The Australian Bitcoin Industry Body (ABIB) has lodged a complaint with the ABC over a column that described Bitcoin as having “no useful purpose” and claimed its “last useful business” was money laundering.
The piece, written by chief business correspondent Ian Verrender, highlighted Bitcoin’s fall from US$126,000 (AU$190,650) to below US$90,000 (AU$136,170) and framed the asset largely through price swings and alleged failures.
Interestingly, Verrender fails to mention that, despite Bitcoin’s occasional erratic performance, it’s now BlackRock’s biggest revenue generator through its Bitcoin spot ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
ABIB says the column breaches the ABC’s own editorial standards by relying on “outdated tropes” about volatility and US politics while ignoring documented use cases for Bitcoin.
Its submission identifies the specific sentences in question, links them to alleged policy breaches, and asks the broadcaster to publish corrections, meet its editorial obligations, and draw on subject-matter experts when covering digital assets.
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In a statement, the industry group said it would keep pushing for “accuracy and integrity in public discourse” around Bitcoin.
Our submission cites the offending sentences directly, outlines each breach of policy, and calls on the ABC to issue corrections, uphold its editorial obligations, and engage subject-matter expertise in future reporting. ABIB will continue advocating for accuracy and integrity in public discourse.
Australian Bitcoin Industry Body (ABIB) The dispute comes as Australia moves to formalise crypto regulation.
In November, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino introduced the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025, the first comprehensive set of rules for companies that hold crypto on behalf of customers.
The ministers have argued that blockchain and digital assets present “big opportunities for our economy, our financial sector, and our businesses.” Government estimates suggest the reforms could deliver about $24 billion in annual productivity gains while tightening protections for Australians who use private platforms to store their digital assets.
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