Australia’s ‘crypto king’ has declared Australia is suffering an innovation ‘drought’ with overregulation turning the country into a nanny state.
Fred Schebesta, co-founder of finder.com.au, believes a Trump-style removal of government ‘red tape’ will allow people to ‘hope for prosperity’ again.
Mr Schebesta, who has since made a fortune on digital currencies, said his most recent dealings with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission were an example of government control gone too far.
In 2022, the watchdog sued Mr Schebesta in the Federal Court over the Finder Earn product.
The product allowed customers to convert deposited funds to cryptocurrency while offering four to six per cent interest.
The lawsuit claimed the company was operating without the necessary financial license and putting customers at risk of ‘harm.’ However, the case was dismissed.
‘Going out and suing companies and people for cryptocurrency businesses, when there’s no law, is like suing the Wright brothers before they have a pilot’s licence,’ Mr Schebesta told news.com.au.
Both Mr Schebesta and the government await the result of a further appeal to the case in April last year.
He hoped the Coalition was following the lead of the US President on cryptocurrencies
Mr Schebesta said it was ‘refreshing’ the Coalition was following the lead of Donald Trump on cryptocurrencies and vowing to be a friend of alternate wealth sources.
‘It gives hope for innovation and prosperity for the future. Those things were getting crowded out for a long time,’ he said.
‘In America, right now, you feel hope. You feel good about the future. Australia needs that. We are lost in the sea right now. We’re shipping minerals … what else?
‘At least have some policy to potentially allow innovation. There’s no prosperity-driven growth mindset.’
The crypto king said he was on a trip to New York in 2016 when he began digging into Bitcoin’s potential.
He found himself particularly drawn to the decentralised trading nature of the currency.
Mr Schebesta purchased a significant amount of Bitcoin – although he won’t disclose the exact amount – when it was priced at around $6,000 after doing some of his own research.
Bitcoin is currently valued at $123,000.
Mr Schebesta said it was ‘refreshing’ the Coalition was following the lead of Donald Trump on cryptocurrencies and vowing to be a friend of alternate wealth sources (stock image)
In the years since, he has sold off some of his holdings and invested in other coins.
However, now he said he tends to adopt a buy-and-hold strategy.
Mr Schebesta’s net worth is believed to be more than $300million.
Mr Schebesta claimed the government has been uncooperative in its approach to cryptocurrencies, as it tries to apply what he believes to be outdated legislation to the innovation.
The suit against his company is just another example of its failings, he said.
Mr Schebasta noted investors are treated under the Corporations Act 2001 for all matters concerning cryptocurrencies even though the currency was developed in 2009.
He also said Australia’s laws concerning cryptocurrencies would drive home-grown entrepreneurs and investors to other countries, like the US, the world’s ‘most prosperous’ crypto home.
Earlier in March, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.
He hopes the move will solidify the United States’ position as a global leader in the government’s approach to digital assets.
The Executive Order establishes bitcoin as a reserve asset. The reserve will be funded by bitcoin seized by the Department of Treasury through criminal or civil asset forfeiture actions.
Other US agencies will also review their legal authority to transfer any bitcoin they own to the reserve.
