself cautions that registration should not be read as approval of a business.
Not custody or solvency protection. Crypto held on an exchange is not covered by the Financial Claims Scheme that protects bank deposits up to $250,000, and there is no compensation scheme for exchange failures. Digital Surge was AUSTRAC-registered when it entered voluntary administration in December 2022 after FTX exposure; customers were eventually repaid under a deed of company arrangement, but registration did nothing to prevent the event.
Not product regulation. Conduct, disclosure and consumer-protection rules sit with ASIC under the Corporations Act — which is exactly what the 2027 reforms extend to crypto platforms.

How to check the register yourself

You can verify any provider in minutes:

Go to AUSTRAC Online (online.austrac.gov.au) and open the public register search under the Registration menu — no account is needed.
Enter at least three characters of the provider’s legal or trading name, or its full ABN, ACN or ARBN without spaces.
Search by legal entity name where you can. Kraken operates in Australia as Bit Trade Pty Ltd, and Binance Australia as InvestbyBit Pty Ltd — trading-name searches can miss them.
Check the conditions column. If AUSTRAC has imposed conditions on a registration, an icon appears and the details are available as a PDF.
Cross-check AFSL claims separately on ASIC’s professional registers (connectonline.asic.gov.au), and complaints-scheme membership via the AFCA member search (afca.org.au). The three registers are independent — a platform can appear on one and not the others.

The tracker: 12 platforms verified June 2026

The table below covers the platforms in our Australian exchange comparison. “AFSL held” refers to the entity operating the Australian crypto service; spot crypto trading does not currently require an AFSL, so “none” is the norm today rather than a red flag — that context changes from April 2027.

Platform	AUSTRAC registered (DCE → VASP)	AFSL held (June 2026)	Regulatory notes
Swyftx	Yes	None	Brisbane-based, registered since 2018
CoinSpot	Yes	None	Registered since the DCE regime began; ISO 27001 certified
Independent Reserve	Yes	None	Acquired by UK-listed IG Group, January 2026
Kraken (Bit Trade Pty Ltd)	Yes	None	A$8M Federal Court penalty, December 2024 (margin product)
BTC Markets	Yes	None	Operating since 2013; ISO 27001 certified
Digital Surge	Yes	None	Entered administration 2022 (FTX exposure); recovered, customers repaid
eToro (eToro AUS Capital)	Yes	AFSL 491139, multi-asset	Licensed since 2017 for derivatives and FX; 2023 ASIC action over its CFD product
Coinbase (Coinbase Australia)	Yes	AFSL granted 8 April 2026, incl. retail derivatives	Described by Coinbase as the first retail-derivatives AFSL granted to a crypto exchange
Binance (InvestbyBit Pty Ltd)	Yes	None — derivatives AFSL cancelled 6 April 2023	A$10M penalty ordered March 2026; AUD rails restored January 2026
CoinJar	Yes	None	UK arm separately registered with the UK FCA
Cointree	Yes	None	Operating since 2013
Elbaite	Yes (DCE 100593224-001)	None	Non-custodial P2P model — platform never holds customer crypto

ASIC does not publish pending AFSL applications, so we cannot yet report which of these platforms have lodged under the 30 June 2026 deadline discussed below. We update this table as new licences appear on ASIC’s register.

Licences, cancellations and penalties: the detail

Coinbase. ASIC granted Coinbase Australia an AFSL on 8 April 2026 that includes retail derivatives authorisation — described by the company as the first of its kind for a crypto exchange. It plans to offer crypto and equity perpetual futures to retail clients, with options to follow. Note the balance: a derivatives licence regulates those leveraged products, which carry materially higher risk than spot trading. It does not transform spot crypto on the same platform into a regulated financial product.

eToro. eToro AUS Capital Limited has held AFSL 491139 since 2017, covering derivatives, foreign exchange and securities. Its crypto service sits alongside those regulated products. In 2023, ASIC took Federal Court action against eToro over the target-market design of its CFD product — a reminder that holding a licence and complying with it are different things.

Binance. ASIC cancelled the AFS licence of Oztures Trading Pty Ltd (Binance Australia Derivatives) on 6 April 2023, at Binance’s own request, after ASIC began a review into the misclassification of 524 retail investors as wholesale clients. Around $13.1 million in compensation was paid in 2023, and on 27 March 2026 the Federal Court ordered a further $10 million penalty. The spot exchange (InvestbyBit Pty Ltd) remains AUSTRAC-registered and restored AUD deposits and withdrawals in January 2026 after a two-and-a-half-year banking freeze.

Kraken. On 12 December 2024 the Federal Court ordered Bit Trade Pty Ltd to pay an A$8 million penalty for offering its “margin extension” product to more than 1,100 Australians without a target market determination. The court found the product was an unlicensed credit facility; affected customers had paid over US$7 million in fees and interest and lost more than US$5 million trading.

None of this history is captured by the AUSTRAC register — all four platforms were registered throughout. That is precisely why a tracker that separates the registers is useful.

What changes by April 2027

The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act received Royal Assent on 8 April 2026 and commences on 9 April 2027. It creates two new categories of financial product — digital asset platforms (DAPs, which hold customers’ tokens) and tokenised custody platforms (TCPs) — and brings their operators inside the AFSL regime.

Element	Detail (as legislated, June 2026)
Commencement	9 April 2027
Who needs an AFSL	Operators of platforms that hold digital assets for customers
Transition	6 months from commencement; providers with lodged applications may operate until ASIC decides
Small-platform exemption	Platforms holding under $5,000 per customer
What it adds	Custody, conduct, disclosure and dispute-resolution standards under ASIC oversight
What it does not add	Any guarantee against investment losses, volatility or platform failure

For most of the table above, the practical effect is that “AUSTRAC-registered, no AFSL” stops being a viable operating model. Platforms will either hold a licence, operate under a pending application during transition, qualify for an exemption, or exit the Australian market — as several offshore platforms did during earlier regulatory tightening.

The 30 June 2026 no-action deadline

ASIC’s updated INFO 225 guidance (released late October 2025, with the final text published in November 2025) confirmed that many existing crypto products and services already fall within financial services law. To bridge the gap to 2027, ASIC issued class no-action relief: it will not take licensing action against providers that lodge an AFSL application (or notify intent to apply for a market licence) by 30 June 2026, hold AFCA membership, and — if foreign — register as a foreign company. Crypto lending and earn products, and most derivatives, are excluded from the relief.

At the time of writing, that deadline is 18 days away. AFCA membership is worth checking in its own right: it gives retail customers access to a free external dispute-resolution scheme. AFSL holders serving retail clients, such as eToro and Coinbase Australia, are required to maintain it; for unlicensed platforms, membership is a condition of relying on ASIC’s relief and can be verified through the AFCA member search.

How to use this tracker

AUSTRAC registration is a baseline legal requirement — a platform operating without it would be breaking the law, and it is the first thing to verify before buying crypto in Australia. Beyond that baseline, the registers tell you nothing about cost or custody, so investors commonly compare trading fees, AUD banking rails and withdrawal support alongside regulatory status. Because no compensation scheme covers exchange-held crypto, some investors limit platform exposure by moving long-term holdings to hardware wallets available in Australia.

SMSF trustees face a further layer: auditors expect clear records of where fund assets are held and in whose name, regardless of a platform’s registration status — see the SMSF rules, tax and audit requirements. This page reports each platform’s status as published; it is general information, not a recommendation of any platform, and statuses can change between our monthly checks. Verify directly with AUSTRAC and ASIC before relying on any entry.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Is AUSTRAC registration a licence?

No. AUSTRAC registration is an anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligation under the AML/CTF Act 2006. AUSTRAC checks key personnel and money-laundering risk, but it does not assess an exchange's solvency, custody arrangements, fees or conduct, and it provides no compensation if a platform fails. An Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) is a separate authorisation issued by ASIC.

How do I check if a crypto exchange is registered with AUSTRAC?

Search the public register on AUSTRAC Online. Enter at least three characters of the provider's legal or trading name, or its full ABN or ACN without spaces. Search by legal name where possible — Kraken operates in Australia as Bit Trade Pty Ltd and Binance Australia as InvestbyBit Pty Ltd, so searching trading names alone can miss results.

Which Australian crypto exchanges hold an AFSL?

As at June 2026, eToro AUS Capital holds multi-asset AFSL 491139 (issued 2017) and Coinbase Australia was granted an AFSL including retail derivatives authorisation on 8 April 2026. Most Australian spot exchanges, including Swyftx, CoinSpot and Independent Reserve, operate under AUSTRAC registration only, because spot crypto trading does not yet require an AFSL. That changes from April 2027.

Does AUSTRAC registration protect my money if an exchange collapses?

No. Registration imposes anti-money-laundering obligations only. Crypto held on an exchange is not covered by the Financial Claims Scheme that protects bank deposits, and Australia has no compensation scheme for exchange failures. Digital Surge was AUSTRAC-registered when it entered administration in 2022 after FTX exposure. Custody risk is one reason some investors move holdings into self-custody.

What happens to crypto exchanges in April 2027?

The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 commences on 9 April 2027. From that date, digital asset platforms that hold customers' tokens will need an AFSL from ASIC, with a six-month transition for providers that have lodged applications. Platforms holding less than $5,000 per customer are exempt. Licensing brings custody, conduct and disclosure standards, but does not guarantee against losses.

Is Binance registered with AUSTRAC in Australia?

Yes. Binance Australia's spot exchange operates through InvestbyBit Pty Ltd, which is AUSTRAC-registered. Separately, ASIC cancelled the AFS licence of Binance Australia Derivatives (Oztures Trading Pty Ltd) in April 2023, and the Federal Court ordered it to pay a $10 million penalty in March 2026 over client misclassification. AUSTRAC registration and AFSL status are independent of each other.

Sources & further reading