Author: Phil Stafford

Phil is a long-standing Australian journalist with specialised experience in business, finance, travel and popular culture.

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Australia Crypto News NFTs

Aussie Pop Star ‘Tones And I’ to Feature on Rolling Stone’s First NFT Magazine Cover

The publishers of Rolling Stone Australia will release the magazine’s first non-fungible token (NFT) cover this week, with homegrown Australian pop superstar Tones and I as its subject.

Timed to coincide with the release of the No 1-selling artist’s debut album, Welcome To The Madhouse, the NFT cover is a limited release priced at A$230 each and available from 12 noon AEST on Friday, July 16, closing 24 hours later.

The first 350 bundles sold will also include a physical copy of Rolling Stone Australia’s debut (and sold out) issue signed and numbered by Tones And I, and an exclusive cassette copy of Welcome To The Madhouse.

It’s an absolute honour to be the first artist in the world to have a Rolling Stone Australia magazine cover released as an NFT.

Tones and I (aka Toni Watson)

Tones and I’s breakout single, Dance Monkey, was released in May 2019 and reached No 1 in more than 30 countries.

On a Mission to Support Australian Artists

Luke Girgis, CEO of Rolling Stone Australia‘s publishing company, Brag Media, said the NFT release presents a groundbreaking opportunity to further the company’s mission in supporting Australian artists.

By minting an exclusive NFT of this cover to celebrate the issue and create a one-of-a-kind collectible for the NFT community, we also have an opportunity to – hopefully – help Tones And I achieve the first-ever No 1 ARIA album sold as a NFT on our new store.

Luke Girgis, CEO, Brag Media

Brag Media chose Origin, an NFT platform using Ethereum blockchain technology, to power its new store. Co-founder Matthew Liu said of the partnership:

NFTs enable creators to engage and interact with fans and collectors at a new, deeper level. This launch is another example of traditional media and music converging with the best of blockchain technology.

Matthew Liu, Origin co-founder

Australia Becoming an NFT Innovator

Last month, Binance NFT Marketplace announced its ‘100 Creators’ campaign, which aims to support and promote innovative creators from around the world and spotlight NFT collectibles from different cultural backgrounds.

Also last month, Australian multimedia artist Dave Court became the first in his field to stage a physical NFT exhibition, and one of the first in the southern hemisphere.

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Crypto News NFTs

Asics Beats Nike to Runners NFTs Collections

Japanese sports apparel multinational Asics has launched its digital footwear collection in a move that places it one step ahead of major rival and global market leader Nike.

In a world first, the 189-piece Asics Sunrise Red Collection consists of nine different footwear products in a limited-release edition, each of which features 20 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and will be available via digital auction from July 15.

Auction Proceeds to be Reinvested into Digital Arts Community

The launch kicks off a landmark new venture for Asics as it dips its toe into the world of NFTs. Auction proceeds will be reinvested into the digital arts community through Asics’ new Digital Goods Artist-In-Residence Program, whereby the brand will collaborate with both established and emerging digital artists to design the next wave of NFTs.

While we are excited to drop the world’s first digital shoe release from a major sporting goods company, this is only the beginning. In coming together with some of the world’s most creative and forward-thinking digital artists through our artist-in-residence program, our long-term vision is to push the boundaries of digital goods to inspire physical activity.

Joe Pace, head of business development, Asics Running Apps

Nike Slow Off the Blocks in NFT Race

In December 2019, American brand Nike secured a patent for CryptoKicks, a concept pairing an NFT with a physical shoe release. Though Nike has yet to bring the concept to market, two months ago an Indonesian entrepreneur released a range of limited-edition hand-painted Nike sneakers for crypto enthusiasts.

With its Sunrise Red Collection, however, Asics has stolen a march on Nike, one of its fiercest competitors in the sports footwear space.

The Asics auction takes place on OpenSea.io from July 15-19. Visit nft.asics.com for more information.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Dogecoin Ethereum

TikTok Bans Users From Promoting Cryptos

Popular social media platform TikTok has banned its users from promoting financial products and services, including those related to cryptocurrency. The company also prohibits ads relating to crypto.

Crypto is on TikTok’s list of prohibited products and services, which also includes lending and management of money assets, loans and credit cards, trading platforms, foreign exchange, pyramid schemes and investment services.

In most countries, including the US and UK, TikTok bans “ads promoting virtual currencies/cryptocurrencies (eg bitcoin and ethereum), as well as cryptocurrency trading platforms and advisory services”.

TikTok’s move came after individuals were warned about taking financial information from TikTok amid concerns it could be misleading young savers or investors.

Martin Bamford, head of client education at Informed Choice, believes TikTok is “clamping down on directly or indirectly sponsored content which leads to an affiliate link, for example, to sign up to a trading platform and get free stocks”.

We see a huge amount of this branded content on TikTok, usually from poorly informed commentators, who lure in followers with promises of riches but in reality are making their money off people signing up via affiliate links.

Martin Bamford, head of client education, Informed Choice

Many people have been using TikTok to promote cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin (DOGE). Some TikTok videos have even pumped the prices of various cryptocurrencies.

Ban Good for Consumer Protection?

Almost exactly a year ago, the Australian government warned that TikTok was under scrutiny for any potential risks it might pose to user privacy or even national security.

The ability to advertise on TikTok is still an option for some, as the real issue lies with influencers who are paid a flat fee or commission for endorsing certain coins, exchanges, dApps, or other related products.

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Crypto News NFTs

World’s First Movie with NFTs: Zero Contact Blockbuster Starring Anthony Hopkins

Pandemic picture Zero Contact (formerly called 92) will premiere on new NFT platform Vuele later this year, with Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins in the lead role.

Produced in 17 different territories entirely virtually during the pandemic, Zero Contact follows five characters around the world connected only by their devotion to tech titan Finley Hart (Hopkins). They are forced to work together to shut down Hart’s secret invention, a machine that could be either the solution to mankind’s problems or the end of life on Earth.

What Users Get from NFTs

This may be the first time a feature film is offered for sale as a non-fungible token (NFT). Vuele, a direct-to-consumer NFT viewing and distribution platform, was formed last month amid the crypto-NFT craze. It aims to allow users to buy exclusive, limited-edition films and collector content to watch, sell and trade on the platform. People can pay for the film with either cryptocurrency or credit cards.

Everything about this film is unconventional, from the way we shot it using Zoom and remote production, to its distribution.

Zero Contact producer/director Rick Dugdale

Potential New Revenue Streams for Blockbuster Movies

According to producer/director Rick Dugdale, Zero Contact will include extras that vary from token to token to create different price points. The idea is to develop a marketplace for NFTs, basically digital assets placed on an encrypted blockchain with unique serial numbers.

“It creates scarcity in copies of the film, and protects against piracy,” Dugdale says.

NFTs Are ‘Flavour of the Month’

Last month, CNN joined in the crypto space by sharing “moments” from its news archives as buyable NFTs. Also in June, Australian artists led the charge in creating physical NFT art exhibitions, while crypto exchange Binance announced its own NFT Marketplace to support the NFTs of Australian creators.

Just three weeks ago, Sotheby’s sold an NFT artwork for a world record price of US$11,754,000.

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Crime Scams

Australian Bitcoin Romance Scam Victim Melanie Kilgour Sentenced to Six Months in Jail plus Community Service

Australian schoolteacher Melanie Kilgour, who became the victim of an online Bitcoin romance scam after misappropriating funds from her former employer in 2019, has been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to fraud charges.

She is also subject to a two-year community corrections order, which includes 150 hours of unpaid community service, and was ordered to repay A$148,908.85 in restitution to her former employer, the Alexandra Community Hub in north-eastern Victoria.

Ms Kilgour pleaded guilty in March this year to charges of defrauding the ACH via multiple transactions. It was alleged that $50,000 was lent to a friend who failed to pay her back, and that an undisclosed sum was spent on repairs to Ms Kilgour’s house.

The court was told that the remainder of the funds had been sent in Bitcoin to an “overseas lover” in an apparent romance scam. The scammer cashed out the amount and later disappeared.

The fraud was detected when it was found Ms Kilgour had forged the signature of ACH director John Cannon.

Kilgour Gives Her Side of the Story

“I am gutted and extraordinarily remorseful for my actions in 2019,” Ms Kilgour wrote in a letter emailed to Crypto News Australia ahead of her sentencing on 1 July in the Victorian County Court. “I seem to have successfully smashed 30 years of achievements in a [relatively] short period of time. This has affected my mental health and put added pressure on my beloved parents, siblings, friends and colleagues, so I find it hard to forgive myself and [I] can never forget.”

Ms Kilgour was dealing with both her parents’ cancer illnesses, an abusive ex-husband, and an unscrupulous builder who was renovating her house when she found herself in a “lonely and vulnerable” position.

I have worked very hard all my life. I understand that one in four women fall victim to romance scams by people who prey on the lonely. Along with losing all of my own savings, I then took money from my employer, to my shame and horror, with no real understanding of the total amounts. My mental health at the time made me feel suicidal.

Melanie Kilgour

Forced To Step Down From New Job

Ms Kilgour found new employment in 2020 at Greater Shepparton Secondary College, also in rural Victoria, but fallout from her court appearance and subsequent negative publicity forced her to step down from the position.

I had never committed a crime before this time or re-offended since, and never will because I have to keep going to support my children and do what’s best for my family. I have suffered greatly and sacrificed a lot to do the right thing since I took the money. I just want the opportunity to be able to keep working hard to pay back my debt to society … with hope of a better future.

Melanie Kilgour

Australians lost over $850 million to scams in 2020, according to a report last month from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) also reported that in just three months last year (March-May), the rate of online romance scams involving cryptocurrency increased by 20 percent.

Please spend some time to learn about the Bitcoin scams going around and how to avoid becoming a victim.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Investing Surveys

Report: 26% of Financial Advisers Will Recommend Crypto This Year

More than one in four financial advisers say they will recommend cryptocurrencies to their clients in the next year, according to just-published results of a survey commissioned in March.

Almost half (49 percent) of advisers said clients had inquired about investing in cryptocurrencies over the past six months.

Results of the 2021 Trends in Investing survey, conducted by the Journal of Financial Planning and the Financial Planning Association (FPA), and supported by Onramp Invest, were released this week.

Client Base Demands Knowledge, Access and Advice from Advisers

The FPA is the principal membership organisation for certified financial planners, professionals, educators and financial services professionals. Onramp Invest is a technology company providing access to crypto assets for registered investment advisers.

Onramp Invest CEO Tyrone Ross commented:

It is clear from these results that we’ve reached an inflection point in the wealth management space. Advisers are now faced with a client base that demands knowledge, access and advice from their adviser[s] on cryptoassets.

Tyrone Ross, Onramp Invest CEO

The survey received 529 responses from financial advisers of various backgrounds and business models. Cryptocurrencies were first added to the survey in 2018 when 1.4 percent of advisers indicated they were either using or recommending them to clients. That figure fell below 1 percent in 2019 and 2020 but jumped to 14 percent in 2021.

Survey results suggest that investors are concerned about the effect of tax reform on their portfolios, with 40 percent of advisers indicating clients had asked them about this topic, up from 27 percent in last year’s survey.

Youth Leads the Way in Crypto Investment

Last month’s CNBC Millionaire survey showed 47 percent of the world’s millennial millionaires have more than 25 percent of their wealth in crypto. The survey sampled 750 investors with at least US$1 million in investible assets, and indicated that more than a third of cashed-up millennials have at least half their wealth in crypto. Australian millennials are no different, as Crypto News Australia recently reported that this cohort is more interested in crypto than real estate.

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Crypto News NFTs

Internet Inventor Sells Original Source Code NFT for $5.4 Million

English computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee famously invented the internet in 1989. Now, more than three decades later, a blockchain-based token representing the original source code has been sold by Sotheby’s in an online auction.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Source: Guardian

Auction Highlights Internet’s Impact on Society

Sotheby’s catalogue outlined what was included in the sale and provided an articulate expression of the significance of the internet in the modern era:

Over the past several centuries, humankind has seen a succession of paradigm shifts that have brought us forward into the Modern Era … but none has had as seismic an impact on our daily lives as the creation of the World Wide Web. Sir Tim’s invention changed everything, and created an entirely new world, democratising the sharing of information, and creating new ways of thinking, interacting and staying connected to one another.

Sotheby’s

Internet Source Code as an NFT

Of course, the internet itself has not been sold, but rather an NFT containing the original source code. The identity of the buyer remains a mystery and Berners-Lee intends to donate the proceeds to charity.

Visualisation of Internet Source Code, Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s commented that it was considered extremely valuable since it is one of a kind and more so that it was “minted” by Berners-Lee himself.

The symbolism, the history, the fact that they’re coming from the creator is what makes them valuable — and there are lots of people who collect things for exactly those reasons.

Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s global head of science and popular culture

Included in the sale are NFTs representing 9,555 lines of code written in 1990-1991 (including an “embarrassing spelling error“), a 30-minute animated visualisation of the code, a digital poster of the code, and a digital letter written by Berners-Lee in June 2021, reflecting on his invention.

NFTs – Legitimate Asset Class?

NFTs are in their infancy and, of course, mania and speculation are to be expected in such conditions. Some will turn out to be worthless and others worth a fortune. For now, it’s difficult to say how it will play out.

“CryptoPunk 7804” sold earlier this year for US$7.6 million. Larva Lab

NFTs raise all sorts of unique legal questions, including those related to copyright. Last month, Jay-Z successfully blocked the unauthorised sale of a digital version of his debut album but how this will apply in different contexts remains unknown.

At present, one could argue it is easy to see how the original source code of the internet NFT is likely to retain value over those belonging to a fleeting reality TV star or a relatively unknown quirky local artist.

Much like the dotcom companies of 2000 where most trended towards zero, the same could be said of many NFTs today. Some types and specific applications will become embedded in our culture and most in time are likely to be written off to irrational exuberance.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Gold India Investing

Indians Switch Gold for Crypto – Crypto Investment Skyrockets 19,900% in a Year

In India, where well-to-do citizens own more than 25,000 tonnes of gold, investments in crypto mushroomed from about US$200 million to nearly US$40 billion in the past year, which translates to a massive 19,900% jump.

Entrepreneur Richi Sood, 32, is one of those Indian citizens to have pivoted from gold to crypto. Since December 2020, she’s invested US$13,400 into Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum.

Richi Sood

Sood’s timing has been fortuitous so far. She cashed out part of her position when Bitcoin broke through US$50,000 in February and then bought back in after the recent tumble.

I’d rather put my money in crypto than gold. Crypto is more transparent than gold or property and returns are more in a short period of time.

Indian entrepreneur, Richi Sood

Younger Cohort Cracks on to Crypto

Sood is just one of a growing cohort of Indians – now totalling more than 15 million – buying and selling digital coins. Much of the interest in India is centred on the 18-35 age group, says Sandeep Goenka, co-founder of India’s first cryptocurrency exchange.

They find it far easier to invest in crypto than gold because the process is very simple. You go online, you can buy crypto, you don’t have to verify it, unlike gold.

Sandeep Goenka, co-founder of ZebPay

India Mirrors Australian Crypto Trend

The crypto landscape in India mirrors the trend in Australia, where a survey earlier this year indicated investors were favouring cryptocurrencies over gold and expressing a high level of interest in crypto debit cards. As in India, younger people are also demonstrating the most enthusiasm for crypto, even favouring digital assets over real estate.

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Adelaide Australia Crypto Art Crypto News NFTs

Australian Artists Are Creating Physical NFT Art Exhibitions

Australian multimedia artist Dave Court is the first in his field to stage a physical Non-Fungible Token (NFT) exhibition in his home state of South Australia, and one of the first in the southern hemisphere.

Court, who is based in the SA capital of Adelaide, decked out an otherwise ordinary brick house in colours and light as part of a unique art installation. The house has since been demolished, though collectors can still purchase a digital piece of it online.

Interior of the former Ironbank house, as painted by artist Dave Court

In what would become Court’s so-named ‘House Party’ exhibition, the house at Ironbank in the Adelaide Hills was enhanced with a kaleidoscope of colours in paint and light just before it was torn down in 2020.

It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and then the opportunity came up to paint a house last year … I combined that with other things I was working on in the studio and it [all] came to fruition in this exhibition.

Adelaide artist Dave Court
Artist Dave Court in his Adelaide studio. Image: Angela Skujins/CityMag

The digital works that have outlived the house feature augmented and virtual reality which effectively recreates the original building. Included among these works is NFT artworks that can be bought online with cryptocurrency.

NFT Artworks Break Out in Australia and Worldwide

Earlier in June, Hobart’s Museum of Art & Philosophy (MAP) launched Australia’s first NFT gallery in the Tasmanian capital with an exhibition to coincide with Hobart’s annual Dark Mofo festival.

In June, Binance announced its own NFT Marketplace, saying it would support the NFTs of various creators from Australia through its ‘100 Creators’ campaign.

NFTs are also making waves in the international art world. Just two weeks ago, Sotheby’s sold an NFT artwork for a world record price of US$11,754,000.

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Bitcoin Crime Crypto News United Kingdom

UK Police’s Biggest Ever Crypto Seizure: £114 Million

London’s Metropolitan Police have impounded the equivalent of US$160 million in cryptocurrency as part of a money-laundering investigation, to date the largest haul of its kind in Britain and one of the largest in the world.

Police would not specify which cryptocurrencies were intercepted, but revealed the operation was carried out by its Economic Crime Command team in connection with money-laundering offences.

The Met’s Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Graham McNulty spoke to Britain’s Sky News of the link between money and violence and how the latter is used to protect criminal profits and maintain control of territories.

Cash remains king, but as technology and online platforms [continue to] develop, some [criminals] are moving to more sophisticated methods of laundering their profits. But we have highly trained officers and specialist units working day and night to remain one step ahead.

Graham McNulty, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, London Metropolitan Police

Detective Constable Joe Ryan added: “Criminals need to legitimise their money, otherwise it risks being seized by law enforcement.”

The proceeds of crime are almost always laundered to hide the origin, but by disrupting the flow of funds before they are reinvested, we can make London an incredibly difficult place for criminals to operate.

Det. Const. Joe Ryan, London Metropolitan Police

New Record in Crypto Misappropriations

The global record in crypto seizures once belonged to dark web marketplace Silk Road and its founder Ross Ulbricht when in 2020 the US Department of Justice recovered US$1 billion in stolen Bitcoin. But that amount is dwarfed by the US$3.6 billion in Bitcoin that’s gone missing following the disappearance earlier this month of the Cajee brothers who founded a cryptocurrency investment platform in South Africa.

Closer to home, in February, NSW Police arrested the head of a multimillion-dollar money-laundering syndicate after stopping his car in Sydney’s inner west and finding AU$1 million cash on board.