The Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced last week that it will allow its customers to buy and sell cryptocurrency through its app, in the first move of its kind by a major Australian bank. If Australia’s biggest bank is willing to offer unregulated products like crypto to their customers and take on board a high… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank is embracing cryptocurrencies, and will allow CommBank app customers to buy, sell and hold crypto assets. In the a game-changing move for the sector by the country’s biggest bank will see it partnered with crypto exchange Gemini – founded by the Winklevoss twins of Facebook fame – and blockchain analysis firm, Chainalysis.… Read more »
Since its inception, cryptocurrency has largely been left to its own devices. Investors have made money, and communities have been built through a shared passion for the innovative sector. So when I was assigned the role of chair of the Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre, I assumed there would… Read more »
Corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) is ramping up its oversight of the investment side of the local cryptocurrency market with licences for crypto-asset holders. The regulator has introduced a new “crypto-asset” section in its licensing applications and responsible entities seeking to hold them will need that an authorisation in relation to… Read more »
The NSW tourism hotspot of Byron Bay is set become home to the nation’s largest Bitcoin mining operation following a deal to power the data centre using renewable energy. Nasdaq-listed digital infrastructure provider Mawson Infrastructure Group’s Byron 20MW mine – that’s enough power for around 6500 homes – will begin operations this week its first… Read more »
The Bitcoin bulls are racing again. A year ago the cryptocurrency was valued at less than US$12,000. Now it has passed the symbolic milestone of US$60,000, nudging the US$63,255 record it reached in mid-April, before its price fell to as low as US$30,000 in July. Bitcoin’s rally over the past month is largely attributed to… Read more »
In 2018 US Senator Orrin Hatch naively questioned how on earth Facebook could sustain a business model in which users don’t pay for a service… Before Mark Zuckerberg politely pointed out that they run advertisements. Just last month US Senator Ted Cruz’s speech went viral when he claimed less than 5% of his colleagues had… Read more »
China has continued its bitcoin crackdown by making all cryptocurrency transactions illegal. The Chinese central bank issued a statement on Saturday, seeking to clarify a joint notice from regulators in May which told financial institutions to step away from all cryptocurrency activity, signalling an end to the country’s involvement in the speculative digital assets. “In recent years, bitcoin and… Read more »
The government is looking closely at regulations affecting cryptocurrency as it considers how to handle digital assets and encourage innovation in the broader blockchain ecosystem. Chair of the Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre, Senator Andrew Bragg, said the government recognises cryptocurrency is an “area of full of opportunity and full… Read more »
A hacker pulled off one of the biggest cryptocurrency heists in history by transferring $831 million worth of cryptocurrency off the Poly Network platform, only to start giving the assets back the next day. Poly Network announced the attack on Tuesday night, saying it had been attacked on the Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, and Polygon… Read more »
Cryptocurrency is unlikely to ever become legal tender in Australia, a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) executive has concluded during a Parliamentary hearing exploring competition, data privacy and fintech innovation issues. Despite watching the emerging cryptocurrency market for the past eight years, Dr Anthony Richards, head of the RBA’s Payments Policy Department said, “we just… Read more »
Dogecoin’s Australian co-inventor, Jackson Palmer, has made a rare foray into public debate about the worth of cryptocurrencies, condemning them a cult-like get rich quick scheme for billionaires taking advantage of “the financially desperate and naive”. In a 10-tweet thread, Palmer, whose Twitter account is normally silent, lambasted cryptocurrencies as “almost purpose built to make… Read more »
The world of cryptocurrency is weird and complicated. In this four-part series, we look at the history of crypto, how you can get your hands on some, what you can do with it, and the Australian innovators looking to capitalise on this emerging technology. Part III: Throughout this series (Part I and Part II), we’ve learned about… Read more »
The last few weeks have highlighted the volatility of the cryptocurrency market. We live in a world where a few tweets affect values which is pretty worrying for your average investors. At the same time, keeping abreast of the tax issues associated with cryptocurrency is now as challenging as ever. Within Australian tax legislation, there… Read more »
Two young brothers behind South African cryptocurrency investment firm Africrypt have disappeared with an estimated $5 billion worth of investors’ money in what could be the largest ever cryptocurrency scam. Raees and Ameer Cajee – 21 and 18-years-old respectively – founded Africrypt in 2019 and promised customers significant returns on investment, reportedly as high as… Read more »
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