AUSTRAC’s ‘Use‑It‑or‑Lose‑It’ Blitz Targets Dormant Crypto Exchanges—Prime Targets for Criminals
Key Takeaways
Inactive exchanges beware: AUSTRAC’s new use‑it‑or‑lose‑it campaign gives dormant digital‑currency exchanges (DCEs) the choice to voluntarily withdraw or have their registration cancelled.
Financial‑crime risk in focus: Empty licences can be bought by bad actors, who then launder funds under the guise of an AUSTRAC‑registered business.
Scale of the clean‑up: 427 DCEs sit on the register today; the regulator believes a sizeable chunk have quietly exited the market.
Ongoing obligations matter: Exchanges that remain must keep their business details up to date—failure means instant, public cancellation.
Searchable register promised: AUSTRAC intends to launch a public DCE register so consumers can verify legitimate providers—an overdue improvement many in the industry have long demanded.
Australia’s anti‑money‑laundering watchdog has fired a shot across the bows of the cryptocurrency sector. In a media release dated 29 April 2025, AUSTRAC unveiled a use‑it‑or‑lose‑it blitz aimed squarely at dormant digital‑currency exchanges. The message is blunt: if you’re no longer trading, surrender your licence or the regulator will do it for you.
“Businesses registered with AUSTRAC are expected to actively provide digital‑currency exchange services,” the agency warned, pointing out that lapses in activity create a ready‑made vehicle for scammers, money‑mule operators and other financial criminals.
Why the sudden push?
While 427 exchanges are technically on AUSTRAC’s books, a “significant proportion” appear inactive. These shell registrations are prime takeover targets: by purchasing a dormant entity, criminals instantly gain the veneer of legitimacy that an AUSTRAC registration confers. The regulator’s blitz therefore serves a dual purpose—tidying the register and choking off a free‑ride for illicit actors.
Compliance, or cancellation
Registered DCEs must already update AUSTRAC whenever their business details change or a service is discontinued. The blitz reinforces that obligation and shortens the leash: if an exchange ignores AUSTRAC’s call‑out, the watchdog can—and will—cancel the listing outright. All cancellations are published online, adding an extra reputational sting.
A register the public can actually use
Perhaps the most interesting announcement is AUSTRAC’s plan to roll out a publicly searchable DCE register after the blitz concludes. The promise is welcome but also long overdue. Industry participants have spent years waiting for a simple, real‑time tool to check whether a provider is genuinely regulated. At present, AUSTRAC only publishes notices of cancellations, suspensions and refusals on its website—better than nothing, yet hardly user‑friendly for consumers vetting a potential exchange.
What’s next?
Exchanges that still want to operate can simply respond to AUSTRAC and confirm they remain active; others can withdraw their registration without penalty. Those that do neither will be struck off. Any business that later decides to re‑enter the market will need to apply afresh, facing the same scrutiny as a newcomer.
For the wider crypto ecosystem, the blitz is a timely reminder: regulatory credentials are a living obligation, not a one‑off badge. AUSTRAC’s clean‑up—paired with a long‑awaited public register—should make it easier for Australians to separate genuine digital‑asset businesses from the pretenders.