Author: Crypto News Australia

Crypto News Australia provides you with the most relevant bitcoin, cryptocurrency & blockchain news.

Categories
Bitcoin

Another Bitcoin ETF Launches In Canada, with a Management Fee of Only 0.4%

The third Bitcoin ETF launches in Canada, this time with the worlds lowest management fee for a Bitcoin ETF at only 0.4% p.a.

As announced on Business Wire, the CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF launched on 9th February 2021 under the tickers BTCX.B (trading in Canadian dollars – unhedged) and BTCX.U (trading in U.S. dollars).

As market validation of cryptocurrencies continues to accelerate, we are offering investors a secure and lower-cost way to participate in the bitcoin market.

Kurt MacAlpine, Chief Executive Officer of CI Financial Corp

Benefits of the CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF include:

  • Lowest management fee of 0.40%
  • A streamlined means of accessing bitcoin
  • Storage of bitcoin in a segregated cold storage system, protected in accordance with industry-leading protocol
  • Leveraging the experience of GDAM’s veteran portfolio management team to execute the purchase and sale of bitcoin
  • Ability to conveniently trade units correspondent to real-time changes in value
  • Can be held in registered plans like TFSA and RRSP.

What is a Bitcoin ETF?

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a type of investment fund. […] An ETF holds assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies, and/or commodities. […] Most ETFs are index funds, that is, they hold the same securities in the same proportions as a certain stock market index or bond market index.

What is an ETF? Wikapedia

Bitcoin ETFs are exchange-traded funds that track the value of Bitcoin and trade on traditional market exchanges rather than cryptocurrency exchanges. They allow investors to invest in bitcoin without having to go through the hassle of using a cryptocurrency exchange while providing leverage to its price.

Using pooled investment funds, the funds purchase the actual bitcoins and hold them in “cold storage” — an offline destination that can’t easily be hacked or breached. The ETFs then track the performance of bitcoin in US dollars (or such) on a specific index.

Further Benefits of buying Bitcoin through an ETF include:

  • Trading flexibility
  • Portfolio diversification and risk management
  • Lower costs
  • Tax benefits
  • Familiar investment structure

Bitcoin ETF’s are not yet available in Australia, stay tuned.

Categories
Bitcoin India Regulation

It Seems India is Not Banning Bitcoin Now, But Making Plans To Regulate It Instead

India has reversed its previous position of a total crypto ban, saying that they are developing a regulatory framework instead.

The Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a CNBC-TV interview that they “the government’s position on crypto will be calibrated and it wants to make sure there is a window available for all types of experiments in the crypto world.”.

India Are Creating A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Called “Digital Rupee”

In January, the Indian Parliament tabled the Bill “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021.” suggested a ban on cryptocurrencies in India. Additionally, the same committee has pitched for the introduction of an official digital currency that will be appropriately regulated by the Reserve Bank of India.

The “Digital Rupee” has been defined as “currency issued digitally by the Reserve Bank and approved by the Central Government to be legal tender”, an official currency of India.

Categories
Superannuation

Is it Legal to Buy Bitcoin with your Super?

In this article, we’re going to take a look at the legal issues around owning Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies in your Australian Superannuation.

We’ve teamed up with Australian expert accountants and lawyers to bring you the latest expert information and validated opinions. Please don’t use this information as point of truth, check with the experts for the latest information, as everyone may have different circumstances.

Must read: Take a look at our article covering the Advantages of having crypto in your Superannuation which could help you further understand the pros and cons.

What is the ATO’s Current Laws on Crypto Super Investing?

  • Yes you can own bitcoin and other cryptocurrency in an SMSF.
  • Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are treated as capital gains tax assets.
  • Cryptocurrencies held in an SMSF must be allowed for under the fund’s trust deed.
  • Owning cryptocurrencies in an SMSF must be done so in accordance with the fund’s investment strategy.
  • Purchases must comply with SISA and SISR regulatory requirements concerning investment restrictions.
  • An SMSF’s cryptocurrency investments must be held and managed separately from the personal or business investments of trustees and members.

The Requirements to Buy Crypto with Your Super

ATO requirements consideration when establishing your fund and keeps abreast of any ATO changes as time goes on. See the 10 Step Checklist to setting up your SMSF with detailed information on the process.

Is an SMSF required or can Super Funds Buy Crypto on your behalf?

Currently an SMSF is the only way to gain exposure to the crypto space with your superannuation. Any asset purchased by retail or industry superannuation funds (such as Suncorp Super, Australian Super, CBUS Super, QSuper, ANZ and others) needs to be listed on their approved product lists. Retail superannuation funds cannot invest in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies directly but will be able to invest indirectly into cryptocurrencies through listed ETFs or other regulated crypto products once they are approved by regulatory bodies.

Which Cryptocurrencies are legal to buy with your Super?

All cryptocurrencies are permitted. by the ATO provided the reporting is carried out correctly. You need to confirm with your accountant as to whether they can obtain the required information to complete the work (via appropriate reporting) and whether your auditors can verify the existence and value of the coins to their satisfaction.

Accountants and auditors are generally unable to verify the reports or existence or value of coins purchased on DeFi platforms or overseas exchanges. If your accountant or auditor cannot complete their work satisfactorily your SMSF may fail to complete its annual reporting obligations and your fund may become non-compliant. For this reason, if you are not 100% sure, double check with your accountant regarding the exchange and coins you wish to own before making any purchases.

An approved providers list where you are permitted to purchase any coin that is listed on an approved exchange.

An SMSF’s investment strategy outlines its investment objectives and specifies the types of investments it can make. Before investing in cryptocurrency, SMSF trustees and members should consider the level of risk of the investment. Trustees and members may then review and if necessary, update their fund’s investment strategy to ensure the investment being considered is permitted.

ATO – Investment strategy and a fund’s governing rules

Whats the Minimum Super Balance Required?

There is no legal minimum balance you need to have an SMSF, it just needs to make sense to you in your situation.

The cost to run an SMSF is static, meaning it costs the same regardless of how much you have in you super. This is different to retail funds where you will pay on average of 1-1.5% of the value of your super in fees each year. Eventually it gets to the stage where you are crazy not to have an SMSF because it is cheaper, but after you do the sums, even if you find an SMSF more expensive for now, many people are happy to pay an extra few hundred dollars a year to be exposed to assets (like bitcoin) that they you would not otherwise be able to be exposed to in their superannuation.

Some experts suggest that you need a high amount in your super if you wish to invest with a SMSF. This simply is not true, “hundreds of clients have started their SMSF with under 50k and they were happy to pay an extra few hundred dollars a year in accounting fees compared to their retail fund so that they could own other assets like bitcoin.”.

Will the Australian Government Ban Buying Crypto with Super?

As it’s a fairly new market, the future of cryptocurrencies is still uncertain. However, there has been no indications so far that Crypto will be banned in Australia.

The fact that listed companies in the USA like Tesla and Microstrategy are holding bitcoin on their balance sheet and that Goldman Sachs is reopening its institutional cryptocurrency trading desk legitimises the space. This is because these companies would not risk shareholder equity in an asset if there was uncertainty regarding the government’s stance on cryptocurrencies. Australia will more than likely follow USA’s lead here and keep cryptocurrencies as a legal form of property.

Conclusions

If you want to hold bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in your super, currently an SMSF is your only option. The main consideration is to decide whether an SMSF is right for you. This is a personal consideration and is different for everyone.

Need help? Speak with Cryptocurrency Superannuation Expert at NGS Crypto, call 1300 001 647, or Contact them via email

Categories
Bitcoin Superannuation

Comparing 5 Bitcoin Super Funds in Australia

Whilst the rise of Bitcoin may be one of the world’s worst kept secrets, its evolution into a genuine asset group has opened up investment opportunities for people from all walks of life.

In 2014, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) acknowledged the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies not as a currency, but as a capital gain asset, taxable at a rate of only 15%.

This then opened the door for owners of self-managed super funds (SMSF) to invest and transact in cryptocurrency. Now, many companies offer their services to those looking to set up an SMSF by assisting with things like accounting admin, tax returns and audits.

So, if you’re thinking of diversifying your superannuation portfolio by getting on board the crypto bandwagon, but you’re not quite sure which way to turn, this article is for you.

We’re going to take a closer look at five platforms that allow you to hold your cryptocurrency and perform trading with your superannuation funds and give you the lowdown on the pros and cons of each of them.

Important to note: Some of these platforms such as Binance and Swyftx just allow you to have dedicated accounts for your super. But they don’t help you set up the SMSF and they do not do the administration of the fund.

4. NGS Crypto Dedicated Account For Your Super Fund

Nextgen Systems (NGS Crypto) is an international blockchain mining company which delivers the best fusion of encrypted currency investing. Unlike the other crypto platforms, NGS Crypto provides a digital asset mining service which means you don’t have to be a blockchain expert to invest in cryptocurrencies with them.

NGS supports the use of SMSFs to trade in crypto and offers a $0 up-front fee to transfer your superannuation across, potentially saving thousands of dollars. With NGS, all returns are paid daily in Bitcoin and after securing an affiliate partnership with one of Australia’s biggest financial wealth analyst companies, you will also have access to sound financial advice.

Need help? Speak with Cryptocurrency Superannuation Expert at NGS Crypto, call 1300 001 647, or Contact them via email

3. Swyftx Dedicated Account For Your Super Fund

Swyftx prides itself on being Australia’s most progressive cryptocurrency exchange platform. Swyftx burst onto the scene in 2017 and now has over 60,000 users taking advantage of their low fees and non-inflated market prices.

Swyftx now allows SMSF eligible investors to use its exchange platform and trade in up to 200 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as stable currency like USD coin.

4. Binance Dedicated Account For Your Super Fund

Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange and through creating a corporate Binance Australia account, you can trade cryptocurrency as an SMSF. 

Because of the company’s size, setting up an SMSF with Binance gives you huge flexibility, with access to trading in more than 740 cryptocurrencies.

Binance also has a helpful set of basic Super outlines that will help show you how to set up an SMSF in the absence of a third party consultancy firm.

5. BTC Markets Dedicated Account For Your Super Fund

BTC Markets are Australia’s largest and most trusted digital asset exchange and their platform supports SMSF investment. Despite having a smaller selection of cryptocurrencies to trade in, BTC offers great liquidity across markets including Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP. 

Since being founded in 2013, the Australian owned and operated company has been at the centre of the crypto boom, with over $10.5 billion AUD traded on the platform in that time. 

BTC also offers a helpful KPMG tax reporting feature for annual audit preparation and a personalised service for larger trades.

Choosing your Bitcoin Super Fund

In summary, the nature of the ATO’s stance on cryptocurrency means that Australia provides a somewhat lucrative haven for those seeking exposure to Bitcoin and other digital assets.

By setting up a SMSF or moving an existing superannuation fund over to an SMSF perhaps with a third party platform, Australians can take advantage of the current low tax rates for SMSFs. 

Owners of an SMSF can then trade in crypto across platforms like Binance, Swyftx or BTC or use mining experts NGS Crypto and diversify their portfolio ahead of what will hopefully be a fruitful retirement.

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining Market Analysis Mining

On-Chain Data Suggests Bitcoin Miners Have Finally Stopped Selling Bitcoin

On-chain data suggests that Bitcoin miners have finally stopped selling their accumulated supplies of BTC. The recent dip in Bitcoin price was linked to miners selling their Bitcoin as China closes its mining operations.

The sell off may finally be over, as you can see from the graph below, the red indicates that the miners are now creating daily negative positions in terms of the BTC held in the miners blockchain addresses. And you can clearly see the rate of sales is declining.

Bitcoin Miner Net Position Change by Glassnode

The Miner Position Change metric factors in all balances for all newly minted coins and thus provides us with a big picture view on the full mining landscape.

Despite newly minted coins representing only a fraction of daily trade volume it appears that even miners are returning to neutral or accumulation mode.

The on-chain data suggests a relatively strong bull case for Bitcoin this week.

Categories
Bitcoin Crypto News Ethereum Institutions

Chinese Software Company Meitu Buys $40 Million in Crypto

The Hong-Kong registered company Meitu announced on 7th March that they purchased $22 million in Ethereum (ETH) and $17.9 million of Bitcoin (BTC) in the open market.

This adds to the every growing list of institutional crypto purchases over the past year.

They stated the reason for buying was to help diversify their holdings away from cash, preparing the company for entry into the blockchain industry with Ethereum and believing it will enhance shareholder value in the long-term.

Here are some quotes from the announcement:

Against this backdrop, the Board believes cryptocurrencies have ample room for appreciation in value and by allocating part of its treasury in cryptocurrencies can also serve as a diversification to holding cash (which is subject to depreciation pressure due to aggressive increases in money supply by central banks globally) in treasury management.

The Board takes the view that blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt both existing financial and technology industries.

The Group is currently evaluating the feasibility of integrating blockchain technologies to its various overseas businesses, including but not limited to launching Ethereum-based dApps.

Who’s Meitu?

Meitu released a popular app which allowed photos to be touched up in the early 2010s, but their stock shrank from HK$18 in 2017 to less than HK$3 today. Now it looks like they are turning to cryptocurrency in a bid to revive the stock price and provide value to their almost 300 million monthly active users.

Meitu chairman Cai Wensheng has been an advocate of crypto and said in 2018 that he personally bought about 10,000 Bitcoins.

Categories
Crypto News

BlockFi Downtime And Public Sign-ups Temporarily Disabled

New signups to BlockFi have been temporarily suspended, while they do system upgrades, and assure that all users funds are safe.

If you go to the signup form on the website, you’ll get an error upon signup: “An error has occurred, please check the fields and try again.”. And many users are saying on Twitter that they are unable to login.

It’s not the first time they’ve had downtime in services, with users posting on Reddit that they were seeing grey screens and were unable to login.

Growing pains?

BlockFi is not alone unfortunately. Other major platforms and exchanges have recently experienced downtime, possibly as a result of the (re)gained popularity of cryptos and the corresponding pressure on the systems involved.

The credit service company seems to be steadily expanding – offering new services such as crypto yield earnings, crypto backed loans, crypto credit cards with Bitcoin rewards and trading. Issues like these could be due to an accelerated growth, following what looks like being a sustained uptrend of the whole FinTech and crypto space.

Categories
Crypto Memes

Crypto Memes Of The Week – 5 March

Let’s have a laugh at this weeks memes

Everyone is looking for clues on Satoshis Treasure Hunt. Will they find the 1 million BTC?

Weekly dose of Doge

Stefan, what a legend!

Just HODL it.

NFT Madness

HODLers HODLing Strong!?

Some people changed their minds about Bitcoin

Wen Moon?

Categories
Australia Bitcoin.com Games Gambling Press Release

Winner Cashes Out A$200,000 from Bitcoin.com Games

Bitcoin.com Games gave this player 200,000 reasons to be happy this spring!
Bitcoin.com Games gave this player 200,000 reasons to be happy this spring!

Lucky player bags two epic wins within minutes

What started as a perfectly normal month of March for this player turned out to be a life-changing experience when they won, not one, but two big rounds of The Dog House Megaways slot on Bitcoin.com Games.

Starting off with a small bet of A$28, the wheels of fortune started turning for the player when the reels started spinning in their favour, landing the player their first win of A$22,724. A chunky 788x of the original bet amount!

A win like that could take anyone’s head for a spin, but little did the player know what the future had in store for them. As they kept spinning the reels of this one-of-a-kind Megaways slot, Lady Luck decided it was time to bring massive fortunes to the player. Only this time the bet was A$14, and the win? A$211,974.

The Dog House Megaways
The Dog House Megaways – 13,870x and 788x multipliers applied to player’s bets resulting in a total win amount of A$234,700!

A celebratory pause would ensue as the player gathers themselves back into a winner’s composure and spins the reels a few times before cashing out A$200,000 from the crypto casino.

Online casino games are well-known for churning out massive amounts of money on the most unlikeliest of bets, no matter how small. The Dog House Megaways video slot on Bitcoin.com Games is loaded with over 100,000 ways that a player can win. With amazing graphics and great gameplay, this and many other slot games on the premium bitcoin casino offer big win multipliers that can land players in the lap of ludicrous fortunes.

Play popular casino games with big jackpots that you can exclusively play on Bitcoin.com Games.

Categories
Binance How-to

How to Deposit AUD into Binance Australia via PayID/Osko

Use these instructions below to deposit AUD into your Binance account. You can deposit AUD either using your computer or mobile app.

If you don’t have a Binance account, you can register one for free in just a few minutes.

Click on the images to make them bigger.

Deposit using your Computer

Log into your Binance account and click the “Deposit AUD” button.

Click the “Fiat” tab and then select PayID/Osko, enter your deposit amount and click “Continue”.

Follow the PayId instructions (shown on the right) using your mobile phone banking app.

For example if you’re a CBA customer you would do the following:

  1. Open the CommBank mobile app.
  2. Select “Pay someone”.
  3. Tap the + icon (top right).
  4. Select “show more”, then select “email address”.
  5. Enter the PayId as an email address (ie [email protected]).
  6. Enter the amount (ie $50).
  7. Enter description (ie Binance).
  8. Click “send”.

When your deposit has been cleared by your bank it will show in the AUD Fiat Balances area on the Fiat and Spot page.

If you have paid money to this account before, the payment will appear in less than a minute. First time payments to a new payee may be delayed for up to 24 hours as a security measure.

Deposit using your Mobile App

To deposit AUD using your mobile simply download the Binance Mobile App and login. Then select “Deposit AUD”.

Enter your deposit amount and click “Continue”. Then copy the PayId email address shown (ie [email protected]).

Open your mobile banking app, select “pay someone” and enter the email address shown on the Binance app (paste the email by holding down your finger down in the email address input field, then select “paste”).

Enter the same amount you entered into the Binance app. Description can be “binance”.

When your deposit has been cleared by your bank it will show in the Wallets page in the App.

If you have paid money to this account before, the payment will appear in less than a minute. First time payments to a new payee may be delayed for up to 24 hours as a security measure.

Need Help?

Please note that this is for Australian Binance customers only. If your account was registered overseas, you’ll have to open a support request to change it to Australia.