Australian Financial Regulator Rebuked by Judge in Legal Dispute with Crypto Startup Block Earner

An Australian judge has ordered the country's financial regulator, ASIC, to pay some of the costs of a legal dispute with crypto-based startup Block Earner and criticized it for publishing a "misleading media release." The dispute was over two of Block Earner's products, Earner and Access. While the judge ruled that Earner was unlicensed, Access did not need the same licensing and could continue to be offered. The judge also determined that Block Earner should be relieved of paying a penalty for Earner because it acted honestly in seeking to engage with the government over regulation of crypto-related products and services.