Author: Cristian Lipciuc

Cristian Lipciuc is a blockchain journalist working with startup companies across multiple domains such as freelancing, app development & cryptocurrency. Cristian specializes in applied blockchain technologies, cryptocurrency integration, the adoption of new technologies by governments, and cybersecurity.

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Australia Cryptocurrencies Scams

New Leads On Crypto Scam Targeting Australians Using Celebrities

Since 2018, a crypto scam has been using the faces of Australian celebrities without authorization in order to scam people into buying cryptocurrency.

Although the cryptocurrency requested by the scammers is not much – the requested first investment generally amounted to $250 – the scammers used these investments to harvest information such as credit card info and contact information of people looking to invest into cryptocurrencies – which indicated the fact that they probably had plenty of resources that could be targeted.

Fraud On A Massive Scale

Dick Smith, Chris Hemsworth, David Koch, Waleed Aly and Andrew Forrest – all celebrities whose images have been used without permission by scammers on a massive scale.

Even though Google say they remove around 5000 fraudulent advertisements a minute, scammers running massive operations sometimes slip through the cracks anyhow.

The Guardian had some of these ads running on their site through no fault of their own – and have started an investigation that has given investigators a possible lead on the case.

After intentionally signing up for the scam, they were sent to a bitcoin trading service named bitcoin-Up and redirected to another platform, named Gtlot.

The Guardian reporters than received a call from a man attempting to get them to sign up, claiming governments were looking to phase out paper money due to COVID, so it was time to get on board.

Although it is true that many governments – Australia, China and the USA among them – are looking into CBDCs, there seem to be no indicators of such a bold move.

After some sleuthing, the Guardian reporters managed to purportedly link many of the fraudulent websites to 5 people operating out of Moscow – although some information points to a second operational center in Ukraine.

A spokeswoman for the ASIC has said that although they are doing their best to fight the scammers off, it is much harder to do so when the bad actors are based abroad, due to the limitations of international law.

“In some cases, we’ve been able to trace these ads, the majority of which seem to be based overseas, despite creating the impression that they’re operating from Australia by using local addresses and phone numbers on their websites. Any data we have gathered we don’t make this public.”

The fight against online bad actors will be around for a while – but staying safe in the crypto space can be achieved with a few easy tips and the use of your better judgement.

Categories
Australia Cryptocurrencies Industries

Banxa Listed On The Canadian Stock Exchange

Banxa – an Australia-based payment infrastructure provider centered around cryptocurrency should launch on the TSX Venture Exchange on the 25th of December, with a market cap of nearly $50 million.

The TSX Venture Exchange is the Canadian venture capital marketplace for companies new to the market. The TSX Venture Exchange is run by the TMX Group, which also manages the TSX Venture Exchange’s so-called older brother, the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Binance and OKEx Partner

Following the listing approval granted by Canadian financial regulators in the first days of December, the payment infrastructure provider should be able to sell shares on the Canadian market by the end of the month.

Among the partners that Banxa supports are well-known cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, OKEx, Abra, Kucoin, and ShapeShift.

A company focused on delivering payment solutions that are compliant with the regulations of governments around the world for services running crypto wallets, crypto exchanges, and just about anything in between.

Domenic Carosa – the founder and chairman of Banxa – expressed his pride in his team, noting that it is the first time in history that a crypto PSP is listed on a public exchange. In January, Banxa secured $2 million in funding from investors keen on joining the planned expansion of Banxa into even more international markets.

“Our TSX [Ventures] listing … will make Banxa the first crypto payment service provider to be listed in the world, bringing well-needed transparency and governance to the crypto sector.”

Although the trading of Banxa assets should commence on the 25th of December, it’s safe to say that Christmas came early for those who helped secure the funding for this bold, first-of-its-kind move.

Categories
Australia Crypto Exchange Crypto News Monero

Hard Times Continue For Privacy Coins

A few days ago, LiteBit – a smaller cryptocurrency exchange based in the Netherlands – announced it will be delisting Firo (formerly known as zcoin).

This is only the latest in a string of delistings for privacy coins, with Bithumb, Shapeshift, and other exchanges dropping currencies like Monero within recent memory.

Regulatory Pressure

The delisting of privacy coins is generally a result of smaller exchanges not having the legal and financial resources to explain their risk mitigation strategy to banks – which unfortunately tends to give the idea that privacy coins are simply not compliant with AML standards, according to Firo project steward Reuben Yap.

Japan and South Korea are leading the charge when it comes to the delisting of privacy coins – and Australian exchanges have also been undergoing significant pressure from banks, forcing many exchanges to delist, even if the people behind the exchange may not agree with the policy.

 Alex Harper – the CEO of Swyftx – criticized the pressure exerted by banks when it comes to privacy coins.

“While we do not fully align with the hard-line response of banning all privacy-related coins, we will continue to work proactively with our partners and regulators to reduce criminal activity and advance the crypto industry in the most effective ways.”

Even within the European Union, where privacy is a much larger concern – as evidenced by the enactment of the GDPR, heavy restraints set on big tech like Google, Apple and Facebook and more – certain countries, such as France and the Netherlands – have also been recommending a ban on privacy coins.

However, Reuben Yap remains positive about the future of privacy coins.

“Privacy coins will continue to face opposition and challenges along the way, which will heat up as cryptocurrencies start becoming more mainstream. However, just as VPNs, Tor, HTTPS, and end-to-end encrypted messaging are now considered standard protection tools, privacy technology in cryptocurrencies will be considered commonplace, too.”

For now, the conflict over privacy coins is still somewhat limited to smaller exchanges – but due to the nature of privacy coins and their fans, the demise of privacy coins seems unlikely.

Categories
Blockchain Industries Institutions

MetaMask Is Making An Enterprise Version Of Its Services

MetaMask is looking to improve the multi-billion dollar DeFi environment with a new version of its wallet, aimed at crypto exchanges, financial institutions, and hedge fund management companies.

The Ethereum wallet MetaMask is one of the most popular wallets around, with over 1 million monthly users. Following the launch of token swaps earlier this autumn, the company is now trying to advance the advent of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) by compensating for the current industry protocols – which some feel leave much to be desired.

Developers Consensys Looking To Expand The Scope Of The Wallet

Consensys – the dev team behind Metamask – feel that although DeFi may be all well and good for independent crypto traders and investors, the current protocols are too inefficient for heavy-hitting professional trading firms.

They also identified room for improvement in the figures department, citing a lack of efficient reporting capabilities when it comes to taxes and returns – as well as profit and loss statements.

The team at MetaMask has already found their first partner for the institutional decentralized finance protocol.

Curv, a leading digital asset security firm, will set up its DeFi customers with everything needed for a professional DeFi trading platform.

Although Curv may not sound familiar, their clients’ names may ring a bell – clients such as eToro, purveyors of stocks, bonds, and moderately humorous YouTube ads.

Itay Malinger – the CEO and co-founder of Curv – stated his belief in a need for DeFi solutions geared at financial institutions.

“Since there is no reliable and secure institutional solution for DeFi, organizations are reverting to retail-level use of MetaMask or custom integrations with individual apps as a workaround.”

As senator Andrew Bragg reminded panelists at the Future Of Financial Services 2020 Conference, staying competitive in the financial domain is a key objective for the Australian government – and the announcement of an industrial-grade DeFi service may prove very useful to Aussie investment firms.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Institutions

ASX Governor Discusses Payments, Weighs In On Libra/Diem

Mr. Philip Lowe, the Governor of the Reserve Bank Of Australia, gave a speech to the Australian Payments Network on the 7th of December.

During his address, the Governor of the RBA spoke about Australia’s leading role in the global financial domain, about what may be on the horizon, and what may change.

Digital Wallets And Who’s Behind Them

In the push for innovation, Mr. Lowe stated that one of the main factors to consider is the continuous rise of digital wallets. He then went on to outline the major differences between Google Pay and Apple Pay – and the regulatory issues faced by them, such as Apple possibly being forced to give third-party apps access to its NFC technology.

After mentioning Ant Group and Tencent, the owners of Alipay and WeChat Pay, Mr. Lowe weighed in on Facebook’s project Libra – now rebranded as Diem and facing lawsuits over it.

After applying for a license from FINMA (the financial regulator of Switzerland), the project faced a sizable backlash from regulatory entities across Europe – especially from the French and German finance ministers.

As a result, FINMA set up a regulatory college in order to coordinate with other countries.

The RBA is a part of the regulatory college – on behalf of Australia’s Council of Financial Regulators. According to Mr. Lowe, FINMA has made it clear that Libra/Diem will have to comply with stringent regulations, given the scope of the project.

“This initiative has raised concerns from governments and regulators in many jurisdictions regarding a wide range of issues including consumer protection, financial stability, money laundering, and privacy. […]

FINMA has indicated that Diem will be subject to the principle of ‘same risks, same rules’ – that is, if Diem poses bank-like risks it will be subject to bank-like regulatory requirements. It remains to be seen how this and other similar initiatives progress.”

Opinions are divided on the possible success of Facebook’s cryptocurrency when it launches – but it seems the Diem Association will be off to a rough start.

Categories
Blockchain Cryptocurrencies Industries

Steve Wozniak’s Cryptocurrency Is Still Steadily Climbing

Steve Wozniak – the co-founder of Apple – launched the sale of tokens for his 2nd blockchain related project on the 3rd of December.

An Eco-friendly Platform

The brand new company is named Efforce, and its token WOZX can be bought by investors interested in eco-friendly projects.

Revolving around energy-saving, Efforce calls itself the first blockchain-based energy-saving platform. The company was founded by Steve Wozniak, as well as Project Lead Jacopo Visetti and chief technical officer Jacopo Vanetti.

Co-founder Jacopo Visetti shared his hopes that the new platform will allow investors to connect with eco-friendly platforms in an easier way.

“Energy efficiency is a way to create a sustainable future, and this is a way to help counter climate change, reduce carbon — and make money while you do it.”

Although it was founded in 2019, the company’s token sale only took place in early December on the HBTC platform – with great results.

With a total token supply of 1 billion, a market cap of 950 million was reached within 13 minutes of launch. It will soon be followed by a 9th of December launch on the South Korean crypto exchange platform Bithumb, and the token price keeps climbing with no signs of stopping.

In fact, at the time this article was written, the token price increased by 2490% – all the way up to $2.59 from $0.10.

The company based in Malta aims to give investors keen on saving the environment a direct way to contribute using blockchain technology – much like the New South Wales blockchain initiative to power the town of Tyalgum with green energy.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies Industries Institutions

Libra/Diem In Hot Water Again Following Attempted Rebranding

Late last month, Libra announced its plans to launch early in 2021. Based in Geneva, Switzerland and made up of 27 members – chief among them being Facebook – the Libra Association plans to establish a far-reaching stablecoin ecosystem backed by big-league corporations, after attempting to negotiate with its detractors.

Last week, the Libra association announced its plans to rebrand as Diem. Stuart Levey – the CEO of the newly-rebranded Diem Association, stated that this was one of the company’s steps taken to ensure compliance with largely skeptical government entities.

“We are committed to doing so in a way that promotes financial inclusion – expanding access to those who need it most, and simultaneously protecting the integrity of the financial system by deterring and detecting illicit conduct. We are excited to introduce Diem – a new name that signals the project’s growing maturity and independence.”

Chief among the detractors of the Geneva-based alliance for the new stablecoin is the European Union, spearheaded by the financial departments of the French and German governments, with Olaf Scholz – the German Finance Minister – calling the project a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“We must do everything possible to make sure the currency monopoly remains in the hands of states.”

The French Finance Minister agrees, stating that the incredible reach of Facebook could cause quite a stir once mixed with the planned state of the association’s cryptocurrency.

“All these concerns around Libra are serious. So I want to say this with a lot of clarity: In these conditions, we cannot authorize the development of libra on European soil.”

Regulators Not The Only Parties Concerned

However, European governments are not the only ones bothered by the project.

A lawsuit reminiscent of the one that pit Australian platform PayID against Ripple, the association is being sued by a much smaller fintech company also known as Diem, who accuse the association of encroaching upon their intellectual property.

Diem – a platform described as “a digital pawnbroker of sorts” – was launched in October and garnered a following of about half a million followers.

Geri Cupi – the CEO of Diem – stated that if the association took their name, it could seriously stunt their growth.

Meanwhile Chris Adelbach – the co-founder of Diem and a well-known investor in fintechs operating on the European market – stated that although he was reticent to take on companies much larger, he has been advised to do so.

“It wouldn’t have taken that much effort for Facebook to find out if there’s another Diem in financial services […] They obviously took the view that ‘we can just crush them, we’re Facebook.’”

PayID’s grievances with Ripple Labs were solved by Ripple rebranding their service as ClearPay. It’s possible that this lawsuit will have a similar outcome.

Categories
Australia Binance Cryptocurrencies

Binance Australia Wins 8th Place In Deloitte Tech Awards

As one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange markets by trading volume, Binance has long since established a permanent physical presence in countries across the globe. Following their recent establishment on the Australian market, their rapid advance to the forefront of the local industry has been rapid.

They have since been ranked 8th in the Rising Star category of the 2020 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Australia Awards.

Rapid Growth With No End In Sight

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Australia Awards rank Australia’s tech companies by percentage revenue growth over a 3 year period.

Jeff Yew – the CEO of Binance Australia – acknowledged the award, stating it is indicative of the pace with which the Australian market is becoming increasingly acceptive of cryptocurrency -and blockchain technology in general.

“Given the positive crypto environment we’re operating – we’re expecting this to continue to skyrocket. We’re excited by this rapid growth, and we have ambitions to be the number one cryptocurrency exchange in Australia. We want Binance Australia to be the go-to platform for cryptocurrency users.”

Deloitte Partner Josh Tanchel also weighed in, commenting that the winners of the yearly awards clearly reflected the transformation faced by the financial industry and others worldwide.

“Let’s face it, 2020 has not been a normal year. The winning list in 2020 highlights that the COVID-crisis has continued to accelerate the disruption of traditional industries.

“The rise of businesses that have successfully harnessed technology is clear. Every company nominated this year has shown great resilience and resourcefulness. We’re delighted that despite the extraordinary circumstances, so many Australian tech companies are continuing to experience growth.”

Binance Australia is compatible with over 100 Aussie banks and credit unions, in part due to its integration with the New Payments Platform (NPP).

It seems the RMIT data showing that Aussie crypto trading peaked during lockdown was merely the beginning.

Categories
Blockchain Cryptocurrencies Payments

Visa To Integrate US Dollar Coin (USDC) System

The heavy-hitting financial institution has announced its plan to connect its global payments network to the U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC).

Taking Advantage Of An Already Large Network

Developed on the Ethereum blockchain by Circle Internet Financial, the cryptocurrency is currently worth about $2.9 billion. Once the system becomes available to Visa’s vast network of over 60 million merchants, the cryptocurrency will be able to be traded on the Visa network.

Although Visa is not planning to hold any USDC itself, the company will any interested parties on the Visa network to implement the software necessary to trade USDC into their system.

Circle Internet Financial will complete Visa’s Fast Track program itself – probably in the first half of 2021. Fast Track is a Visa program geared towards “cutting edge fintechs”, aiming to bring them into the Visa ecosystem.

According to Terry Angelos – Senior Vice President and global head of Fintech at Visa – Fast Track is designed to help small fintech companies unlock their true potential.

“Our goal is to bring cutting-edge Fintechs into the Visa ecosystem, to help them grow and scale their business in record time. Through programs like Fast Track, Visa is committed to helping Fintechs, many of which are small businesses, advance their potential and get into market quickly, so they are ready to provide innovations that move the world forward everyday – especially in current times.”

After the program is completed, Visa will begin issuing credit cards that will allow businesses to send and receive payments in USDC.

Cuy Sheffield – the head of the crypto department at Visa – stated that he foresees rapid adoption of crypto by businesses who opt in.

“This will be the first corporate card that will allow businesses to be able to spend a balance of USDC.  And so we think that this will significantly increase the utility that USDC can have for Circle’s business clients.”

Although there are already crypto cards on the Visa network – such as the Binance card – this will be the first time a crypto Visa card is issued that is not tied to any crypto trading platform.

Categories
Blockchain Cryptocurrencies DeFi

Aave Rehashed – Aave’s Upgraded v2 Protocol Is Here

A Finnish word for “Ghost”, Aave is a decentralized finance project that seeks to increase the transparency of decentralized finance, and improve its infrastructure.

Less than a year after the launch of the popular DeFi project, the second iteration of the Aave network is here.

After hitting a market cap of over $1 billion within 6 months, Aave has now hit a new milestone – namely, reaching a total volume of $1 billion in flash loans.

Stani Kuchelov – the founder and CEO of Aave – stated that the upgrades to the Aave network are a reflection of the company’s ethos.

“The Aave Protocol took major steps toward becoming more decentralized with the handover of the Admin Keys to the community. The Aave ethos is that finance should be as you like it, and with a working governance and “Aavenomics”, the future of the protocol is in your hands.”

Upgrades to Decentralized Finance

It’s safe to say the past few weeks have not been easy for companies specializing in decentralized finance (DeFi).

Between savvy coders making millions (and even returning some) and DeFi crypto storage “jars” being cloned and emptied right under everyone’s noses, DeFi companies have proven to be less stable than otherwise hoped.

With a little luck, however, Aave v2 may be able to solve some of the issues plaguing the budding industry.

Among the many improvements to the first iteration of the Aave network are upgrades to the notorious flash loan tool – including the option to carry them out in batches, native credit delegations, the optimization of gas prices.

In order to mitigate the growing gas price for transactions taking place on the Ethereum blockchain, Aave is introducing new ways to optimize gas prices, in some cases even cutting them by half.

Another interesting feature is the tokenization of debt. On this version of Aave’s blockchain, debt is tokenized, and borrowers will receive tokens representing their debt. This feature is mainly aimed at those who use cold wallets, as it will allow them to calculate their debt positions even when far away from the internet.

However, these are only a few of the updates brought to you by Aave. You can check out the full list on the official Medium blog of the company, complete with technical details.