ASIC Wins High Court Appeal Over Block Earner Product

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission won a High Court appeal over Block Earner’s fixed-yield digital asset product, Earner.

ASIC said the High Court unanimously found that Earner was a financial product and that Block Earner needed an Australian financial services licence. The ruling overturned a 2025 Full Federal Court decision.

From March to November 2022, Block Earner offered Earner to investors as a product that provided fixed-yield returns from digital assets. ASIC said the High Court found Earner was a facility through which an investor made a financial investment. The court also accepted ASIC’s argument that Earner was a derivative because the amount returned varied by reference to the value of the digital asset and exchange rates.

The matter will return to the Full Court of the Federal Court for ASIC’s appeal against the penalty judgment.

Why it matters

The decision matters for crypto yield products, tokenized investment products and platforms that package digital assets into return-generating offers. ASIC’s position is that product labels and technology do not decide whether licensing rules apply; the substance of the arrangement does.

For traders and investors, the ruling reinforces that high-yield digital asset products can fall inside existing financial services law even before new digital asset licensing standards begin.

What to watch next

Watch the penalty appeal and ASIC’s digital asset reform roadmap. Firms offering products that provide a return to consumers or involve asset conversion are likely to face closer scrutiny on whether they need licensing or authorization.