ACX Exchange — Customer Funds Diverted While Regulators Moved Too Late

ACX Exchange, the cryptocurrency trading platform operated by Melbourne-based Blockchain Global Limited under the domain ACX.io (associated with Bitcoin.com.au), collapsed in late 2019 when customers found themselves unable to withdraw funds or cryptocurrency assets. Total unsecured creditor claims lodged with liquidators reached A$58,648,886 as of October 2023, of which A$22,753,442 represented claims from former ACX Exchange customers — a figure regulators describe as likely understating actual user losses given that many affected account holders did not file formal claims. Blockchain Global entered voluntary administration in October 2021 and liquidators were formally appointed on February 11, 2022.

The platform was operated under the direction of co-founders and directors Sam Lee and Liang “Allan” Guo, alongside co-founder Vincent Vu. Liquidator reports filed with ASIC in November 2023 identified potential breaches of the Corporations Act by current and former officeholders. ASIC commenced a formal investigation in January 2024 and filed civil penalty proceedings against Allan Guo in the Federal Court. A further development came on June 3, 2026, when the Federal Court stayed those civil proceedings pending a decision by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions on whether to lay criminal charges — an indication that the evidentiary threshold for criminal prosecution was under active assessment. As of that date, Guo had departed Australia on September 23, 2024, following the expiry of travel restraint orders, and had not returned.

The roughly 22,000 individuals who filed creditor claims were ordinary Australian retail investors who had deposited cryptocurrency and fiat currency into what presented as a professionally managed exchange. Active since approximately mid-2016 under the Bitcoin.com.au brand, it positioned itself as part of Australia’s legitimate crypto infrastructure. Users who lost funds have received no distribution from the liquidation estate to date.