Category: Australia

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Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Scams

Dick Smith Entangled in Another Crypto Scam Advertised on Major News Platforms

Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith has once again been targeted by cryptocurrency scammers using his reputation and likeness to push fraudulent crypto investment offers — this time, though advertisements published on major news platform The Guardian Australia.

Advertisements published via The Guardian’s Australia-specific news outlet alongside additional ads published on aviation website pprune.org have used Smith’s image and likeness in order to defraud would-be cryptocurrency investors through scam offers and unregistered investment schemes.

Crypto scammers using Smith’s image to push fraudulent investment offers isn’t new — the entrepreneur’s likeness has been used to promote scams to often that the Australian adventurer and business icon has formally distanced himself from cryptocurrency investing via Twitter.

Other Australian celebrities impersonated by crypto scammers include David ‘Kochie’ Koch, Michael Rowland, Karl Stefanovic and Virginia Trioli.

Dick Smith Legal Team Strikes Out at The Guardian

The fraudulent advertisements published via The Guardian linked readers to fake news articles that presented fake quotes by Smith, stating that the entrepreneur invested in cryptocurrencies. The Australian reports that Smith’s legal team has approached The Guardian, instructing the news platform to remove the ads and ensure that any offending advertisements are not published by The Guardian in future. 

“Mr Smith is determined to ensure the cryptocurrency scam promptly comes to a permanent end … While we acknowledge that The Guardian Australia does take the fraudulent advertisements down once notified, that does not prevent your Australian readers from falling victim to this prolific cryptocurrency scam”

The fraudulent advertisements are associated with criminal syndicates, and typically present images of Smith’s face alongside Australian flags or associated imagery with the text “D. Smith scared Australian banks, he told how to make money easy (sic)” or “get rich in a few days; this method has helped thousands of Australians”.

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Australia Blockchain Industries

SBEnrc Identifies Opportunities For Blockchain In Australian Transport

In the world today, humanity is more connected than ever before. We are all dependent on transportation networks, as well as logistical services and their vast network of supply routes. In 2020, we’ve seen a lot of unprecedented stress being put on logistical routes that worked fine up until now.

 Without long queues at the border, health checks, and quarantined areas, there was no need to change.

Blockchain Can Improve Transit Times

Artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology will be key to enhancing Australia’s transport sector, according to a new report published by the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc).

Based at Curtin University, SBEnrc produced its report in conjunction with the university’s Big Data and Smart Analytics Lab.

It identifies a range of benefits from adopting blockchain and AI, including road cost, time savings, improved operations, improved user experience, and improved freight and logistics.

According to Dr. Charlie Hargroves of the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, it’s not just Australia’s food industry that stands to gain from hopping on the blockchain train.

“The report shows that the International Data Corporation anticipates that spending on Artificial Intelligence will reach US$57bn by 2021 and according to the World Economic Forum by 2027 some 10 percent of global GDP will be Blockchain-based. It will be important for industry and government to understand the unique opportunities that these technologies present”.

Although tracking numbers have certainly been around for a while, blockchain can guarantee the accuracy of all information pertaining to a package. Did it travel through a restricted area, like much of Italy was during the spring of 2020? Has the weight of a package been reduced during transit, pointing to a theft? Were the bay doors opened?

 All of these and more can be tracked via blockchain without the possibility of tampering, ensuring the integrity of a package.

In the case of public transport, blockchain could ensure a vehicle’s safety record is kept up to date.

In the case of a manufacturer looking to sign a contract with a carrier, the driving records of the carrier’s employees could have an influence on the outcome.

Although records are already kept, the number of companies involved can cause delays when all data must be compared and verified. Blockchain could easily remove the red tape.

As the Australian government continues to invest in Blockchain technologies, it’s not a stretch to imagine that the improvements imagined by SBEnrc will be put into practice in the near future.

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Australia Bitcoin Sydney

Sydney Resident Sentenced For Stabbing Brother Over Bitcoin

Warren Shane Collins, 54, who pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, has been sentenced yesterday to a maximum prison term of seven years and will be eligible for parole after three-and-a-half years.

Schizophrenia Diagnosis

The judge stated she took into account the vicious nature of the attack and the amount of time the victim was left injured before emergency services were called. However, the sentence issued was still less than it would have been in other circumstances, owing to Warren’s 2019 diagnosis of schizophrenia.

In 2018, Ben Collins – Warren’s brother – flew out from Melbourne for a visit.

 After Ben downloaded YouTube onto Warren’s phone so he could listen to  music, Warren became suspicious that he was trying to hijack the device in order to steal his bitcoin.

He also believed his brother was spiking his food with the drug ice, – an amphetamine and a substance he had been using in the weeks prior. Unfortunately, the use of amphetamines gave him a paranoid state.

After a dispute that lasted a week, Ben called his sister to say that relations between the two had soured and he was catching a plane home. Ben also said at the time that he was alarmed at his brothers’ mental state and was unsure of what had happened.

However, at 5 in the morning Warren grabbed a small knife from the kitchen and stabbed his brother multiple times while he was asleep.

When asked why, Warren replied that it was in retaliation for the alleged theft.

 “I’m stabbing you, I’m going to kill you… because you stole all my Bitcoin”.

He then denied access to a phone to call emergency services for 2 hours, after which he stabbed himself in the stomach and drank hydrochloric acid – in a bid to avoid jail by killing himself.

Both survived, needing multiple surgeries – however, Warren will permanently be fed through a nasal tube, as his digestive tract suffered multiple wounds from the acid.

In court, Warren proved remorseful – and in combination with his mental condition, this helped Judge Chris Craigie with sentencing.

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Australia Cryptocurrencies Industries

Risk & Capital Compliance Solutions Partners Up With Apollo Fintech

RiskCapCom is an Australian fintech company that offers a compliance management and reporting system for central bank supervisors/regulators and commercial banks. Although based in Australia, RiskCapCom is also active in Hong Kong, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.

New Compliance Solutions

Yesterday, Risk And Capital Compliance Solutions confirmed that they are partnering up with Apollo Fintech.

Together, the two companies aim to provide a banking compliance solution complete with CBDC and E-Government perks. The partnership will offer cryptocurrency services and other payment solutions to the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Although RiskCapCom is already established in these regions, Apollo Fintech is not. With the help of the Aussie fintech, Apollo will be able to reach new markets and hopefully bring about benefits that will see a deeper collaboration between the two.

According to Stephen McCullah – the CEO of Apollo – this partnership will also reduce the bureaucracy often encountered within banking systems.

“This exciting partnership enables Apollo Fintech and RiskCapCom to strengthen financial systems, reduce bureaucracies, increase compliance quality, and strengthen economies across the globe. We’re now working with RiskCapCom on an integrated platform of compliance and blockchain/cryptocurrency technology, as well as an e-Payment sandbox license application in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), UAE, Pakistan and a number of other nations.”

Currently, RiskCapCom provides services to the largest and most important commercial banking group in Russia – a group that is within the top 40 commercial banking groups worldwide, and an ASX-listed banking group.

The compliance solution offered by RiskCapCom is also being tested by banks in Saudi Arabia and by Carlyle Square Consultancy.

With more partners and clients said to be in the wings, the business relationship founded yesterday could be one of the big players in the compliance market tomorrow.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Trading

ASX Pushed By RBA And ASIC to release DLT Trading Platform As Soon As Possible

The Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have requested that the Australian Stock Exchange hurry up with their new Distributed Ledger Trading platform, claiming in an official report that it was putting quite a dent in the market and hampering the finances of the Australian market.

Looking To Recoup Delays Caused By COVID-19

Back in March, a spike in trading volumes caused processing delays – underlining the need for the distributed ledger technology to be completed. Due to the possibility of far-reaching consequences by a system not thoroughly checked for issues – and also the COVID-19 pandemic – the release was initially delayed until April 2022.

Dominic Stevens, the CEO of ASX, explained that the delay was due to the expansion of the scope of the project – now looking to support up to three times as large a volume as originally planned.

“Some, including an important back-office systems provider for a substantial part of the market, expressed a preference for an extra six to nine months, which we are including in our deliberations. With the volume explosion we saw in March, we’re now looking at plans to ultimately double or triple that original volume target, which will increase go-live system capacity.”

The two regulators also touched on potential competition issues, stating that their Regulatory Expectations seek to ensure that ASX remains in touch with the needs and requests of investors.

The access to its monopoly cash equity CS services on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis with fair Terms and Conditions was also considered a priority.

Hoping to bolster the confidence of investors in what is one of the world’s leading markets already, the ASX replied that they welcome the input of ASX and ASIC, and will attempt to make the replacement for CHESS go live as soon as possible.

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Australia Blockchain Crypto News Monash University

CSIRO And Monash Develop A Quantum-Proof Blockchain Protocol – The Most Efficient To Date

Researchers from CSIRO’s Data61 – the data and digital specialist arm of Australia’s national science agency, and the Monash Blockchain Technology Centre have developed the most efficient blockchain protocol worldwide.

Not only is it secure against quantum computers, but it also guarantees the privacy of its users and their transactions.

Use In Multiple Fields On The Horizon

Although the blockchain protocol seems to have originally been developed for cryptocurrencies – indeed, it has been licensed to an Aussie cryptocurrency developer known as Hcash – the new protocol can be used in a number of fields, including, but not limited to digital health, banking, finance, government services, and KYC (Know Your Customer) identity verification procedures. 

The protocol has been named MatRiCT and was developed by a team of researchers from both CSIRO and the Monash Blockchain Technology Centre. The team was led by Dr Muhammed Esgin, who took action once he saw that current blockchain technology may not be able to take flak from quantum computers.

“Quantum computing can compromise the signatures or keys used to authenticate transactions, as well as the integrity of blockchains themselves. Once this occurs, the underlying cryptocurrency could be altered, leading to theft, double-spend, or forgery, and users’ privacy may be jeopardized. Existing cryptocurrencies tend to either be quantum-safe or privacy-preserving, but for the first time our new protocol achieves both in a practical and deployable way.”

The new protocol is based on hard lattice problems –  which are quantum secure. They also introduce new particular features – one of which is the shortest quantum-secure ring signature scheme made so far, which authenticates activity and transactions using nothing but the signature itself.

Another innovation present in the MatRiCT blockchain is a zero-knowledge proof method, which masks all sensitive information pertaining to a financial transaction. MatRiCT also includes the ability to conduct audits, which the team hopes could prevent the illegal use of cryptocurrencies.

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Australia Blockchain Industries

Australia Has A New AUD 800 Million Business Plan, Including Blockchain

Following the creation of blockchain work groups for various industry sectors across Australia a few weeks ago, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has unveiled an AUD 800 million Digital Business Plan for the government to follow.

The plan includes several non-blockchain initiatives – however, many of these are for Distributed Ledger Technology systems, a technology closely associated to blockchain.

These plans include an AUD 256 million investment for a system that will provide Digital Identification, and  an AUD 420 million Business Register that will greatly simplify the current methods used.

Compliance Costs Will Be Reduced Through Blockchain

Nearly 9.7 million AUD will be set aside for two new blockchain projects targeting business compliance costs – and the unnecessary amount of funding spent to check it.

According to PM Scott Morrisson, the business plan should help small businesses by cutting costs – and by removing unnecessary regulatory barriers.

“The Plan supports Australia’s economic recovery by removing out-dated regulatory barriers, boosting the capability of small businesses and backs the uptake of technology across the economy.”

A good deal of  other fintech initiatives were outlined in the new business plan, some of which could also have ties to blockchain – although this has not yet been confirmed.

Just a few weeks ago, the Select Committee on Financial Technology (FinTech) and Regulatory Technology (RegTech) published an interim report that was positive about blockchain. A fintech lawyer told the committee that the majority if FinTech and RegTech solutions are likely to use Distributed Ledger Technology within the next ten years.

At the time, Power Ledger’s co-founder and Executive Chairman Dr. Jemma Green also highlighted that although over $26 billion had been raised through ICOs, Australia gained less than 1 percent of the profit.

By properly regulating blockchain technology and ICOs even further, Dr. Green believes that tens of thousands of new jobs will be created, which will in turn bring in even more revenue to be invested in further development.

Indeed, in the report it is speculated that the potential gain due to using blockchain technology is “estimated at $175 billion annually within five years and $3 trillion by 2030”.

With Hedera technology also being recently unveiled as a blockchain-based partner for Australian industries, the adoption of blockchain in every corner of the Australian market is advancing at a steady pace.

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Australia Blockchain Cryptocurrencies

From Coins To Cryptocurrency – A Bestselling Book On The Australian Economy

On the 7th of September, a new game-changing book was released on the Amazon bookstore – namely: PAYMENTS AND BANKING IN AUSTRALIA – From Coins To Cryptocurrency, How It Started, How It Works And How It May Be Disrupted.

In this book, Nikesh Lalchandani tells the story of Australia’s economy, it’s ups and downs, and how it is permanently changing due to cryptocurrencies and other blockchain technologies.

Bestseller Status Reached

Three weeks after the day it came out, Nikesh’s book has hit the number 1 spot in the Business category of books sold on Amazon Australia.

Born in Australia from Indian heritage, Nikesh has studied engineering, computer science, finance, and IT at the University of New South Wales and Deakin. After a history of involvement with various start-up firms and successful business ventures, Nikesh worked for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, where he headed departments focused on research and emerging technology that can be applied to the world of finance.

For the first time, Aussie readers have access to a comprehensive guide of the financial world, of payments and banking centered on the Australian continent.

 The book explores the history of Australian payments and banking, while also bringing ideas that could be used to improve current systems and modus operandi to streamline banking procedures. In his book, Nikesh explains how he believes blockchain technology could end up being as much of a game-changer as other projects originally started by enthusiasts – such as PayPal.

“We are on the verge of a revolution: this book provides a direction of what the future could look like and empowers the reader to make that vision a reality.”

The 508-page book is a thorough exploration of the financial mechanisms and regulation in banking and payment systems from cheques to cards and cryptocurrency.

In addition to a view at the techie side of things, the book also examines the culture and framework that have traditionally caused problems in the Australian financial sector and takes a broad look at alternatives currently available to investors.

Categories
Australia Binance Blockchain

Binance Australia Joins Forces With Blockchain Australia

This Friday, Binance Australia became a full member of Blockchain Australia, an industry body for Australian fintech businesses and professionals who advocate for blockchain technology.

Their main goal is to advance the adoption of blockchain technology in Australia, and their recent partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange market heavy hitter is a massive leap in the right direction.

Awareness Is The Name Of The Game

As part of the partnership, Binance Australia will join Blockchain Australia in their efforts – alongside other local industry experts – to increase the speed with which blockchain is adopted in every industry.

Mr. Steve Vallas – the CEO of Blockchain Australia – stated that this vital partnership with an industry leader will go a long way to build awareness and expand the revolutionary technology to markets that previously had no interest in it.

“That’s why we’re extremely excited to welcome Binance Australia on board as our newest member, bringing additional cryptocurrency expertise and international connections to our membership base.

Binance Australia shares Blockchain Australia’s vision to see an Australia that leads the world in the adoption of blockchain technology that transforms the economy and society to achieve significantly greater competitiveness, efficiency, service quality, social engagement, and employment.”

Asked for comment, Jeff Yew – the CEO of Binance Australia – stated that this partnership is the culmination of heavy efforts to partner with leading associations and companies across Australia and is expecting a long and fruitful collaboration.

Indeed, blockchain technology is predicted to generate a yearly business value of over AUD $239 billion by 2025 and – according to Senator Andrew Bragg – will generate revenue for Australia in excess of AUD $3 trillion by 2030.

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Australia Crypto Exchange Cryptocurrencies

Flexepin’s Partnership with FastBitcoins Expands The Market For Crypto

Flexepin – a subdivision of Australian payment processor Novatti – has joined forces with FastBitcoins this Thursday.

The partnership between the ASX-listed Australian fintech company that specializes in prepaid vouchers and gift cards and the UK cryptocurrency vendor will allow Bitcoins to be sold in over 20,000 physical locations across Australia, Europe, Canada, and Africa.

Offering Alternative Payment Methods

Flexepin caters to users who want to make online payments without using credit or debit cards. But in addition to improving the security and privacy of online spending, Flexepin was developed to help many as many people as possible worldwide to purchase goods and services, using an alternate method of payment.

In areas where banks have formed monopolies and offer less than ideal terms of service to account holders, any alternative form of payment helps.

Although many payment providers are reluctant to accept vouchers and gift cards as payment, Flexepin and Novatti maintain that the vast majority of transactions carried out via vouchers are perfectly legitimate and do not pose a significant money laundering risk.

 In the past, people would use mobile minutes and messages as an ad-hoc way to send small amounts of money. Although this method of payment has become obsolete once the majority of people switched to subscription plans – which are getting cheaper every year – public transit networks worldwide often allow passengers to pay tickets via SMS.

Asked for comment, FastBicoins CEO Danny Brewster, expressed excitement at the prospect of opening up a vast budding market to cryptocurrencies.

“The big one for me, personally, is we can accept mobile money payments in 14 countries in Africa,” said FastBitcoins CEO Danny Brewster. “So, users in places like Kenya or Uganda can use M-Pesa or MTN Pay on their mobile phone to buy a Flexepin voucher which is then redeemed for Bitcoin via us. We charge only 4.5%. The best price equivalent on, say, Paxful, charges 40%. That’s all through this Flexepin deal.”

With a budding economic sector eager to invest in digital gold, the partnership between Paxful and Flexepin should show results before long.