PANews, June 17 – According to The Block, the High Court of Australia has unanimously ruled 7–0 in favor of an appeal brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) regarding a fixed-income digital asset product previously launched by Block Earner, finding that the issuance of the product required an Australian financial services license under existing law.

The High Court noted in a court filing that the product offered by Web3 Ventures Pty Ltd, operating under the name Block Earner, is both a financial investment vehicle and meets the definition of a derivative, as investors’ returns fluctuate with the value of the underlying digital assets and exchange rates. The case will be remitted to the Full Federal Court to determine ASIC’s appeal on penalty issues from the earlier Federal Court proceedings. ASIC initiated civil penalty proceedings against Block Earner in November 2022, alleging it offered the Earner product without a license. Block Earner voluntarily shut down the product in November 2022 and pivoted to businesses such as crypto-backed home loans.