Australia’s gaming start-up, Immutable, has announced that its most recent funding round has pushed the company’s value to US$2.5 billion. According to an Immutable Twitter thread, the $200 million round was led by investors from Singaporean company Temasek.
I purchased me some (IMX) immutable X I have a great feeling about the platform
Sydney-based blockchain firm Immutable, the start-up behind the scaling solution for Ethereum NFT games – Immutable X – has just joined the ranks of the crypto unicorns (ie, crypto start-ups worth at least a billion dollars). This comes after its latest round of funding, led by Temasek investors alongside metaverse investment firm Animoca Brands and Chinese Temacent. The increase in funding was not the only benefit Immutable received. As a result of the firm’s promotion to unicorn status, Immutable’s token (IMX) has also soared.
#Crypto#IMX – The Immutable X price is currently $1.46 with a 24-hour trading volume of $266.95M across 20 exchanges. The IMX price is up 22.68% in the last 24 hours. The Immutable X price prediction sentiment is currently neutral.https://t.co/39LPbmKQmq
Immutable’s previous funding round in 2021 saw it garner US$410 million. Currently, the Immutable X price prediction is neutral; however, the company only seems to be moving from strength to strength. Immutable hopes that the fresh funds will supercharge its goal of pushing NFTs mainstream through high-quality blockchain games.
IMX Pursues Gaming Industry
Immutable X established several high-profile partnerships and deals in late 2021 and early 2022. A partnership was solidified in October with ESL Gaming, a leading Esports company, which provided the ESL Pro Tour NFTs with gasless trading on its platform.
More recently, Immutable X entered a contract with retail game giant GameStop to develop its new NFT marketplace, with the addition of a US$100 million innovation fund to support the NFT space and its creators.
Immutable X is the first Layer 2 scaling solution for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum. It’s a cutting edge protocol for NFTs which enables projects to build on Layer 2 Ethereum with a fantastic developer and user experience, and enables instant trading, massive scalability and zero gas fees for minting and trading, all without compromising user or asset security.
Immutable X is the most technically advanced solution for NFT scaling ever built, developed with StarkWare’s powerful STARK prover and rollup technology. Immutable believes NFT users and developers shouldn’t have to choose between the security and network effects of Ethereum, and creating a world-class experience for their users. IMX is an ERC-20 utility token built for the purposes of rewarding pro-network activities on Immutable X, such as trading, liquidity provision and building applications. The token aligns incentives between traders, creators and marketplaces so that all participants benefit from protocol activity.
As the digital surveillance capabilities of governments and corporations continue to increase, projects like Oxen are doing their part to ensure the average joe has access to strong encryption technologies. Whether it’s trading, communication, or regular web browsing, Oxen has a privacy-first product to fill the need.
The Oxen team have developed two applications that demonstrate the power of their service node network, these are Session and Lokinet.
Session is a decentralised messaging app that uses onion-routing and end-to-end encryption for secure and anonymous communication. With over 300,000 monthly active users, Session is one of the most used dapps in all of web3.
Lokinet is a high speed onion-routing protocol which provides anonymous internet access. Lokinet is compatible with all web browsers, because it can run in the background instead of needing a specialised browser or plugin — so the user experience is more similar to VPNs than Tor. Because of Lokinet’s modern protocol and network architecture, it is significantly faster and more lightweight than other onion-routers — it can even handle things like video streaming.
All Oxen apps rely on the service node network to function. Service nodes are Oxen’s specialised staked nodes which secure the proof-of-stake blockchain. Service node operators stake OXEN to secure the network and are rewarded with OXEN coins for their service.
The OXEN cryptocurrency is an instant transaction privacy coin. With complete fungibility, OXEN coins cannot be traced, nor can specific OXEN coins be blacklisted by centralised entities.
To tie the ecosystem together and to reduce service node emissions, Session and Lokinet have planned monetisation features for services on their network, though its’ planned to keep all Oxen apps free to use.
Power Ledger is an energy trading platform that allows buyers and sellers to trade energy directly with one another and without the need to go through a centralised power company.
Power Ledger offers a trustless trading platform where consumers can sell energy to their peers, allowing consumers to monetise their excess energy production and access cheaper energy by buying it directly from other users on the platform.
A permissioned based blockchain allows Powerledger to build and scale energy projects across the globe, processing 50,000+ transactions per second since shifting from Ethereum to Solana. This scalable technology is fast, transparent and secure. Powerledger’s blockchain technology facilitates secure trading and mitigates settlement risk, whilst also providing an immutable and verifiable audit trail. In 2021, Carlton United Breweries partnered with Power Ledger to power their VB Solar Exchange program, which enables participants to track and trade their excess solar energy for VB beer.
Haven is a project that aims to provide anyone, anywhere with access to true private digital assets in virtually any form they choose.
The Haven ecosystem gives you the ability to store, transact and convert your money into an asset type of your choice, all in complete privacy. It consists of 3 types of assets, which combine to give users genuine utility XHV, xUSD, and xASSETS.
Haven (XHV) acts as the network collateral, and has an elastic supply. It is volatile, so the price is set according to supply and demand on exchanges. Burning XHV is the only way to mint xUSD.
xUSD is a private stable coin which can always be converted to 1 USD worth of XHV. It’s created by burning the equivalent USD value of XHV. xUSD is the only currency that can be converted into xASSETS, so it also acts as a gateway between XHV and xASSETS. xASSETS are price-stable synthetic assets which can be minted using xUSD and stored within a Haven Vault. In the future, there is virtually no limit to the number of xASSETS that could potentially be available. Currently, users can convert and transfer Gold (xAU), Silver (xAG), Bitcoin (xBTC), as well as a range of other fiat currencies. In the near future these assets will be tradeable on Thorchain’s decentralised exchange.
Emanate unites musicians and music lovers on a fast and fair collaboration and sharing platform where they can create and earn more. Emanate is much more than just a music streaming service, it brings transparency around royalty and rights distribution, allowing collaboration to occur effortlessly via smart collaborations on Emanate’s live platform.
The music industry—especially the streaming industry—has been marred by claims from artists that they are underpaid, misled, and exploited. Emanate co–founder Jimi Frew sees streaming platforms as an extension of the legacy music industry — and wants to bring the benefits of web3 to the music industry through Emanate.
Emanate is creating a more transparent music industry which makes life simpler and fairer for everyone to create and listen to music. With a specific focus on streamlining payments and agreements between collaborators. Soon, any label will be able to create a profile and start managing their artists.
Emanate has a growing number of artists, and an ever-increasing catalogue of music to enjoy. The best part is that when you listen to music, the artist will be getting paid in real time — truly linking creators and consumers.
Emanate puts power back into the hands of its users, the artists and the consumers. The EMT token can be used to access the full power of Emanate. It’s like owning a bit of the network for yourself, like creators and consumers owning a piece of Spotify.
An advisory committee to the Australian government released a report this week highlighting issues that need attention in order to facilitate the safe and widespread adoption of crypto technology in Australia.
The report, developed by the Cyber Security Industry Advisory Committee and released by the Australian Department of Home Affairs, outlines the risks and opportunities presented by cryptocurrencies and suggests Australia would benefit from the creation of a set of guidelines to protect businesses and investors.
There is a need for regulatory settings that provide greater clarity and confidence about how the cryptocurrency market can operate in Australia.
Cyber Security Industry Advisory Committee report
Key Areas For Government
The report recommends the government explore four key areas to help keep Australians safe:
setting minimum security standards for exchanges;
improving crypto-centric capability and training for law enforcement;
adopting best-practices and infrastructure from other jurisdictions; and
increasing transparency requirements for operators of blockchain-based products and services such as DEXs and NFT marketplaces.
Opportunities Aplenty
Although the report focuses on how government can regulate the crypto space to minimise criminal activity, it also highlights some of the opportunities crypto presents:
“Distributed ledger technology is useful to businesses beyond its cryptocurrency capabilities. It can increase brand trust through its ability to enhance transparency and provide an immutable record of assets for other purposes.”
Apart from crypto acting as a currency, the four main opportunities mentioned in the study are:
supply chain tracking;
the tokenisation of traditional assets such as loans and real estate;
the possibility for businesses to attract a new set of customers; and
the potential for lower energy use than existing financial infrastructure.
Australian Crypto Adoption Growing, Regulation Coming
In a first for the Australian market, energy retailer 1st Energy will begin allowing cryptocurrency as a form of payment following a new partnership with crypto payment platform BitPay.
From March 4, 1st Energy customers will be able to pay their power bills using a range of popular cryptocurrencies including BTC, BCH, ETH, DOGE, SHIB and XRP.
Crypto payments will be made via BitPay, which is currently the largest crypto payment provider globally and has been used by several large companies including AT&T, Microsoft and WeWork.
How Does It Work?
Payments can be made using the BitPay wallet app, crypto debit card (which will launch in Australia soon), or Chrome browser extension.
Customers who choose to pay their 1st Energy bills using BitPay, firstly need to select which crypto to make payment in: currently there’s support for 13 cryptocurrencies and five stablecoins.
1st Energy customers are then presented with a QR code, which can be scanned using the BitPay wallet app. They can then see the exact amount of crypto needed to pay their bill. The bill amount will be locked for 15 minutes so that fluctuations in the value of the crypto don’t change the figure a person owes.
Crypto Payments a Competitive Advantage
The adoption of crypto as a payment method is a reflection of the increasing mainstream adoption of the technology.
1st Energy believes providing crypto payment options offers a competitive advantage over its larger and slower-moving competitors:
As a smaller retailer, we are all about choice, and part of that is giving customers the option to pay the way they want.
The desire to HODL in addition to the murky regulatory environment in Australia may reduce the number of customers willing to pay using crypto, but seeing more companies add the option is undoubtedly a positive sign for crypto adoption in Australia.
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has urged the Australian blockchain industry to pick up the pace or risk falling behind other developed nations, saying Australia is likely to miss an opportunity to become a world leader in cryptocurrency if the government is not given more power to prioritise digital asset reform.
According to a report titled ‘Cryptocurrency and the Distributed Digital Economy in Australia’, cryptocurrency and related digital assets could generate A$68.4 billion for the Australian economy and create jobs for 205,700 people by 2030. The central issue is that Australia does not currently regulate crypto use and could potentially let this opportunity slip by.
Regulatory Framework a Long Time Coming
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced intentions to establish a regulatory framework to guide crypto’s future growth. However, such a plan will not be ready before the year’s end.
NSW Senator Bragg, a pro-crypto politician ranked #82 in the Cointelegraph Top 100 of People in Blockchain and Crypto 2021, has stated he would prefer this framework be put in place much sooner, despite acknowledging that “governments move slowly”.
NSW Senator Andrew Bragg, #82 on Cointelegraph’s Top 100 People in Blockchain and Crypto 2021. Source: ioandc.com
Bragg intends to call for increased treasury funding so dedicated units can work on these reforms. He is also set to insist on “broad, principle-based, regulation-making power delegated by law to a minister”, and is expected to request these changes prior to the release of the federal budget on March 29.
The Current State of Australian Crypto
Last October, the Australian Senate Committee finalised its 12-point crypto reform plan. The successful implementation of the long-awaited plan should alter the nation’s regulatory approach to the digital asset ecosystem. Bragg is a champion of this reform.
Before finalising the plan, the Australian Senate Committee hosted several hearings with domestic crypto-related businesses who shared their struggles with financial institutions denying or terminating banking services without notice – a practice known as ‘debanking’. The 12-point reform plan has a step dedicated to addressing this issue.
The Gold Coast will host Australia’s largest Crypto Convention for 2022, where crypto enthusiasts will join expert speakers, industry exhibitors, education workshops, networkers and more in a jam-packed weekend.
The event is being organised by David Haslop, founder of The Crypto Den trading education platform, who wants to help attendees learn more about cryptocurrencies and blockchain, and introduce people to all the exciting projects happening in Australia.
We’ve got international speakers coming over from different countries, obviously people from here … the whole idea of the convention is my philosophy from when I started, mass adoption through education.
David Haslop, Crypto Convention Organiser
What’s Happening at the Event
The exact event day agenda lineups, speakers and exhibitors lists will be announced soon. Also, special accommodation deals will be released in early March. Stay tuned!
Live Speakers – Hear from global visionaries and industry leaders as they speak on stage and participate in panel discussions.
Networking – Interact and network with professionals and experts from within the crypto space.
Exhibitors – Experience some of the most innovative blockchain technology and crypto projects and their use cases first-hand.
Educational Workshops – Learn more about the following topics: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies, Crypto Security, The Future of Crypto, Working in Crypto, Trading Crypto and more.
Crypto News – We will be attending the event and providing media coverage, live interviews, social media spotlights, and giveaways!
The Whale Experience
Upgrade your convention experience to a Whale Pass and enjoy a catered lunch daily with networking opportunities and join in on our exclusive WHALE Night event at Nineteen Rooftop Bar At The Star Casino. Find out more here.
This is your opportunity to connect with like-minded Whales who share the same interests and goals as you. Your Whale Pass opens the door to connections inside the space and this is where the magic happens!
Become an Exhibitor
If you would like to become an Exhibitor at the event, you can apply here.
Sydney-based DeFi startup Tiiik, which offers a digital wallet that enables investors to earn interest on DeFi products, has closed its first seed funding round for A$5.2 million:
The capital raise was led by a mix of well-known players in the Australian fintech scene, as well as some high-profile global venture capital funds. Currently Tiiik only accepts funds from Australian accredited investors, but with this new capital raise it plans to broaden its offerings and make products available to retail investors in 2023.
Simplifying DeFi for the Masses
Tiiik launched in 2021 as a one-stop digital wallet featuring saving, spending and earning capabilities all on the same single balance. The company’s stated mission is to bring the advantages of DeFi and other crypto products to Australian investors and consumers in a way that reduces the complexity of crypto behind an easy-to-use interface.
Tiiik wants to enable everyday people to access the benefits of DeFi, without the complexity that typically comes with innovative financial technology. There is a big gap in the market for a platform that can help non-tech savvy people access a new asset class that is revolutionising the way people think about money.
Erez Rachamim, Tiiik co-founder
Tiiik’s savings product will reportedly offer 10 percent yield per annum, which will accrue daily. Users will be able connect their Tiiik wallets directly to their bank accounts, which should make it seamless to deposit and withdraw funds.
Prioritising Regulatory Compliance
Unlike most other DeFi savings products, Tiiik is very keen to operate firmly within domestic regulation. It has applied to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for a wholesale Australia Financial Services Licence, which it will need to secure before offering any products to its waitlist of eager retail investors, who already number around 30,000.
Because of its more conventional fintech approach to regulatory compliance and efforts to create a more familiar user experience, Tiiik has been referred to by some as an example of a ‘crypto-mullet’: an emerging class of companies that present as traditional fintech on the front-end but leverage crypto technologies on the back-end.
Tiiik isn’t the first Australian-based example of a crypto-mullet – last year, fellow Aussie startup @Pay launched a buy-now pay-later platform which aimed to bridge the DeFi and e-commerce sectors.
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend but the industry has long been problematic for those involved in the excavation and processing of these highly sought-after stones. Thanks to consumer demand, however, sustainability is now part of the diamond trade.
The mine-to-market journey of diamonds is rife with issues of soil erosion, deforestation and destruction of communities, along with appalling working conditions, low wages and child labour. To tackle these issues, Kavalri has enlisted Everledger to enable it to easily reference the human rights aspects and environmental performance of its diamond listings.
In its partnership with Everledger, a leading platform for authentication and traceability, Kavalri can now offer its customers provenance when it comes to diamonds. This essentially means the diamond on your finger is sourced completely transparently but is also fairly priced.
Kavalri also offers diamonds that have been sustainably rated, which means they have been certified on a number of environmental and sustainability criteria, and these diamonds come with a third-party certificate to validate their credentials.
Kavalri to Offer Digital Diamond Origin Reports
With this new initiative, Kavalri is one of only a few jewellers in Australia to offer blockchain diamonds to customers. These come with a complete digital report that documents the journey the diamond has taken, from discovery right through to every part of the supply chain.
Online Australian share-trading platform SelfWealth is expected to become the country’s first traditional stockbroker to offer cryptocurrencies to domestic clients, though it has yet to specify a launch date.
SelfWealth has signed a deal with one of Australia’s longest-running crypto exchanges, BTC Markets, with the aim of allowing its clients to hold digital assets under one roof. Customers will be able to trade up to five cryptos, pending regulatory approval from financial watchdog AUSTRAC, though the specifics on which assets will be selected are yet to be disclosed.
Original Plan to Launch by Late 2021
Established in 2011, SelfWealth has close to 120,000 active members and A$8 billion in assets under management. The Melbourne-based fintech spent seven months looking for a viable exchange partner and had originally planned to begin offering crypto to its customers by the end of last year.
The broker decided to pursue crypto after discovering more than 30 percent of its members were already trading in digital assets, flagging its plans to offer crypto trading to its customers as long ago as last July.
According to SelfWealth chief executive Cath Whitaker, “This is a good time to launch. Bitcoin has a speculative nature, but the dips present opportunities and it is reclaiming a fair value.”
ASIC Warns Investors to Brace for Losses
BTC Markets CEO Caroline Bowler agrees, but says the more interesting story centres on the crypto liquidity crunch, with Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) chairman Joseph Longo warning investors last month to prepare for potentially significant losses on crypto investments.
“[Crypto investing] is only risky if it lacks transparency,” Bowler says.
“We’re very upfront around disclosure and risk,” adds SelfWealth’s Whitaker, declaring the company felt comfortable with the BTC Markets partnership due to a shared understanding of “what cryptocurrency is, and isn’t”.
With an eventful year of crypto companies making it into the mainstream, it seems 2022 may have some more of the same in store. The soon-to-retire ASX chief announced in his retirement speech last week that his mission over the past five years has been to expand the small role of tech companies in Australia’s mining and bank-heavy sharemarket.
Stevens has attempted to do this by allowing Australia to make strides in access to crypto but also by competing globally in the development of the blockchain industry. According to Max Cunningham, group executive of listings at the ASX, the exchange was establishing a framework for other companies backed by blockchain to debut by the middle of this year.
“We are moving on it and our goal is to bring investment-grade opportunities in various crypto asset classes to the ASX in the coming months and years,” Cunningham told The Sydney Morning Herald.
I think as the industry matures, you may see Square-like companies listing into the future, but we’re protective of the quality of the companies on our exchange, and it is a very fast-moving space.
Dominic Stevens, chief executive, ASX
Dorsey’s Block Lists on ASX
Stevens’ comments came just as Jack Dorsey’s Block (formerly Square) was listed on the ASX on January 20 after acquiring the Australian buy-now pay-later firm, Afterpay. The merged company will trade under the ticker SQ after being the first cryptocurrency-related company in the bourse’s history to be listed.
Tech giant born on #ASX. ASX's 7th biggest company, who will overtake Westpac in size; After Afterpay $APT stopped trading & was removed from #ASX200, Block, formally Square (who took over Afterpay) listed on the ASX under $SQ2 today. It's a $176.50 stock. $80 billion valuation pic.twitter.com/Tv4RGdbJo7
Initially, the ASX was cautious of how it approached crypto-affiliated companies but, as 2021 showed, Australia has been a hotbed for development in the nascent crypto industry. In October the ASX gave the go-ahead to investors to invest in crypto-based ventures through an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The following month, Australia also welcomed Chainalysis, one of the leading blockchain analytics firms, to establish a new office in Canberra after partnering up with the Commonwealth Bank to meet increased demand for its products.
Stevens further revealed that the ASX was looking into adding “pure” cryptocurrency ETFs to allow investment directly into the top cryptocurrencies:
At the end of the day if you look out to 2030, there will only be more technology companies, not less, and it will be a bigger section of the index because that’s just the way the world’s going. To not actually focus on that would have been a mistake.
