Swyftx to chop its 'Earn' program this week, citing murky regulations

cointelegraph.com:

Australian crypto exchange Swyftx is set to shutter its crypto-interest product this week, citing a “constantly changing regulatory landscape” for crypto products in the country. 

From Jan. 10 local time, the crypto exchange will cease to operate the "Earn" program, while users will have their entire Earn balances returned to their trade wallets.

Swyftx said the decision might be “disappointing” for users, but they are “committed to doing what is best for the program in the near term.”

The announcement was posted by Swyftx on Dec. 27, but has gone largely unnoticed given the timing of the post and its proximity to the holidays. 

It comes just weeks after regulators launched actions against fintech firm Block Earner as well as Finder.com’s crypto yield products for allegedly being offered without the required licensing.

Swyftx has not permanently closed the door on the Earn program though, with the exchange mentioning they would consider re-opening the program once the rules are more straightforward.

In a statement to Cointelegraph, Swyftx said it was closing its Earn offering due to "uncertainty of the current regulatory context."

"We hope to reopen it once we have settled rules in place in Australia around interest yielding crypto offerings.  In the meantime, our priority is to continue to positively engage with regulators and the Government to protect existing and future Aussie crypto users," it added. 

Swyftx’s Earn program was first launched in May. 2022, and allowed users to earn daily interest on certain crypto tokens by loaning them to Swyftx.

Related: Superhero cans merger with Swyftx, citing regulatory scrutiny

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has been actively eyeing down Australian crypto