ASIC warned investors against Yepbit today (Wednesday) after receiving several reports of blocked withdrawals. The regulator said the purported crypto and futures platform falsely blamed ASIC for freezing customer funds.
The warning attaches a name to a tactic the Australian regulator has flagged before: operators blaming regulators when investors cannot recover their money. FinanceMagnates.com reported in March 2025 that scammers were impersonating ASIC and demanding payments to release assets.
ASIC said Yepbit's statements about audits or regulatory requirements were false. "They are designed to deflect requests for refunds," the regulator said.
ASIC Says It Did Not Freeze the Money
Yepbit presented itself as a global digital-asset and futures trading platform, including to Australian investors, according to ASIC. The regulator said it had taken no action preventing Yepbit from returning funds.
The platform has no Australian Financial Services License, ASIC said. It is not authorized to provide financial services or advice in Australia. Yepbit is also absent from AUSTRAC's Virtual Asset Service Provider Register.
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Australia is tightening its rules for digital-asset businesses. FinanceMagnates.com reported in May that providers dealing in financial products faced a deadline to enter the AFS licensing process, with a separate platform regime due to start in April 2027.
ASIC said it had removed several websites purportedly operated by Yepbit and placed four related domains on its Investor Alert List.
Philippine Regulator Ordered Yepbit to Stop
The Australian notice follows earlier action in the Philippines. The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission issued a cease-and-desist order in February against Fidelity Capital Investment Group and Yepbit Exchange Pty. Limited.
The Philippine regulator said FCIG and Yepbit offered an "FCIG-Yepbit Investment Trading Project" without the required registration.
According to its order, participants were promised returns on investments ranging from $500 to $3,000. Recruitment affected their ability to withdraw passive income.
The Philippine SEC described the arrangement as having characteristics of a Ponzi scheme and ordered the entities, their agents and recruiters to stop soliciting investments. Neither entity was registered with the commission, it said.
An investor-alert listing alone does not establish fraud. FinanceMagnates.com noted that distinction when Singapore placed Bybit on its alert list in June. The Yepbit warning also includes withdrawal complaints, alleged false statements about ASIC and website takedowns.
ASIC Uses Website Takedowns
Website removal has become a regular part of ASIC's anti-scam work. The regulator removed about 6,900 investment scam and phishing sites in the year ended June 2025, including roughly 2,400 cryptocurrency scams, according to its annual report.
ASIC gave no loss total. It also did not disclose how many Yepbit investors had complained or who controlled the platform. FinanceMagnates.com could not independently establish what happened to the balances shown in investor accounts.
The regulator advised affected investors to contact their banks and report suspected scams. The four Yepbit domains on its alert list are yepbit6.com, ybtaa.com, yepbit.xyz and yepbit.net.
