You're reading 1 of 88 findings I've published. Every dollar here came out of your taxes. · Help me hold them accountable — share it.
← All Findings
governance ASIC
$250.0M

ASIC "comprehensively failed" on ASX CHESS blockchain project — $250M written off under its watch

ASIC's own final report found the regulator failed to act on repeated red flags about ASX's governance failures during the seven-year CHESS blockchain replacement project. ASX ultimately wrote off $250M and abandoned the project in November 2022. A Senate inquiry found ASIC had "comprehensively failed" its supervisory role, missing multiple intervention points that could have protected market participants.

Department: ASIC
✉ Take action
Email your federal MP

Enter your postcode. We'll find your MP and pre-draft a letter about ASIC's $250.0M in waste — ready to send from your email.

Your name (optional):

Opens your email app with a pre-filled message. You send it — we don't collect your name or email.

What This Means

$250.0M of Australian taxpayer money was wasted at ASIC. ASIC's own final report found the regulator failed to act on repeated red flags about ASX's governance failures during the seven-year CHESS blockchain replacement project. ASX ultimately wrote off $250M and abandoned the project in November 2022. A Senate inquiry found ASIC had "comprehensively failed" its supervisory role, missing multiple intervention points that could have protected market participants.

Spread across Australia's 10.8 million households, that's roughly $23 per family — enough in total for funding 167 fully equipped school classrooms.

  • ASX blew $250M on a failed blockchain project.
  • ASIC watched it happen for 7 years without intervening.
  • A Senate inquiry found ASIC "comprehensively failed." Your financial markets regulator can't regulate.
Amount Spent
Not specified
Original Estimate
Not specified
Waste / Overrun
$250,000,000
AI Confidence
0%

Analysis

ASX blew $250M on a failed blockchain project. ASIC watched it happen for 7 years without intervening. A Senate inquiry found ASIC "comprehensively failed." Your financial markets regulator can't regulate. @reckonerAU

Sources

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/australias-regulator-flags-governance-risk-failures-asx-final-report-2026-04-01/
Category: governance
Severity: high
Agency: ASIC
Fund This Investigation
Fund the Investigation
Your donation funds more investigations. 100% goes directly to accountability work.
Choose an amount
$
Secure payment via Stripe. 100% funds accountability work.
Share this finding

Every share puts pressure on the people responsible. Make it impossible to ignore.

Department: ASIC
The Daily Reckoning
Get every new finding in your inbox.

I send every new finding. Daily. No fluff.

Related Findings
Major Transport Infrastructure
$125.0B

Suburban Rail Loop: $34.5B to $216B — The Costliest Infrastructure Promise in Australian History

Department of Veterans' Affair
$59.7B

DVA military compensation liability surged $59.7B in a single year — up 65%

NBN Co
$27.5B

NBN Co $27.5B cost blowout — 93% over original $29.5B estimate

Department of Home Affairs
$23.8B

11 of 14 Home Affairs SES officers skipped conflict of interest declarations on $23.8B contract portfolio

Major Transport Infrastructure
$19.0B

Victorian Big Build: West Gate Tunnel + Metro Tunnel + North East Link — $19B in Combined Overruns