Category: Australia

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Australian Open Grand Slam Embraces Crypto with Virtual Tennis Arena and 6,776 NFTs

In a world first for top-level international tennis, the Australian Open – the 2022 season’s first Grand Slam tournament – is set to combine non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with on-court action as the event gets under way in Melbourne from January 17.

The AO, as it’s popularly known, is releasing a collection of 6,776 NFTs that align with tiny squares on the tournament’s centre court surface, along with a virtual event on the metaverse platform Decentraland.

Fans Can Buy a Piece of the Action

Fans can literally buy a piece of the action via an NFT that gives them “property” rights to a 19cm x 19cm area of Melbourne Park’s Rod Laver Arena. They stand to win a prize should the last bounce of the ball fall into their square on the deciding point in any of the approximately 600 matches during the tournament, including men’s and women’s singles, doubles, mixed doubles and wheelchair events.

From day one of the AO, fans will be able to access the virtual centre court via Decentraland, “walk around” it using a keyboard and mouse, watch the tennis action on big screens as they go, and later buy souvenir items in an online shop. They can even enter the virtual Rod Laver Arena and play a game with a simulated tennis ball machine.

Every winning shot from the tournament’s 600 matches will correspond with one of the collection’s NFTs. Owners will receive an airdrop with footage of the point, virtual wearables and AO merch. The data extracted to match the NFTs will be gleaned from the same electronic line-calling technology used to judge actual in-game points.

If the winning point happens to take place in a final, the owner of the NFT square on which the ball lands will receive the actual ball in a custom engraved case. The AO has partnered with metaverse design firm Run It Wild for the event’s construction.

Australian Open NFT Project Collaborators

How to Participate

The court location for each NFT will be determined after the collection’s minting, which takes place from 10am AEDT on January 13 for 0.067 ETH (US$225, or A$315) each. Details can be found at the ao.artball.io site.

Out of the total of 6,776 NFTs:

  • 169 will feature custom designs from winners of the AO Artist Series competition;
  • 22 will be wrapped in historical AO artwork; and
  • the remaining 6585 will be randomly created using an algorithmic combination of unique colour schemes, patterns and textures.

Tennis Australia expects to raise A$2.4 million if all of the NFTs sell, with the majority of funds going to charitable causes, the Australian Tennis Foundation and carbon offsetting.

If last year’s wildfire success of sports trading cards in Australia is any guide, the AO’s innovative NFTs are bound to be a … hit.

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Australia Blockchain Crypto News NFTs

Samsung Set to Release Smart TV with NFT Trading Capabilities

What’s the point of owning an NFT (non-fungible token) if you can’t show it off to everyone you know? Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics understands this and is here to help by introducing three TV models incorporating an NFT explorer and marketplace aggregator – a platform that allows owners to browse, purchase, and display their favourite art.

Samsung Brings Blockchain to Your Smart TV

The past couple of months has seen an unprecedented explosion in the NFT market, and the need for tech companies to get on board has become all the more important. Samsung is leading the charge in this respect by introducing a new “NFT Aggregation Platform”, designed for three of its 2022 TV models.

According to Samsung:

In 2022, Samsung is introducing the world’s first TV screen-based NFT explorer and marketplace aggregator, a groundbreaking platform that lets you browse, purchase, and display your favourite art – all in one place.

Samsung Electronics announcement

Watch TV, Buy NFTs

The platform, which will be available on Samsung’s MicroLed, Neo QLED, and The Frame models, will allow users to browse and buy NFTs directly from the TVs. The new platform pulls in NFTs from different marketplaces so users can preview the art and see who created it, along with all relevant blockchain metadata.

Promotion for Samsung’s upcoming NFT TV platform. Source: Samsung

For users who already own NFTs, the platform can be used to showcase their prized possessions. Samsung has also introduced its “Smart Calibration” technology that automatically adjusts the TV’s setting to match the original specifications, to ensure the image is rendered as optimally as the creator intended.

Among the impressive specs offered by the platform, the application will feature an “intuitive, integrated platform for discovering, purchasing and trading digital artwork”, which allows users to trade NFTs on set.

Hopefully Samsung’s forward thinking will inspire the 90 percent of Australians who reportedly remain ignorant of cryptos and NFTs to investigate the new revolution.

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Australia Blockchain Crypto News Tokens

Miami City to Monitor Air Quality Using Blockchain Technology

Already associated with a range of use cases from real estate to microfinance and even drone racing, the Algorand blockchain has now been enlisted to combat urban air pollution.

PlanetWatch, the world’s first decentralised indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring network built on Algorand, has selected the US city of Miami to host its system of pollution sensors.

US Project Follows Successful European Rollout

In what is the first such deployment in a major US location, the Miami project follows the successful rollout of PlanetWatch’s technology in several European cities and builds on commitments made as part of the Floridan city’s “Miami Forever Climate Ready” initiative.

These commitments flow from last month’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), held in Glasgow in the wake of the World Health Organization updating its Global Air Quality guidelines.

Almost Half of Americans Live in Polluted Environments

The selection of Miami as the location for the first US PlanetWatch project makes sense as recent evidence suggests more than 40 percent of Americans live in places with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution, most often heavily urbanised environments.

Backed by blockchain VC firm Borderless Capital’s US$10 million PLANETS fund, so-called “PlanetWatchers” will host air-quality sensors to collect green data for transcription onto the Algorand blockchain. Contributors will receive PLANETS tokens as compensation, with collected information used to identify pollution hotspots and provide a database of environmental analytics to protect the future health of Miami’s population.

“It is hugely exciting that innovators like PlanetWatch and Algorand are coming [to Miami] to implement major sustainable technology in the US,” commented crypto-friendly Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. “Algorand is a carbon-negative blockchain, and the data from this project will play a crucial role in our climate adaptation efforts, as well as our ambitions to make Miami an epicentre for digital capital markets.”

For his part, PlanetWatch CEO Claudio Parrinello confirmed Miami as the France-based environmental tech startup’s first large-scale project in the US.

PlanetWatch is built on the contribution of individuals, and the people of Miami will play an invaluable role in expanding an air quality database that will help protect the health of our people and our planet.

Claudio Parrinello, CEO, PlanetWatch

Algorand’s Australian Connection

In early 2021, Blockchain Australia Solutions also partnered up with Algorand to enhance applications from quality assurance to eco-friendly housing.

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Australia Crypto Exchange Crypto News

MyCryptoWallet Liquidation Commences, Amount of Crypto Held Remains Unknown

Liquidators for MyCryptoWallet are in the process of establishing the amount of cryptocurrency held, if any, by the now-defunct Australian crypto exchange. In the interim, out-of-pocket investors are left with little choice but to hope for the best.

Liquidation Under Way

According to documents lodged with the corporate regulator, MyCryptoWallet’s former chief executive, Jaryd Koenigsmann, first contacted the insolvency practice, SV Partners, on November 22. This drove the company into liquidation proceedings on December 3.

Soon after, the appointed liquidators commenced their campaign to sell various parts of the business, the most valuable component being its intellectual property and technology stack.

My preliminary investigations reveal that the company’s online platform and its technological infrastructure is commercial to realise … Accordingly, I have engaged lawyers and valuers to assist me with the process of securing the online platform and the sale of the company’s website and intellectual property.

Terry van der Velde, liquidator, SV Partners

Last week, SV Partners released a report to creditors where it indicated that, as of yet, it had failed to identify whether the failed business had any of its own crypto reserves.

My investigations are ongoing with respect to the coins and wallets … Creditors will be updated in further reports.

Terry van der Velde, liquidator, SV Partners

Low Prospect of Recovery?

When asked about whether individual customers could access their funds, SV Partners outlined the liquidation process:

All assets of the company vest in me as liquidator of the company for the benefit of creditors … Customers [who] invested money and had their coins stored through the company’s website, and can verify their deposits, may be entitled to receive a dividend. However, at this stage the quantum and timing of any such dividend is unknown.

Terry van der Velde, liquidator, SV Partners

While the assets of MyCryptoWallet remain unknown, liquidators confirmed that its bank accounts were empty and that it had an outstanding debt of A$250,000, owed to a related party.

As per the report, MyCryptoWallet had around 19,500 registered customers. Given the average retail investor’s proclivity to leave their crypto on exchanges, the number of creditors is expected to run into the thousands. Naturally, this would be very concerning to investors, some of whom may have lost as much as A$40,000.

A subsequent statutory report to creditors is scheduled to be released on or before March 3.

What are the chances that creditors will recover their funds in full? Undoubtedly, that ship has sailed. At best, aggrieved investors can hope to recover a portion of their investment, together with a brutal, albeit elementary, lesson – not your keys, not your coins.

As Rick tells Morty, “not your keys, not your coins”. Source: @AUnderwar
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Australia Crypto News Investing Surveys

Survey: 83% of Millennial Millionaires Own Crypto and Intend to Buy More

A new survey by CNBC reveals that a majority of millennial millionaires have invested a good portion of their wealth in cryptos and plan to invest even more in the coming year, despite the recent price declines.

According to the survey, which polled investors with investible assets of US$1 million or more, over half – 53 percent – of respondents indicated that they hold 50 percent or more of their portfolios in crypto investments, with one-third of respondents having already invested at least three-quarters of their portfolios in crypto assets. This is in stark contrast with older generations of millionaires, as only 4 percent of baby boomers hold any cryptos whatsoever and 75 percent of Gen X investors own none at all.

Millennials Bullish on Cryptos

The survey results suggest that cryptos are causing a vast generational divide between investing and wealth creation. While cryptos have become the primary source of wealth creation and asset growth for many younger investors who got in early and saw massive returns, older generations of millionaires are still largely sceptical of digital wealth.

George Walper, president of Spectrem Group – who conducted the survey on behalf of CNBC – noted that rising interest in the cryptos market could become an issue for wealth managers, stating:

I’m not sure the wealth management industry has recognised that they need to think of these as completely different generations. Most firms were hoping to ignore it. But millennial millionaires are not going to just grow out of crypto.

George Walper, president, Spectrem Group

The survey has also highlighted the risk appetite of younger generations regarding crypto investments, with 48 percent of millennial investors planning to add to their crypto portfolios in the coming year, while 38 percent plan to hold. Only six percent indicated that they intend to reduce their crypto exposure in 2022.

Australian Investors Increasingly Interested in Cryptos

Australia is becoming one of the market leaders in terms of crypto adoption, especially among its millennial population, with cryptos expected to overtake fiat in Australia by 2029. During the past year, the country has seen a 10 percent growth in crypto adoption, up from 18.4 percent in 2020.

Recently it was revealed that Australians seem to be increasing their interest in alternative investments, with 40 percent of millennials opting for digital asset investment over traditional assets such as real estate. A new report also reveals that Australians have accumulated over A$7 billion in cryptos assets, with 31 percent of the Gen Z population leading the investment charge.

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Australia Blockchain Crypto News Crypto.com Melbourne

Victoria Emerging Blockchain Leader as Crypto.com Sets Up New Melbourne Offices

According to a media release from the Victoria State Government, Crypto.com, one of the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency platforms, has chosen Melbourne for its Australian headquarters.

Victoria the ‘Blockchain Powerhouse’

The Singapore-based crypto giant says its choice will “enhance Victoria’s reputation as an emerging blockchain powerhouse” along with the rest of Australia making major strides in the crypto race. Just recently, Chainalysis opened a new office in Canberra in response to an increase in adoption of and demand for its products.

Melbourne was [also] recently selected as the host for the largest blockchain series [of meetings] in the world – The World Blockchain Summit 2022 – and is emerging as a location of choice for global companies operating in this space.

Victoria State Government media release

Crypto.com’s move comes after the Australian Treasury recently announced it would begin to implement crypto regulation, hopefully clearing the murky water crypto businesses currently try to work in.

Due to the nature of Crypto.com’s work and rapid expansion, the company requires a highly skilled workforce to build blockchain applications and services that can operate globally.

Victoria’s Tech Sector Attracts Crypto Companies

Victoria’s tech sector contributes more than A$38 billion to the state’s economy annually and supports more than 139,000 workers across 20,000 businesses.

The state Minister for Economic Development, Tim Pallas, announced that Crypto.com would set up its Australian headquarters to focus on collaboration with globally renowned Victorian universities to increase the company’s technical development capabilities.

Melbourne’s tech ecosystem is an ideal base for Crypto.com to continue to grow, develop innovative services and access world-class talent.

Karl Mohan, Asia-Pacific general manager, Crypto.com

As more crypto giants emerge, they will seek to establish themselves in places that provide regulatory, economic, and political stability. If Australia continues on this trajectory, it may well carve a space for itself as an industry leader.

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Australia Crypto News Economics Regulation

Report Finds Australia’s Crypto Economy Could Grow to $68 Billion by 2030

An analysis by global consulting firm EY (formerly Ernst & Young), commissioned by digital asset management company Mawson, has found the economic value of Australia’s cryptocurrency ecosystem could grow to A$68.4 billion by 2030 and employ around 206,000 workers.

The Cryptocurrency and the distributed digital economy in Australia report, released on December 10, says that unlocking the value of the digital assets market – which covers crypto, stablecoins, NFTs, DeFi, Web 3.0 and DAOs – requires “attractive” policy settings to be put in place to drive innovation.

“The magnitude of the economic benefits will depend on the speed and scale of uptake and the transformational potential of technology across different industries,” the report states.

Digital Asset Ecosystem Set For 30x Expansion

The report puts the current value of Australia’s digital asset ecosystem at A$2.1 billion. It argues that enabling an increase of more than 30 times the sector’s value in the next decade rests on:

  • fit-for-purpose regulatory systems that provide greater business certainty;
  • upskilling the nation’s workforce, including skilled migration; and
  • more certainty around tax settings related to digital assets and the way they are transacted.  
EY’s report shows the potential economic gains from high-growth policies compared to current approaches.

Under the right reform and growth conditions, the report predicts the cryptocurrency and digital asset economy could:

  • grow in value by more than 50 percent each year;
  • add up to A$250 billion to the national economy over the next decade, reaching a value of A$68.4 billion in 2030;
  • eclipse the economic contribution of Australia’s tourism, agriculture and energy industries;
  • generate more than A$2.8 billion in high-value exports by 2030 and
  • create thousands of digital jobs across various industries, including more than 200,000 employed in 2030 and cumulatively more than 765,000 full-time roles over the next decade.

Report Responds to Australian Senate’s Crypto Recommendations

In a statement announcing the report’s release, CEO and founder of Mawson, James Manning, said the analysis was commissioned in response to the Senate Committee report, Australia as a Financial and Technology Centre Final Report.

“We are at a crossroads. As an industry, we desperately need a fit-for-purpose policy and regulatory framework to provide greater security and certainty to consumers and the crypto industry,” Manning said. He added:

The Bragg Report recommendations, in particular, represent a significant coming together of industry, regulators and government. [Those] recommendations, if adopted, will revolutionise the Australian crypto sector and improve consumer protection, therefore driving innovation, confidence and growth in the sector. 

James Manning, CEO and founder of Mawson 

Capitalising on the booming sector is clearly of interest to the Australian government. In November, in an address at the Australian Financial Review Super & Wealth Summit, Liberal Senator Jane Hume, the Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy, noted the importance of crypto and stressed the role of government in encouraging innovation.

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Australia Banking Bitcoin Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Dogecoin Ethereum NFTs

Survey Finds Most Australians Still Have No Idea About Crypto or NFTs

Contrary to findings published last week by the Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI), a new Saxo Markets survey reveals only one in 10 Australians knows what a cryptocurrency is, with those older than 65 even less certain.

There is also a divide between the sexes, according to the Saxo survey. Around 21 percent of Australian men claim to have a handle on what cryptocurrencies are and how they work, compared to just seven percent of women.

These findings stand in stark contrast to the IRCI survey, which found that:

  • 28.8 percent (or almost three in 10) of Australians either own or have owned crypto (up from 18.4 percent in 2020); and
  • the proportion of women who own crypto has almost doubled in 12 months from 10.1 percent in 2020 to 20 percent.

The Saxo poll found that bitcoin was easily the best-known crypto, albeit with an underwhelming 38 percent of Australians surveyed recognising the name. The next most familiar cryptocurrencies were Ethereum, ringing a bell for 12 per cent of Australians surveyed, and Dogecoin next on 8 per cent.

By comparison, the IRCI survey found that nine in 10 Australians were aware of bitcoin with more than one in five owning it. The next-ranked crypto was Ethereum, at 11 percent (up from 5 percent ownership in 2020), on a relative par with the Saxo survey.

Three in Four Australians ‘Unaware’ of NFTs

Perhaps the most surprising Saxo statistic was that 75 per cent of Australians apparently have not even heard of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), though they’ve been by far the hottest blockchain commodity in 2021. Below is a table relating to Saxo’s findings:

As Australian Crypto Owners Push Toward a Million, a CBDC is On the Way

Last week, Australian Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg estimated that more than 800,000 Australians have owned cryptocurrency at least once. Crypto was a “fast-moving area” that the government needed to get ahead of, Frydenberg said, while also declaring both the Commonwealth and Reserve banks were planning to introduce a central cryptocurrency.

The Saxo survey found that 42 per cent of Australians would use a cryptocurrency if it were made legal tender tomorrow, but only one in four agreed that cryptos should be declared legal by the government. If cryptos were in legal circulation, one in three Aussies said they would incorporate them in their savings or retirement plans.

In August, the 2021 Global Blockchain Survey conducted by multinational accounting firm Deloitte revealed that 76 percent of respondents believed crypto would be a strong alternative to, or outright replace, fiat money within the next decade.

According to a May survey by TradingView, cryptocurrencies had by then become Australians’ second-most preferred assets, outranking traditional assets such as bonds and futures. Just a month later, another survey by international crypto exchange Kraken found that 40 percent of millennials preferred investing in digital assets over real estate.

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Australia Binance Binance Australia Crypto News

Binance Australia is Implementing Eco-Friendly Initiatives, Targeting a Net Zero Carbon Footprint

Australian digital currency exchange Binance Australia has announced its intention to target a net zero carbon footprint within Australia.

This would make it the first crypto exchange worldwide to openly report on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics, a universal framework developed by the World Economic Forum.

This first step by a digital currency exchange follows similar moves globally by the industry to increase the transparency of the ESG footprint of organisations in the digital asset industry. Becoming an ESG entity aligns with our company’s vision to increase the freedom of money globally.

Leigh Travers, Binance Australia CEO

The disclosure of the ESG metrics, including governance, anti-corruption practices, ethical behaviour, human rights, carbon emissions, diversity and inclusion, pay equality and tax payments will be reported quarterly through the Socialsuite ‘ESG Go’ technology platform.

This eco-friendly push by Binance Australia also includes a partnership with the Koala Clancy Foundation with an initiative to plant trees for koalas on farms and private land, and create new habitats and advocate for better protection of wild koalas.

Crypto Industry Carbon Footprint

Recently, we have seen negative commentary around the carbon footprint of Bitcoin as published by Bloomberg News and also high profile companies such as Tesla no longer accepting Bitcoin as payment, citing environmental concerns, as reported by CNBC News.

One of the biggest headwinds the digital asset industry has faced is negative commentary and misinformation based on carbon emissions from the sector. The industry is led by people and organisations determined to have a positive impact on society and the negative headlines have triggered a lack of education and awareness of ESG conscious crypto businesses.

Leigh Travers, Binance Australia CEO

Binance Australia and Binance Charity are creating a positive impact as they raise money through cryptocurrencies and use the power of blockchain technology to track and distribute it to those who need it the most.

Australia’s ESG Boom

It has been reported that Australian super funds supporting ESG have boomed through 2021, outperforming those funds that haven’t yet committed to a “rigorous environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework”.

Further research by KPMG has revealed that investors are being swayed by the ESG ratings of companies, with those of higher ratings being preferred.

It is anticipated that ESG will be a big driver in business and society as we come together to create a brighter eco-friendly future for Australia and worldwide.

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Australia Banking CBDCs Crypto News Regulation

RBA Wholesale CBDC Trial ‘Project Atom’ Heralded a Success

While the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has been investigating central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for some time, its policy position has not always been clear. However, in a report released this week, there are signs that wholesale CBDCs may indeed be around the corner.

Project Atom Forecasts Efficiency Gains

Project Atom was a collaborative research project undertaken during the past year exploring the potential use and implications of a wholesale CBDC using distributed ledger technology (DLT). The CBDC itself is intended to be used by wholesale market participants (ie, banks and other financial institutions) for the funding, settlement and repayment of a tokenised syndicated loan on an Ethereum-based DLT platform.

According to the RBA, the results of the trial demonstrated that “the digitisation of syndicated loans on a DLT platform could provide efficiency gains and reduce operational risk by replacing highly manual and paper-based processes”.

Other aspects of the trial involved exploring the programmability of CBDCs that “could improve efficiency and reduce risk in transactions”.

Project Atom demonstrated the potential for a wholesale CBDC and asset tokenisation to improve efficiency, risk management and innovation in wholesale financial market transactions. The project also demonstrated the benefits of collaboration in advancing our knowledge in this area. The bank will continue its research on CBDCs as part of its strategic focus area on supporting the evolution of payments.

Michele Bullock, Assistant Governor (Financial System), RBA

Overall, despite noting potential improvements in efficiency, risk management and innovation, the RBA noted that more detailed policy work was required before the introduction of any CBDCs.

Retail CBDCs?

As reported by Crypto News Australia in February of this year, the position then was that there was no strong case for issuing retail CBDCs. And this, more or less, appeared to be the case until mid-November, but as of this week things have seemingly moved in the opposite direction, as noted by ABC business reporter David Taylor:

This shift in direction is not entirely unexpected, as CBDCs naturally confer more powers on those in control. They represent programmable money, a behavioural finance innovation enabling central bankers to use the tools at their disposal to target specific individuals, groups or demographics to drive whatever consumer behaviours they are looking to achieve.

Perhaps this is why Edward Snowden, a known privacy advocate, regards them as a tool for financial surveillance. It’s also a reason why many are turning to Bitcoin, a truly decentralised alternative.