Last Updated on 14 mins by John Piper

Swyftx, a crypto exchange based in Australia, will close its cryptocurrency rewards program on Tuesday 10th January due to uncertainty in regulatory laws in the country.

Swyftx’s cryptocurrency interest-earning program “Earn”, will cease. Users will need to empty their Earn balances, and return the funds to their trade accounts. This programme, which was launched in May last year, allows users to earn interest by lending crypto tokens like Bitcoin ($BTC), and Ethereum ($ETH), to Swyft. It acts similarly to a pool to loan crypto and receive rewards for it.

The announcement from the crypto exchange stated that while they understand that the news is disappointing, the team is committed to doing the best for the program in near future.

We believe in cryptocurrency’s potential and value, but we need more clarity regarding the regulation of crypto offerings like Earn.

This announcement was made after Australian regulators filed and launched legal actions against Block Earner, a fintech company, and Finder.com, for allegedly operating cryptocurrency yield products and services without the proper licenses. Over the past few months, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has been investigating crypto firms in an effort to crack down on unregulated cryptocurrency services. The Commission filed a complaint against Qoin, the creator of blockchain project Qoin, for misrepresenting its tokens and misleading marketing.

The Securities and Investment Commission has been followed by the Federal Government of Australia, which also established a regulatory regime for cryptocurrencies. The Labor Government of Australia announced that at the end of 2022 it would release a consultation paper as part of its cryptocurrency initiative. This document will provide a framework for regulating assets, custody, company licencing, consumer protection, and user protection.

Swyftx does not claim that the Earn program is closed permanently, but the exchange won’t open it until further regulation and rules are in place to allow the exchange to continue operating within Australian regulations.

Coin Insider’s first article, Australian crypto firm shuts down rewards program, appeared first on Coin Insider.