Grrrrr... I guess that this was going to happen at some point. Binance has steadily been reducing its offerings in Australia due to "compliance with local laws"... when I first arrived back, it was the lack of access to derivative markets and the earn products. The derivatives I didn't really mind, that is a great way to lose money... but the Earn products was a handy way to have idle assets that I hadn't gotten around to moving being put to some use. And sometimes, I did want to have small amounts on exchange, ideally to sell off at some point, but not at that current moment, and to have it ready to go at the drop of a hat.

But, no matter... I could move those amounts to different exchanges that provided better APR (like ByBit).... and I still had access to those sweet Launchpools and Launchpads!

This last couple of months have been great for those as well, and as we head into the bull market, I suspect that we will see quite a few more!

But... as the last one (PIXELS) wrapped up... I was about to move the BNB to a holding account on ByBit, and I saw that dreaded popup as you can see above!

At first, I thought it was messed up residence and KYC information... again. I had a problem with this a few months ago, there must have been some lingering Dutch things in the mix somewhere.... or just a gremlin. Anyway, a quick CS support chat later... I was good to go, having only missed a few hours of a Launchpool.

This time, I got the run around... from two CS staff... the first said that I should do a full KYC reset (not keen on that...), and the second said that Australia was now a restricted region for Launchpool/pad! That was a shock... I was hoping that we wouldn't follow the path of the United States with their consumer protection... and given that the Earn/Lanch products are the LEAST predatory of all offerings.... well...

After the initial shock, I had a moment where I thought... maybe the CS crew are just trying to fob me off with that excuse? After all, there was no uproar on Australian crypto-Twitter or the support channel. But after checking in with an Australian Binance rep, they confirmed it was the case... in fact, it was so recent that they were also surprised! Their initial reply was that Launch products were still offered to the Australian region, and then a few moments later after double-checking, they told me that they had been blindsided by this!

So... Australia joins the ranks of the protected. I'm a little bit sad, as that was easy money being rained down that helped with the poop-inflation stuff... and now I have BNB tokens that need to be either sold off or put to work somewhere. There is now no use case for them on-exchange... and I can either keep them in an Earn product on ByBit or shift them to the BEP-2 beacon chain instead. BEP-2 it is...

That said, things could get worse... I hear that Binance is completely withdrawing from the Netherlands!

I can also be found cross-posting at:
Hive
Steem
Publish0x

Handy Crypto Tools

Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Coinbase Wallet: Multi chain wallet with lots of opportunities to Learn and Earn!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
WooX: The centralised version of WooFi. Stake WOO for fee-free trades and free withdrawals! This link also gives you back 25% of the commission.
GMX.io: Decentralised perpetual futures trading on Arbitrum!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.
KuCoin: I still use this exchange to take part in the Spotlight and Burning Drop launches.
MEXC: Accepts HIVE, and trades in most poopcoins! Join the casino!
ByBit: Leverage and spot trading, next Binance?
OkX: Again, another Binance contender?