Category: Australia

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Australia Crypto News

Senator Andrew Bragg Wants Australia to Consider Opportunites in Cryptocurrency

Senator Andrew Bragg Wants Australia to Consider Opportunites in Cryptocurrency

The Australian government is very keen on establishing the nation as one of the tech-friendliest economies, as a senate committee has already been formed and is working to improve the country’s position as a leading financial and technology hub.

Among this, Senator Andrew Bragg, the chairman of the committee, called on the country to consider more opportunities in cryptocurrency, which is increasingly adopted worldwide.

Australia to Consider Opportunities in Digital Currency

Australia as a Technology and Finance Hub – Senator Andrew Bragg

In a media release on Thursday, Senator Bragg precisely noted that it was crucial for the committee to consider opportunities in cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and Neobanking. He believes such emerging technologies unlock geographic restraints on the country to become a global leader in finance and technology. The Senator also called on the committee to consider “Instances of corporate law holding back investment.”

“I fully expect the Committee to focus on removing more barriers to Australian growth as a technology and finance centre. […] This is a golden opportunity to bolster Australia’s economic growth, and I want to ensure we take full advantage of it”

Australian Senator Andrew Bragg

Australia is Well Poised to Become a Leading Technology and Finance Hub

Meanwhile, this committee tasked with improving Australia’s position as a financial and technology hub took up some changes. Per the statement, the committee, previously known as the “Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology,” has been renamed to the “Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre.”

Also, the deadline for the committee to report on its existing work program has been extended from April to October 2021, probably because the Senate voted to expand the scope and length of the Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre. 

“The work of the Committee so far has clearly shown Australia is well poised for rapid growth in the sector to attract investment and create jobs,” Senator Bragg added.

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Australia Bitcoin Mining Blockchain

Bitcoin May Consume More Power Than Australia in 2021

The amount of electricity needed to power Bitcoin increases every year. And a recent study has shown that Bitcoin network may soon consume up over 200 Terrawat hours (TWh) every year. To put that into perspective, The entirety of Australia consumed around 192 TWh worth of power in 2020.

Currently the Bitcoin network consumes 83 TWh of electrical energy, with this number suggested to continue increasing as calculated by the University of Cambridge’s model, setting the average electricity cost to 7 cents per kWh, would put the upper bound of Bitcoins annualised consumption up to 272 TWh.

Bitcoin electricity consumption (TWh annualised) – University of Cambridge

Environmental Impact

Most cryptocurrencies are now mined on huge “mining farms”, where racks and racks of specialized mining devices, high-end GPUs and the like run all day solving the complex equations that allow Bitcoins to be mined.

Concerns regarding the environmental impact of using this much power are not new. Neither are concerns regarding the amount of energy siphoned off of the power grid, to the point where some regions in China, for instance, have stopped providing power to crypto farmers.

According to a study carried out at Cambridge University, around 61% of Bitcoins are mined using petrol and other non-replenishable sources of fuel. The remaining 39%, however, are mined using renewable energy.

It seems this segment is even being advertised by certain companies. Daniel Roberts – the co-founder of an Australian firm involved with crypto mining named Iris Energy – stated that investors may be creating a market for “renewably-mined Bitcoins.”

“Our unique energy strategy and ESG (environmental, social and governance) overlay mean that we also satisfy investors with green and climate-related commitments. All of our operations today are powered by excess renewable energy.”

The power consumption rate of Bitcoin mining will only become thornier as the difficulty of mining increases – so a push for the use of green energy now may save the industry more trouble than if it were to be implemented later.

Bitcoin Cryptojacking

One unintended positive affect that has arisen due to the increase in power, it the decrease in the unauthorised Bitcoin mining on peoples computers – known as cryptojacking.

Although the number of complaints regarding cryptojacking software running in the background on your PC has gone down, that’s mostly due to the fact that the ever-increasing complexity of mining Bitcoins requires more and more power, making methods not worth the effort.

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Australia Binance Crypto News

Binance AUS and Travala Discuss the Crypto Landscape in Australia

In a recent video interview, the CEO of Binance Australia, Jeff Yew, discussed the impact of cryptocurrencies in Australia and the travel industry, together with Juan Otero, CEO of Travala.

In an AMA session (ask me anything), both Jeff and Juan discussed the impact of cryptocurrencies in Australia. Jeff expects to push forward his educational plans for the country, as well as bringing more support of AUD payments for new potential tokens, like Travala’s AVA.

Why Aussies are Using SMSF to buy Bitcoin

Jeff stated that the outstanding growth in corporate accounts, including SMFS, is followed by the growth of the crypto market and the loss of purchasing power through the years with fiat money.

“Your money is being devalued much more quickly than what your parents experienced. With the expansion of fiat money through the years, you’re looking at losing half of your purchasing value in 5 years. In the U.S. monetary expansion is not stopping, similar thing in Australia as well.

So your halfway point of your asset losing 50% of its purchasing went from 30 years to 5 years. If you have one hundred million in the treasury, you’re going to lose ten million each year. We’re looking at a much more shorter timeframe

On the other hand, Otero stated that is only a matter of time until crypto payments are accepted globally, adding that the travel industry could benefit greatly from the integration of blockchain technology.

There is an increase in interest and adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. My vision is that travelling will be decentralised and community-governed, and we’re giving developers the tools to build their travel platforms, so there will be a travel supply, and they can greatly benefit from that.

The Effects of the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted the travel industry in Australia. Borders remain closed, biosecurity measures and restrictions are said to be lifted in June this year, but it’s not guaranteed.

But as cryptocurrencies started surging in 2020, Travala avoided the negative effects of the pandemic thanks to its support for crypto-payments. Hence, becoming a leader in the travel industry thanks to its blockchain-based infrastructure, attracting crypto-enthusiast.

A Demand Tsunami

Both Jeff and Juan are seeing large inflows of users on their companies, and a greater demand for their products. Binance Australia hit trading volume records, and Travala managed to grow its community thanks to its blockchain-based infrastructure, avoiding certain perks of the pandemic.

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Australia Binance Events

Binance Australia Host Meetup in Brisbane for International Women’s Day

International Women's Day 2021 Binance Australia event in Brisbane
International Women's Day 2021 Binance Australia event in Brisbane

In celebration of International Women’s day, the team from Binance Australia hosted an evening meetup and panel discussion in Brisbane last week.

The Precinct provided a great venue for the event and the room was full. Over 60 Binance users attended, the majority being women. Free drinks were offered to welcome the participants as well as sunflowers for the ladies. The event was also being streamed online, with an AMA session moderated by James Prosser.

Vicki from Binance handing out flowers

The meetup started with an introduction by Hannah Tan (Binance Australia Marketing), followed by a presentation by Imeleta Lia-Norris. She is the founder of Crypto Queens, a Facebook group dedicated to “helping and empowering women to build a digital empire using the crypto currency platform”. Sharing her personal experience, Imeleta showed that getting started with cryptos does not have to be scary or complicated.

Imeleta Lia-Norris from Crypto Queens

Opportunities for Women in Bitcoin and Crypto

After a short break, Hannah Tan facilitated a discussion titled “Opportunities for Women in Bitcoin and Crypto”. Three ladies involved in the crypto industry joined her in the panel: Imeleta Lia-Norris, Danielle Marie (Creator of She’s Blockchain Savy) and Chloe Fitzgerald (Senior Communication Manager at Elevate Communication).

The panel discussed crypto and blockchain use cases, highlighting the potential for driving women’s economic empowerment worldwide – enabling women to access financial services, manage payments and keep business and personal records.

Danielle Marie speaking at the Q&A session

A Q&A session open to the audience wrapped up the night. It was great to see so much interest and enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies. Blockchain technologies are not meant to be a male-only field and events like this are a great reminder.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Stablecoins

RBA Governor Philip Lowe Reiterates Plans For An Australian Digital Currency

RBA governor Philip Lowe reiterates plans for a wholesale CBDC

Philip Lowe, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, has reiterated intentions for launching an Australian national digital currency.

It’s no longer surprising that many central banks around the world are increasingly exploring and studying the possibility of launching a national digital currency (known as a “CBDC”). In fact, the Bank of International Settlement confirmed in a survey that about 80 percent of central banks planned for a CBDC.

Banks can use digital currencies for settlements

While speaking with the Melbourne Business Analytics Conference on Monday, the governor mentioned that the Australian central bank “is conducting research on the technologies and policy implications of a potential wholesale central bank digital currency.”

The world is gradually transitioning to digital alternatives for payment, especially since the cash bans of outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lowe said technology (blockchain) and data are unlocking this new possibility through digital currencies. Through distributed ledger technology, many big banking institutions could use digital currencies in the future to support the settlement of transactions in the inter-bank payment system, instead of transacting in “regular” Australian dollars.

RBA is still working on a Wholesale CBDC

The RBA governor also stated that the central bank is still working on the concept for a wholesale CBDC via its in-house Innovative Labs.

As of February 20, Crypto News Australia reported that the central bank was being sceptical about a retail CBDC. The Payments System Board of the central bank noted that they don’t see any strong case to launch a retail-focused CBDC. Instead, the bank was researching the feasibility and implications of launching a wholesale CBDC.

Wholesale CBDCs are more beneficial to financial institutions for payment and settlements than retail CBDCs, which are designed for general public use.

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Australia Blockchain Crypto News

Australia’s Government Allocates AU$6.9 million to Two Blockchain Pilot Projects

As part of Australia’s Blockchain Roadmap they have allocated AU$6.9 million over the next two years to support industry-led pilots to demonstrate the application of blockchain technology and reduce regulatory compliance costs to encourage broader take-up of blockchain by Australian businesses.

The investment was handed to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources to explore the feasibility of blockchain, specifically in the area of regulation. They’ll create two pilot projects with the purpose of demonstrating to the industry how blockchain can reduce the cost of regulatory compliance.

Canberra Digital Business Plan

This investment is part of the Canberra Digital Business Plan which stated:

The aim is to implement blockchain technology where there are issues of security, provenance, traceability, and verification. Most of these issues are prominent in the financial sector.

Tim Bradley, General Manager of Emerging Technologies and Adoption

Bradley also pointed out that they aim to follow the Australia Blockchain Roadmap which was made available in February 2020. This 52-page document outlines how to progress to a blockchain-empowered future, and focuses on key areas: Regulation and standards; skills, capability, and innovation; international investment and collaboration; and sectoral opportunities.

INDUSTRY.GOV.AU/BLOCKCHAIN

Meanwhile, the Australian Public Sector (APS) Blockchain network has been established, and is open to any APS staff be they federal, state, or local that are interested in contributing to the Australian blockchain industry.

There are about 70 representatives from across the blockchain industry who are very actively engaged in looking for further opportunities for where the technology can be deployed, both in government and elsewhere.

Tim Bradley, General Manager of Emerging Technologies and Adoption

Growing Support For Blockchain in Australia

It seems there are increasing prospects for the use of blockchain by the Australian government after Blockchain Australia CEO Steve Vallas called for more support from government and regulators in order for Australia to become a front-runner and not be “underdeveloped” in this regard.

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Australia Blockchain Industries

DISER To Receive AUD 6.9 Million In Blockchain Funding

Aside from reportedly forming a working group that will be comprised of more than 70 people actively involved in the blockchain sphere – whose identities have not been revealed – DISER will be receiving $6.9 Million in funding from the Australian Government to fuel 2 blockchain pilot projects focusing on regulatory compliance.

Focusing On Food And Rare Minerals

The  Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources stated that for now, the 2 blockchain pilot projects that are being bankrolled by the state will be focusing on the mining and agricultural sectors.

According to Tim Bradley – the general manager of DISER’s Emerging Technologies and Adoption branch – the move will hopefully show the public sector how much blockchain can help. This is not the first time the government has funded research in this sector – but generally the funding wasn’t as extensive.

We’re developing the guidelines for those now, but, of the two pilots, one will be around the issue of critical minerals and the other will be designed around food and beverage provenance. This is very much an initiative to advance technology to demonstrate the use of the technology across the [Australian Public Service] and with regulators. It is designed to demonstrate the benefits that technology can bring and help bring along changes amongst regulatory culture.”

Tim Bradley went on to say that the advances in other sectors made using blockchain technology have already showed the greater public – as well as government representatives from all echelons – that the implementation of blockchain technology has garnered positive feedback nearly everywhere it was implemented.

Although the exact details of the two blockchain pilot projects have not been laid out yet, they should follow soon – hopefully with a widespread implementation across all sectors.

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Australia Bitcoin Crypto News

Roger Montgomery isn’t Convinced that Bitcoin is a Viable Monetary System

Bitcoin (BTC) made headlines across international media amid the exponential price growth from the US$20,00 price level in January to over US$50,000 today. During which, many prominent companies have been adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets.

However, a leading Australian investor and the chairman of Montgomery Investments, Roger Montgomery, is having none of that. He needs more convincing that the cryptocurrency can make a good means of exchange.

Roger Montgomery on Twitter

Just a mere belief

Montgomery made his thoughts known while speaking in a recent interview with Ausbiz concerning investing in Bitcoin. He sees the cryptocurrency as a “digital collectible” that is similar to other collectibles like gold, art, or wine. According to him, he’s yet to hear an argument that the largest cryptocurrency will become a viable monetary system.

Roger Montgomery in a recent interview with Ausbiz

“I’ve looked at the arguments in support of buying Bitcoin fairly carefully, and my observation is that most of the arguments are a belief in the future use of the currency,” Montgomery said. “So the belief in it being a universal digital currency is not the same as articulating the path that it actually takes to get there. Not only does it have to be universally accepted, but it has to replace fiat money.”

Also, in order for Bitcoin to become a means of exchange, Montgomery argued that the cryptocurrency must be a stable store of value, “which it isn’t.” He also mentioned that Bitcoin isn’t largely regulated, and so he wouldn’t invest in it. “If I was going to speculate. I’d rather speculate on things that are regulated, and I know my money is going to be protected and not hacked,” Montgomery added.

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Australia Cryptocurrencies Scams

More Arrests In Crypto Laundering Case

Following the arrest about 2 weeks ago of a 30 year old man in Sydney for allegedly laundering money through cryptocurrency, a series of arrests have been carried out by the New South Wales Police force. The man in question has since been charged with a total of 24 offences, pending a court date on the 19th of April.

Out of these 24 charges, 19 of them are for “knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime, knowingly directing activities of a criminal group and drug-related offences.”

Police will allege in court that the suspect arrested last month directed a criminal syndicate to launder money by converting cash into bitcoin on his behalf, totalling $5,479,300.”

6 More Suspects Charged

Following new developments in the investigation that’s been going on since October – when the police first started looking into the alleged money laundering syndicate – 6 more arrests were carried out in rapid succession.

The raids were carried out by the Cybercrime squad  in the greater Sydney area. The raids resulted in the seizure of electronic devices, high-end jewelry , and cash.

Three of the suspects – women from the Homebush West, Newington, and Denham Court areas are facing less serious charges, namely “recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime”.

However, the other 3 are facing far more serious charges. Among them, a 48-year-old man was charged with “participating in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity, as well as seven counts of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime with intent to conceal.”

Another suspect – a 24-year old woman – was charged with 4 counts of “knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime”, as well as contributing to criminal group activity.

As of today, no preliminary court dates for the alleged suspects have been set.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Cryptocurrencies New Zealand Scams

Qoin Going For New Zealand Market Following Controversy With Blockchain Australia

Qoin is reportedly making a marketing push in New Zealand, following it’s rather sudden removal from Blockchain Australia.

Apparently, the reason for the removal from Blockchain Australia is the lack of transparency regarding the companies dealings, and the very limited ways you can cash out. This is due to the fact that the BPS Financial Limited company in is control of QOIN, and also owns the only crypto exchange where it can be traded, namely Block Chain Trade Exchange.

Discussions Over Legitimacy Ongoing

BlockchainNZ has stated they are looking into Qoin and the accuracy of complaints levelled against it – as well as the reasons why it may or may not be a scam.

Stephen Macaskill – an executive member of BlockchainNZ – stated that although they are not endorsing Qoin, they will be looking into the matter before giving their verdict. He also added that in his opinion, Qoin was not necessarily illegitimate, and that the view that it is may stem from the fact that unlike most cryptocurrencies it is not open source or decentralized. However, they are by no means the first nor the last crypto-related firm to stray from the transparent model.

“We’re not endorsing this business by any means, but there’s an international exchange that has their own digital asset and initially when they launched you could only buy their own digital asset on their own exchange, and there are a few of them out there like that. Over time those assets were listed on other trading platforms.”

Stephen Macaskill – an executive member of BlockchainNZ 

Macaskill also added that building a new cryptocurrency from scratch took a lot of work, and it takes a while for any new token to be listed on other trading platforms – a potential reason for the seemingly closed-circuit model adopted by Qoin.

Whether Qoin takes root in New Zealand or is eyed suspiciously there as well will be something to watch for, as this could set a precedent for other companies who take a rather unorthodox approach to cryptocurrencies.