Author: José Oramas

José is a journalist and translator with a keen interest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

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Binance Coin Cardano Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Ethereum

Ethereum Reaches $5k AUD

Ethereum (ETH) price hit $5,000 AUD during the weekend, just inches away from $4,000 USD ($5,099 AUD).

ETH/USD. Source: TradingView

ETH is one of the top cryptos having recorded significant gains in recent weeks, next to Cardano (ADA) and Binance Coin (BNB).

Top 5 cryptos by market cap on 10 May 2021
Top 5 cryptos by market cap on 10 May 2021

Altcoins Breaking Records

While BTC faces tough resistance, the altcoin market has been mostly bullish this weekend, with Ethereum achieving a new all-time high of $3,980 USD, maintaining a steady level between $3,800 – $3,900 USD.

Weekly Market Overview: Quantify Crypto

Another great gainer was ADA, reached a new all-time high with a 14% gain after a sharp price drop, being traded at around $1.83 on many exchanges. The surge in price put ADA back on the fifth spot in the market according to CoinMarketCap, taking the spot of Tether (USDT). Now ADA seems to be aiming at testing the $2 psychological barrier if the bull run continues.

BNB gained over 10% in price in the last weeks, reaching $659 USD with a strong buying sentiment. If the bull run continues, the next target for BNB could be above $800 USD.

ETH vs BTC

After falling down to around $49k USD amid hashrate drops due to blackouts in China, Bitcoin recovered some of its market dominance, reaching $75k AUD on Saturday.

However, BTC failed to keep its upword trajectory, receeding to $72k AUD as the weekend trails away. At the time of writing, its price is hovering around $74k AUD.

Crypto Market Locking US$2.4 Trillion

Crypto Total Market Capitalization, 10 May 2021 [CoinMarketCap]
Crypto Total Market Capitalization, 10 May 2021 [CoinMarketCap]

The total market cap added $60 billion this weekend, now sitting on a $2.46 trillion total market cap. The crypto market could experience a considerable boost if Citibank decides to add crypto-related services to its clients after seeing massive demand for crypto assets.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Investing

Australian Traders Favor Crypto and Stocks Almost Equally – Recent Survey Shows

It seems cryptocurrencies are calling the attention of ASX investors as they seek more speculative assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

According to a survey from TradingView, cryptocurrencies are the second most preferred assets, outranking other traditional assets like bonds and futures.

Key Points:

  • 59% of Australian traders said they trade cryptocurrencies (compared to 64% Stocks and 32% Forex)
  • 230,000 Australians are registered on TradingView (up 340% since 2019)

Cryptos Brushing Stocks

The survey, in which 2,134 Australians participated, was divided into two categories: veteran traders with over five years of experience and newer traders.

54% of experienced traders said they would include crypto-assets in their portfolios, while 65% of new traders were even bullish on crypto, outlining the strong surge in interest for digital assets across the country.

Stocks remained the most popular option for investors, however, by a small 3% margin. Fiat currencies remained the third most popular option for traders, followed by exchange-traded funds, options, and futures.

Source: TradingView

Cryptocurrencies are having strong momentum in the country as more Aussies recurred to sites like TradingView to check in on the latest market movements.

There are 230,000 Australian users registered in TradinView, and at least 100,000 registered on the site in 2020, marking a 340% increase from 2019 and 2.25 million unique visitors in Australia last year.

“The popularity of cryptocurrency appears to be moving ahead of most traditional asset classes [. . .] This brings a new level of ‘credibility’ for crypto and Bitcoin in particular, and could help sustain the current momentum for a longer period of time.”

— Glenn Leese, director of growth for Australia at TradingView

Not only the number of investors is growing, but Australian-based blockchain companies and crypto communities are taking significant steps to bring awareness to the regulatory environment in the country.

A recent Australian company that hit an important milestone is Fantom Foundation, passing 3 million transactions on May 5, now processing over 200,000 transactions daily.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Institutions

Citibank To Consider Crypto Services After Surge in Client Demand

Citibank, the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States, is exploring the possibility of launching cryptocurrency services after experiencing massive client demand.

Itay Tuchman, Citibank’s global head of foreign exchange, told the Financial Times that the bank has not yet decided if it will offer crypto-related services like custody and trading. However, he said his company is not in a rush, as Tuchman believes crypto is “here to stay.”

I don’t have any FOMO [fear of missing out] because I believe that crypto is here to stay and that we are just at the very beginning of the market. This isn’t a space race. There is room for more than just one flag.”

Crypto Demand Surges in Citibank

Citibank has reportedly seen a “very rapid” surge in interest for cryptocurrencies from several clients, including major asset managers, according to Tuchman.

Back in March, Citibank researchers published a report outlining how Bitcoin could become an “international trade currency” as the market evolves.

“A focus on global reach and neutrality could see bitcoin become an international trade currency. This would take advantage of bitcoin’s decentralized and borderless design, its lack of foreign exchange exposure, its speed and cost advantage in moving money, the security of its payments, and its traceability.”

Reads the report.

Citibank is the latest financial institution to consider joining the crypto train. The news came shortly after Goldman Sachs announced offering BTC derivatives trading as institutional demand continues to grow.

Banks Coming to BTC

2021 has marked a shift in tone from most financial corporations, who at first dismissed cryptocurrencies. However, as the market keeps growing, it seems inevitable that most institutions will embrace cryptocurrencies. And this news follows a story Crypto News recently reported on that Bitcoin is Set To Be Supported By Hundreds of USA Banks This Year.

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Blockchain Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Institutions

University Allocates $4 Million To Cryptocurrency Staking To Produce Cashflow

In a world first, The University of Wyoming in the USA, has allocated USD 4 million to stake at least three cryptocurrencies to generate revenue to address the cost of public education, as per the official announcement.

Caitlin Long, an appointee of Wyoming Blockchain and Fintech Select Committee and founder of Avanti Bank & Trust, took to Twitter with the big news.

Millions into Crypto Staking

The University of Wyoming is the world’s first to spend millions to operate nodes and earn cryptocurrencies. Profits will cover operating expenses and the university’s Strategic Investments and Projects Account (SIPA).

According to the document, the university will run the staking program with an established “Cryptocurrency Advisory Council,” hosted by leaders of the state’s select committee on Blockchain.

Funding Blockchain Programs Across Wyoming

If profits surge above 4 million USD, the university will use the extra revenue to fund blockchain programs and other activities at the university and community colleges across Wyoming.

Users on Twitter speculate that Cardano (ADA) is one of these three tokens, considering IOHK, the company behind Cardano, donated USD 500,000 to support the University of Wyoming’s Blockchain Research and Development Lab.

Will we see other institutions follow Wyoming university and start to stake cryptocurrencies to produce cashflow?

Categories
Australia Banking Crypto News Ethereum

Ethereum Is Now Worth More Than Australia’s Big 4 Banks Combined

Ethereum’s market cap is now worth more than Australia’s four largest banks combined after ETH surpassed $3,895 AUD in price — extending above $4,413 AUD on May 3, outpacing Bitcoin and most altcoins.

Ethereum’s market cap, as per Coinmarketcap, is now worth around $490 billion AUD, with a 10% surge in just 24 hours.

Ethereum market cap in AUD Feb-May 2021
Ethereum market cap in AUD Feb-May 2021 [CoinMarketCap]

For comparison, the market cap of Australia’s four largest banks can barely come close to ETH even combined together (according to 2020 data):

  • Commomwealth Bank of Australia (CBA): $122.7 billion AUD
  • Westpact Banking Corp: $60.8 billion AUD
  • NAB (National Australia Bank): $58.3 billion AUD
  • ANZ (Australia and New Zealand Banking Group): $48.8 billion AUD
  • Total market cap combined: $290.6 billion AUD

Ethereum Breaks Price Record After the Crash

After most crypto-assets tumbled in April’s market crash, ETH recovered quickly and remained above $2,500 USD.

One recent key event for Ethereum’s adoption was the European Investment Bank (EIB) announcing the issuance of $121 million USD digital bonds using the Ethereum blockchain.

Some analytsts suggest that growth of Ethereum has been quite organic over the last few months. The Network Value to Transaction (NVT) ratio indicates the relationship between network value and daily transaction volume. In the case of Ethereum, the NVT ratio looks on a downtrend.

This might have been due to a number of factors, including the activation of the Berlin fork or the growing popularity of decentralised exchanges like Uniswap (UNI) requiring Ethereum for many token swaps.

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Australia Crypto Exchange Crypto Trackers Swyftx

Aussie Crypto Exchange Swyftx Introduces Portfolio Tracking Feature

Swyftx has introduced a portfolio tracking feature that allows Aussie traders to check their profit/loss status in real-time across all of their holdings.

The new feature will keep track of all 260+ assets on the platform, checking the individual status of every crypto in one place. Some of its key features include:

  • Tracking the status of your portfolio via a widget in the dashboard.
  • Toggle balances between percentage and AUD value.
  • Historical account value, toggling timeframes between 1 year, six months, and one week.
Swyftx Tracking Feature

This feature comes after heavy demand for a crypto portfolio tracker, now available on the Swyftx platform. Some users have experience malfunctioning with the application; however, they may need to update it in their account settings.

Swyftx Breaks Record Growth

With over 60,000 users, Swyftx has seen record growth in the first quarter of this year, becoming one of the leading crypto exchanges in the country, together with Binance Australia.

Swyftx users can also import their trades using CoinTracking, which recently added support for all Swyftx users to reduce the hours spent filling out spreadsheets to comply with tax office requirements.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrency Tax

Tax Time is Approaching as ATO Targets Aussie Crypto Investors

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is sharpening its focus on cryptocurrency transactions as Tax deadlines are approaching. Attempting to stop “incorrect tax deductions and claims”, the agency will data-match transactions from different third parties such as crypto exchanges.

ATO assistant commissioner, Tim Loh, said cryptocurrencies are taxable when swapped in crypto exchanges, converted to fiat money or used to acquire goods and services. Bitcoin and other assets are included as capital gains next to sharemarkets and property prices — which have also seen an increase in price since last year.

Can’t Hide Your Crypto

According to Mark Chapman, H&R Block director of tax communications, the ATO will receive detailed records of crypto transactions from third parties such as state revenue offices, accommodation platforms, and crypto exchanges. The agency will then data match with the taxpayer’s tax returns.

You really do need to get it right because the chances are the ATO will know about it anyway through all these third parties

Mark Chapman, H&R Block director of tax communications [The Australian]

Chapman added that ATO’s data matching capabilities have “improved with time” and any crypto-enthusiast who gets caught cheating will face audits, fines, and penalty interest.

As previously reported, the ATO was looking to pressure Aussie crypto-investors since February as digital assets were booming in the country. The agency plans to target up to 1 million Australians who have invested in crypto through an enhanced data-matching program.

It seems so-called money-laundering schemes also sparked the ATO’s interest in scrutinising crypto investigation through cryptocurrencies. According to on-chain data, criminal activity represented only 0.34% of all cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2020.

Categories
Australia Crypto News

Aussie Billionaire Alex Waislitz Makes 400% on Crypto Investments

Australian billionaire Alex Waislitz, touted as “Australia’s Warren Buffet”, has made tremendous profits over 400% by investing in cryptocurrency companies.

Waislitz was a pre-IPO investor at Banxa, an Australian crypto-payment firm where he made 400% of his investment through a pre-IPO (Initial Public Offering). The company reportedly processes over US$100 million in transactions every quarter.

On its debut, Banxa’s stocks went from $C1 to $C1.92, reaching over $C8 by mid-March. Waislitz’s appetite for cryptocurrencies is now bigger, as he recently doubled down on Apollo Capital, another Australian crypto firm.

Waislitz is a member of Australia’s Richest 250

Crypto as Potential Tool for Investors

Waislitz is the founder of Thorney Investment Group, which has invested in several unlisted companies through private sales along with its associates.

Thorney will invest in two private funds run by Apollo Management, which are Apollo Capital and its recently launched Opportunities Fund, a market-neutral fund that minimises volatility of the crypto market while capitalising on the inefficiencies of the crypto market.

According to Waislitz, the crypto market has proven to have a greater upside potential despite its high volatility. He added that more investors globally are considering adding crypto to their portfolios as they soar in popularity.

“Crypto assets are a foundational technology. They have the potential to disrupt a wide array of industries, likely starting with finance. We can already see the power Bitcoin brings, the ability for people to send value seamlessly around the world, almost instantly, without the need for an intermediary.”

— Alex Waislitz [The Australian]

eToro to go Public this Year

It seems Waislitz has also invested in the Israeli-based crypto exchange eToro, which was revealed this week it will go public via a merger, with special-purpose acquisitions company FinTech Acquisition Corp V —in a US$10.4 billion deal and list on the Nasdaq.

Categories
Bitcoin Crypto News Institutions

MicroStrategy Plans to Buy More BTC After 52% Surge in Revenue

MicroStrategy has made official its Q1 revenues, showing outstanding profits due to its Bitcoin holding strategy and booming sales of related products.

According to the official company release, MicroStrategy has raised over US$1 billion in additional capital to expand its Bitcoin holdings, to a total of 91,000 BTC —approximately A$6,692,205,190.

MicroStrategy Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Its total revenues for Q1 were US$122 million, a 10.3 increase compared to the Q1 of last year. Its sales of product licenses and subscription services also boomed, making US$31.3 million, a 52.3% increase compared to 2020.

“MicroStrategy’s first quarter results were a clear example that our two-pronged corporate strategy to grow our enterprise analytics software business and acquire and hold bitcoin is generating substantial shareholder value.”

Quarter 1 Report

MicroStrategy to Buy More BTC this Year

MicroStrategy has been one of the top-tier Bitcoin buyers since mid-2020, allocating substantial amounts of BTC to its balance sheet. It seems the company has not lost its appetite since then, as they reportedly plan to buy and hold more BTC this year.

“We will continue to acquire and hold additional bitcoin as we seek to create additional value for shareholders.”

Its shares (MSTR) surged to one-month highs in mid-April, touching an intra-day high of US$770. Its shares were recently added as a fully tradable tokenised stock (MSTR) on Binance as well, together with gain tech Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT).

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Crypto News

Aussies Can Now Buy Cars with Bitcoin

CarBuyers.com.au has announced a new payment system that allows Aussies to sell their vehicles for Bitcoin all across the country, becoming one of the latest Australian businesses to adopt cryptocurrencies.

Buying Cars with BTC Across Australia

Paying with BTC will be identical to the company’s fiat offering. The process seems quite straightforward:

  1. The seller has to fill a contact form to set up a vehicle inspection
  2. Receive an offer
  3. Indicate they wish to accept payment for their quote in BTC via an electronic contract.
  4. Provide the required information and sign the contract.

Funds will be deposited into the customer’s digital wallet the same day — as long as the seller signs the contract and provides all the required information before the deadline.

The Bitcoin price will be determined and converted at exactly 2pm on the day of payment. We are not providing protection mechanisms against volatility. This is the nature of Bitcoin and the seller has the option to accept our traditional cash option to protect against this risk.

CarBuyers [supplied to Crypto News Australia]
Screenshot from CarBuyers homepage

Another Aussie Business Accepting Crypto

CarBuyers is one of the latest business in Australia that is now receiving BTC payments as cryptocurrencies soared in popularity in the country, not only as an attractive market for investors but also for companies from different industries.

Other than buying and selling crypto on a verified exchange, there are only a handful of legitimate businesses who are offering payment in this currency directly to consumers.

Daniel Werzberger, transformational director at CarBuyers [Yahoo Finance]

CarBuyers will be operating in every state of Australia, also exploring the possibility of paying commissions and bonuses to its employees in Bitcoin. For now, the company will only support BTC payments as an alternative to Australian dollars.

Paying With Crypto to Avoid Scams

Paying with cryptocurrencies can be an alternative method in Australia to acquired goods and services. Australians have reportedly lost over $175 million AUD to all kinds of scams during 2020.

A few days ago, two Australians lost over A$130,000 while trying to buy the Tesla 3 model, falling for fake invoice scams. These scams have become very popular in the country, as scammers simply leave the original design of the invoice while changing the bank details of the supplier.