Finder’s crypto product, Earn, complied with the financial law, the Federal Court has found, dismissing legal action launched by the corporate regular against the fintech. It was a comprehensive win against the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for Finder, with Justice Brigitte Markovic also awarding costs against the regulator. ASIC sued Finder Wallet for… Read more »
If you believe that bad things come in threes, then it was a big week for geopolitics, music and investing. A prominent trio paid the ferryman within days: Henry Kissinger, the controversial former US Secretary of State and security adviser to presidents Nixon and Ford, died aged 100; Shane MacGowan, the charismatic Irish poet and… Read more »
It is not just crypto tokens that have spectacular downfalls. So can crypto personalities. Sam Bankman-Fried founded FTX, one of the world’s largest exchanges for so-called cryptocurrencies, which collapsed last year owing billions of dollars. Now he has gone from being hailed as potentially the world’s first trillionaire to a lengthy term in prison. After… Read more »
Cryptocurrency exchanges will need to need to hold an Australian financial services licence (AFSL) under plans to regulate the sector from the federal government. A proposal paper on regulating the sector has been released by Treasury for feedback by December 1. The government wants to use existing financial services laws with threshold triggers, including an… Read more »
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are in dire straits. With the market in a severe downturn, it’s safe to assume the NFT bubble has well and truly burst. It was never clear why these digital collectables traded for such large amounts of money. Now they mostly do not. What’s behind their turn of fate? And is there… Read more »
Financial regulator the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has launched Federal Court against Bit Trade Pty Ltd, the company behind the Kraken crypto exchange in Australian, alleging it failed to comply with regulations designed to protect consumers. ASIC’s case alleges Bit Trade’s failure to make a “target market determination” for its margin trading product,… Read more »
In recent weeks, crypto token prices have taken a beating. The two major coins, Bitcoin and Ethereum, are off ~5% in the last month and alt coins in many cases are off by 25% or more (e.g ImmutableX is down 17% in the last 30 days, Polygon is off by more than 25%, and Optimism… Read more »
When Andre Eikmeier wrote about the state of his startup Good Empire in May, the project was in a tough place. He had laid off his full team of 12, suppliers were waiting patiently to be paid, and the tax office was hovering around for its cut. Some local news outlets reported this as the… Read more »
Crypto investors hoping to get their cash in a hurry through Binance Australia will be forced to wait a day or two longer after the crypto exchange said it has been forced to stop offering PayID deposits for Australian dollar account holders following “a decision made by our third party payment service provider”. The bebanking… Read more »
Early stage investment company Antler Australia recently backed a new cohort of startups as part of its ongoing program to build great local tech companies. Startup Daily is sharing the details of each venture in the “Antler Investor Memos” series, which is designed to give you a quick, sharp understanding of the startups and people… Read more »
Senator Andrew Bragg is pushing once again to introduce regulation for the cryptocurrency sector in Australia, amid ongoing exchange collapses and US regulators investigating alleged illegal activity by Binance. The NSW Liberal, now in opposition, introduced a private senator’s bill to the Senate on Wednesday, accusing financial services minister Stephen Jones of being “uninterested in… Read more »
Concerns about the cryptocurrency, including pending Australian regulation, have not deterred cricketer Steve Smith from wading into sector, taking a minority equity stake in Perth crypto app Bamboo, and also becoming its brand ambassador. The move by Smith comes as US sports stars including NFL legend Tom Brady, NBA star Stephen Curry and tennis champion… Read more »
Sydney fintech CryptoSpend is looking to raise $5 million in a Series A as it sets its sights on expansion into Asia and New Zealand. CryptoSpend launched the first Australian native crypto Visa card in late 2021, which allows users to spend their crypto like cash. Its existing backers include fintech veteran Andrew Porter and the… Read more »
Financial contagions can be triggered easily, if conditions are right. First one financial institution falls and then others follow, like a chain of falling dominoes. The cinder that sparked the global financial crisis in 2007 is considered by many to have been a March 14 briefing by executives of the Lehman Brothers’ investment bank. Under… Read more »
Brisbane fintech Digital Surge is the latest cryptocurrency exchange to be placed in voluntary administration in the wake of the collapse of US exchange. Scott Langdon, John Mouawad and David Johnstone from KordaMentha Restructuring were appointed voluntary administrators on Thursday, after the fintech’s directors made the decision to put the business in VA on Wednesday.… Read more »
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