Category: Australia

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Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Institutions

ASX Governor Discusses Payments, Weighs In On Libra/Diem

Mr. Philip Lowe, the Governor of the Reserve Bank Of Australia, gave a speech to the Australian Payments Network on the 7th of December.

During his address, the Governor of the RBA spoke about Australia’s leading role in the global financial domain, about what may be on the horizon, and what may change.

Digital Wallets And Who’s Behind Them

In the push for innovation, Mr. Lowe stated that one of the main factors to consider is the continuous rise of digital wallets. He then went on to outline the major differences between Google Pay and Apple Pay – and the regulatory issues faced by them, such as Apple possibly being forced to give third-party apps access to its NFC technology.

After mentioning Ant Group and Tencent, the owners of Alipay and WeChat Pay, Mr. Lowe weighed in on Facebook’s project Libra – now rebranded as Diem and facing lawsuits over it.

After applying for a license from FINMA (the financial regulator of Switzerland), the project faced a sizable backlash from regulatory entities across Europe – especially from the French and German finance ministers.

As a result, FINMA set up a regulatory college in order to coordinate with other countries.

The RBA is a part of the regulatory college – on behalf of Australia’s Council of Financial Regulators. According to Mr. Lowe, FINMA has made it clear that Libra/Diem will have to comply with stringent regulations, given the scope of the project.

“This initiative has raised concerns from governments and regulators in many jurisdictions regarding a wide range of issues including consumer protection, financial stability, money laundering, and privacy. […]

FINMA has indicated that Diem will be subject to the principle of ‘same risks, same rules’ – that is, if Diem poses bank-like risks it will be subject to bank-like regulatory requirements. It remains to be seen how this and other similar initiatives progress.”

Opinions are divided on the possible success of Facebook’s cryptocurrency when it launches – but it seems the Diem Association will be off to a rough start.

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Australia

S&P/ASX 200: Crypto Market Shades Points as Aussie Stocks Peak

Swyftx Exchange to List BSC DODO and PancakeSwap Token

The recent bullish rally in the cryptocurrency market is gradually calming down, as many popularly-traded digital currencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Ripple (XRP), etc., were seen slightly dropping and fluctuating in price today. While the crypto market shades points, the Australian stock market was seen in its good times. The S&P/ASX 200 reached/closed on Tuesday with more than ten points from the previous close. 

Australian Stocks Reached Nine-month High

According to the information today from the Sydney Morning Herald, the S&P/ASX 200 peaked by 12.7 points or approximately 0.2 percent, to close at 6687.7 points on Tuesday. The record today accounts for a new nine-month high – a closing point, which was last seen on February 26, according to the report. Notably, the stock market has been garnering some points for the past few days. 

The ASX reportedly has added six-day straight gains since December. This comes as consumers’ confidence figures are currently at the highest level all year. Meanwhile, the report opined that the hopes for COVID-19 vaccines are driving up the market, especially as some vaccines have been dispatched to countries like the United Kingdom (UK). 

“On the global side, it would seem that markets are certainly quiet today, but over the last month or so the biggest theme has been one of optimism over the rollout of vaccine programs, said Andrew Ticehurst at Nomura Australia. “That is certainly buoying the market, and after a very tough year, I think the prevailing sentiment is that there are better days ahead.”

The Crypto Market Dips

Arguably, there hasn’t been any notable increase in the cryptocurrency market after the leading digital currency, Bitcoin, briefly surpassed the previous all-time high (ATH), at over US$19,900. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization is down by 1.27 percent in a 24 hours count at US$557.13 billion, according to the information provided by Coinmarketcap, a digital currency price tracking platform.

Serially, the number one to ten top digital currencies were down in the last 24 hours and seven-day chart. At the time of writing, Bitcoin, Ether, and Ripple were trading at US$18,853, US$574, and US$0.585, respectively. The current volatility in the market was well predicted by a few industry analysts, who added that there would be another significant increase in the market after it survives this condition.

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Australia Crypto News Ripple

Ripple Announces Partnership with Australian Payments Service Novatti

Australian payment services provider Novatti has announced a partnership with the major US blockchain firm Ripple. The collaboration will provide Novatti’s customer base with access to RippleNet, Ripple’s massive global network of financial institutions.

The RippleNet network covers 55 countries worldwide and offers quick and easy foreign exchange in over 120 currency pairs. Using blockchain technology and liquidity provided by the XRP cryptocurrency, RippleNet can complete cross-border payments faster and cheaper than traditional banking methods.

With Ripple onboard, Novatti’s clients will have better access to international remittance corridors between Australia and Southeast Asia. Novatti also hopes the partnership will further accelerate its development in the rapidly growing Southeast Asia region. 

“Novatti is incredibly excited to partner with Ripple, who are rapidly disrupting the global payments industry. This partnership will further increase Novatti’s competitiveness and provide our customers with access to new, innovative payment solutions,” said Novatti Managing Director Peter Cook.

Ripple

Since its formation in 2012, Ripple has gone through many changes and involved several prominent figures in the crypto sector, such as Mt. Gox founder Jed McCaleb. McCaleb, who co-founded Ripple with David Schwartz and Arthur Britto, left the project in 2014 to form the non-profit Stellar Development Foundation, and created the Stellar Lumens (XLM) cryptocurrency.

By 2018, Ripple had secured partnerships with over 100 banks worldwide and began drawing the attention of traditional remittance providers like SWIFT. However, the growth was met with some resistance after several investors filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, alleging that it raised millions of dollars through unregistered XRP token sales.

Most recently, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse threatened to relocate the multi-million dollar company overseas due to a lack of clarity from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the legal status of XRP. Ripple general counsel Stu Alderoty believes other jurisdictions have better regulatory clarity and it would be “irresponsible not to explore those opportunities.”

Novatti

Australian fintech firm Novatti has been aggressively expanding its business lately with multiple international partnerships. Last month it secured a lucrative deal with the global card payment company UnionPay, which serves 90% of the ATMs and 80% of sales terminals in Australia.

Other major firms that the company has recently secured partnerships with include Visa, Google Pay, Alipay, and Samsung. After receiving regulatory approval in October this year, Novatti now plans a further expansion into the New Zealand market.

Novatti is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under the ticker $NOV.

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Australia Institutions Trading

SelfWealth, Australia’s Leading Trading Platform, Launches US trading In Their ASX Portfolio

Australia’s low-fee leading trading platform, SelfWealth, will launch a beta-test program with a few selected members to integrate US trading before Christmas 2020 — on December 14, with a new mobile app for Android and iOS.

More than 60,000 Aussie investors will have direct access to all major US exchanges through their SelfWealth account. The Melbourne-based broker will add the US trading account into their ASX portfolios.

Pre-registered traders will have access to popular American stocks like Facebook, Amazon, Tesla — and more than 7,500 + other financial instruments to choose from, a list which SelfWealth plans to expand in the future.

Competitive FX fees

The US trading launch is coming with a $9.50 USD flat fee per trade. Unlike banks, which can charge up to 1.00% SelfWealth implements competitive FX rates, charging only 0.60 % when transferring to or from USD.

For years, SelfWealth has been growing strongly off the back of disillusioned investors that have been overpaying to invest. Now, they can invest in the US and the ASX in one convenient place at a reasonable price.

– SelfWealth’s Managing Director Rob Edgley in a public statement.

Edgley underlined the support of SelfWealth clients, who have shown increased interest in the new US trading launch and additional products.

“Our hard-working team will now turn their efforts towards additional functionality across the trading platform and new products that our clients have been asking for.”

According to Edgley, Aussie investors don’t need multiple trading accounts and apps to access US stock markets. SelfWealth members will have a US cash account to help them avoid per-trade foreign exchange fees.

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Australia Binance Cryptocurrencies

Binance Australia Wins 8th Place In Deloitte Tech Awards

As one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange markets by trading volume, Binance has long since established a permanent physical presence in countries across the globe. Following their recent establishment on the Australian market, their rapid advance to the forefront of the local industry has been rapid.

They have since been ranked 8th in the Rising Star category of the 2020 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Australia Awards.

Rapid Growth With No End In Sight

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Australia Awards rank Australia’s tech companies by percentage revenue growth over a 3 year period.

Jeff Yew – the CEO of Binance Australia – acknowledged the award, stating it is indicative of the pace with which the Australian market is becoming increasingly acceptive of cryptocurrency -and blockchain technology in general.

“Given the positive crypto environment we’re operating – we’re expecting this to continue to skyrocket. We’re excited by this rapid growth, and we have ambitions to be the number one cryptocurrency exchange in Australia. We want Binance Australia to be the go-to platform for cryptocurrency users.”

Deloitte Partner Josh Tanchel also weighed in, commenting that the winners of the yearly awards clearly reflected the transformation faced by the financial industry and others worldwide.

“Let’s face it, 2020 has not been a normal year. The winning list in 2020 highlights that the COVID-crisis has continued to accelerate the disruption of traditional industries.

“The rise of businesses that have successfully harnessed technology is clear. Every company nominated this year has shown great resilience and resourcefulness. We’re delighted that despite the extraordinary circumstances, so many Australian tech companies are continuing to experience growth.”

Binance Australia is compatible with over 100 Aussie banks and credit unions, in part due to its integration with the New Payments Platform (NPP).

It seems the RMIT data showing that Aussie crypto trading peaked during lockdown was merely the beginning.

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Australia TimeX Exchange

Aussie Bitcoin Exchange, TimeX Joins Top 100 Trading Platforms

Bitcoin Futures Perpetual Funding Rate Rises

TimeX, a Bitcoin exchange based in Australia, is now ranked as one of the top 100 largest global exchanges on Coinmarketcap, a digital currency tracking platform. This is quite a milestone giving that the crypto exchange barely launched over a year ago. It currently sees more millions of dollars in 24hrs trading volume than other long-running Aussie trading platforms such as CoinJar and Independent Reserve. 

TimeX is Growing to Prominence in Australian Crypto Market

Launched in July 2019, TimeX is a hybrid Bitcoin exchange running on the Ethereum Plasma technology. It supports the trading of Bitcoin, alongside other popular cryptos like Ether (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), and others. Although the exchange has only lived for about a year and five months, it is garnering more trading volume in the Australian market daily than other older exchanges.

Per Coinmarketcap, TimeX sees a 24 hours trading volume of US$11.2 million from an 11 coin market. The estimated average liquidity is 77. A further glance at Coinpare shows that TimeX has a seven-day trading volume of US$24,999,918 and a 30-day volume of US$106,643,306. On these stats, the exchange ranks as the 98 largest trading platform on Coinpare and 97th on Coinmarkcap.

In terms of the 24hrs volume, TimeX surpassed Independent Reserve and CoinJar as they gained only US$5,187,835 and US$5,327,697, respectively. However, the exchanges still have a higher seven and 30 days trading volume than TimeX. 

Aussie Market Growth

The Australian crypto market has been thriving since the start of the year. Especially due to the Coronavirus pandemic, many exchanges witnessed more trading activities as many retail and institutional investors in the country considered investing in cryptocurrencies. Aside from the increasing volume on the exchanges, the number of Bitcoin automated teller machines (ATMs) in the country has also increased to 148, according to Coin ATM Radar. 

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Australia Blockchain Investing

Root Cause Of November ASX Crash Found

Last month, a glitch caused the ASX to go down for nearly half an hour – merely one of the many telltale signs that the ASX’s CHESS system is showing its age, and coming out worse for wear.

NASDAQ Takes Responsibility

Although the ASX and others are working hard to upgrade from the CHESS system to a blockchain-based one that can carry the weight of one of the leading securities exchanges worldwide, NASDAQ has identified the bug in their software – used by the ASX – that nearly wiped an entire trading session last month.

NASDAQ Chief Executive Officer Adena Friedman issued a statement regarding the November 16 glitch.

“We take our role as a provider of mission-critical technology seriously and apologize to ASX, its customers, and all those impacted.”

The responsibility for the crash lies with an incorrect functionality in the Tailor-Made Combinations (TMC) order book created by NASDAQ and used by ASX Ltd.

A tool used by many equity and equity derivative traders across both public and private sectors, TMC  allows multiple trades to be carried out in a single transaction. When the error occurred on November 16th, the ASX was forced to halt trading in order to avoid losses by stock traders.

Although the ASX plans to bring back some functionalities of the TMC system on the 21st of December, this seems to be a stop-gap measure until the ASX makes its planned move towards a blockchain-based trading system.

Whether the ASX will choose its own in-house solution after scaling up the size of their project or go for the DESS system that the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) has built is not yet clear – however, the planned switch to blockchain stock trading solutions will be a boost to the system’s reliability. 

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Australia Blockchain Crypto News Investing

Linqto Announces Speakers For The Global Investment Conference 2020

Taking place on the 8th and the 9th of December, the conference will have a line-up of 48 speakers from all corners of various investment markets.

Linqto is one of the top digital trading platforms for private market securities The upcoming conference will aim to look over the way the world has changed in the past year – and how to change things for the better in 2021, whether by using new investment strategies, digging in for a possible future bull run and much more.

Australian Speakers And Hosts

Australia will be represented at the GIC taking place next week by the CEO of BTC Markets and the founder of Sapien Ventures.

BTC Markets is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia, and its CEO – Caroline Bower – will be present for a discussion with Steve Vallas about the importance of blockchain technology and its impact on multiple sectors worldwide.

Steve Vallas is the CEO of Blockchain Australia, an advocacy group working with both the public and private Australian sectors in order to further the development and adoption of blockchain technology.

The conference will be hosted by Victor Jiang and Karim Nurani. Karim Nurani –The Chief Strategy Officer at Linqto – has been a part of over 100 successful start-up ventures and is here to tell the story.

Victor Jiang is the executive chairman of Sapien Ventures, a firm specializing in venture capital operating out of Sydney, Melbourne, and Shanghai. With a large portfolio of companies under its wing and a range of options for potential investors, Sapien Ventures is a true heavy hitter in the investment market.

The Global Investment Conference can be joined free of charge via a zoom link that will be provided to you upon sign-up.

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Australia Blockchain Cryptocurrencies

Crypto.com Receives Australia License Allowing Them To Issue Crypto Debit Cards

A document mandatory for any financial institution in order to begin issuing crypto cards, Crypto.com has recently secured an Australian Financial Service License (ASFL).

All blockchain-based companies operating in certain areas of the Australian financial markets are required by law to possess an ASFL in order to comply with Australian anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism regulations.

“The guidance goes on to examine when tokens issued by an ICO could be a managed investment scheme, share, derivative, or non-cash payment facility under the Corporations Act. […]

 If a cryptoasset trading platform enables trading in tokens that are financial products, this may involve the operation of a financial market and a market license may be required.”

Crypto Cards On The Way

Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency trading website allowing users to buy and sell over 80 different cryptocurrencies. They also offer cryptocurrency cards in the UK, the USA, Singapore, and the European Union – and Australia seems to be next in line.

Even before the announcement of a card company acquisition, Crypto.com enabled transfers in AUD via PayID and BPAY.

In order to do so, they’ve acquired an Australian financial services company. Named The Card Group Pty Ltd, the financial firm specializes in prepaid cards, mobile, and wearable solutions.

The firm had also been vetted a priori by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board, virtually guaranteeing the receipt of an ASFL.

As a country interested in blockchain, cryptocurrency, and the highly innovative technological solutions that stem from them since way before the crypto boom of 201

Categories
Australia Crypto News DeFi Hackers

Simon Green Warns About Escalating Cyberattacks Following The Australian Levitas Capital Hack

Simon Green, the CEO of Palo Alto Networks JAPAC, stated that cyberattacks are a major threat to the digital transformation of businesses in the Australian economy, as well as global. This year, hackers have stolen more than $ 100 million in DeFi projects alone.

In an online interview with Skynews Australia, Green Addressed the dangers of the escalating amount of cyberattacks, in several companies related to fintech and finance in general — especially following this last week’s attack on the Sydney-based hedge fund Levitas Capital.

As more Australian businesses are forced to go digital, the growth of cyberattacks is becoming a major concern. Green believes that during the pandemic, these attacks have increased.

A rapid increase in cyber threats has been seen, particularly during the pandemic. The environment has changed dramatically, particularly over the last nine months. People are now sitting in their homes and spending a lot of time on digital means. Whether it is in personal or business means, cyber threat is becoming an increasingly large problem.

Stated Green for Skynews Australia

Levitas Capital, Victim of a Hack Spree

A fake Zoom invite link shut down the Australian hedge fund Levitas Capital, and cost it almost US$ 8,7 million in losses after a hacker sent fake invoices on behalf of the firm Australian Catholic Super — their major client, to withdraw its funds.

Levitas Capital is the latest victim of a cybercrime spree that affected almost 2000 other Australian businesses with similar hacks this year. This prompted an ongoing investigation by the Federal Police called “Operation Dolos”.

Fintech and Finance Platforms Targeted by Hackers

A lot of money is flying into the world of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and hackers are taking advantage of the weak points of DeFi projects, using scams like flash loans through Smart Contracts.

This way, hackers have stolen more than US$ 100 million from several DeFi platforms this year alone. The most recent one is Pickle Finance — the cybercriminals hacked its protocol for US$ 19,7 million worth in DAI Stablecoin — and cybersecurity incidents cost Australian businesses around US$ 29 billion each year.