Category: Australia

Categories
Australia Blockchain Industries Real Estate

Power Ledger Blockchain-Powered Green Housing, Coming To A City Near You

Aussie blockchain firm Power Ledger and Perth-based real estate developer OP Properties have joined forces to build one of the first carbon-neutral apartment complexes in Australia.

Power Ledger – a firm that specializes in renewable energy and other environmental commodities – has already been a part of multiple green energy projects around the world. In Thailand, their partnership with Thai Digital Energy Development has led to the development of carbon-neutral infrastructure and better accounting for energy and environmental commodities.

In France, Power Ledger ekWateur and renewable energy supplier ekWateur teamed up to develop a blockchain-based energy trading platform. Power Ledger has also executed projects in the U.S.A., India, Japan, and are always open to new collaborations – such as this one on the home turf.

Blockchain, Reduced Maintenance, and Ecology

The five-story apartment building will be called Montreal Commons – and will consist of 39 apartments and a café. In order to be truly carbon-neutral, it will use rooftop solar panels and local battery storage provided by  OP Properties.

OP Director Luke Parker has stated that as the developer, they will handle the full cost of installing the solar system on the roof of the complex. The installation ownership will be transferred to the management company responsible for the property instead of splitting it up between tenants.

In case of electrical insufficiency, these can be topped up through green energy from electricity retailer Change Energy.

If, on the other hand, any excess solar electricity is generated, it can be stored in on-site batteries and sold by the tenants via Power Ledger’s blockchain-based energy trading platform. Power Ledger receiving a $2.5 million grant from the Australian Government and has won Sir Richard Branson’s Extreme Tech Challenge award.

Coupled with TYMLEZ’s recent project in New South Wales, we can expect to see more and more eco-friendly complexes pop up and ensure the protection of Australia’s beautiful wildlife.

Categories
Australia Crypto Debit Cards Crypto Exchange Crypto News

CEX.IO Exchange Announces Crypto-Backed Lending Platform Launch in Australia

CEX.IO, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, has announced the impending launch of a new cryptocurrency-backed loans service that will allow Australian crypto traders and holders to take out instant cash loans for their cryptocurrency assets.

Announced September 7, the new crypto loans service will become available in 217 countries around the world, including Australia, the United Kingdom, EU, and a range of Asian countries. CEX.IO LOAN will provide crypto users with the ability to borrow capital against their cryptocurrency holdings without the need for credit checks. 

$10 Billion Crypto Backed Loans Market Explodes in Australia

Data published by Credmark via Forbes reveals that crypto-backed lending is rapidly becoming one of the largest lending mechanisms in the blockchain ecosystem, with the crypto lending market reaching $8 billion in total lifetime loan originations by the end of 2019. The market has exploded in 2020, capturing another $2 billion by Q3 2020.

Crypto backed loans are relatively straightforward — users lock up their cryptocurrency with a loan provider, and are provided with a specific percentage of the assets locked as the loan principal. Recent changes to the tax treatment of cryptocurrency around the world have made crypto backed loans highly popular, as under specific international tax laws or in some scenarios a crypto loan allows users to access cash without creating a taxable event.

CEX.IO will provide users with the ability to borrow between $500 and $500,000, with larger and longer duration loans providing more attractive interest terms. Anton Chashchin, Commercial Director for the CEX.IO LOAN service, highlighted the various benefits of the crypto loans in a September 7 press release:

“Our clients are a vibrant and diverse group of market participants, whose needs evolve with the industry … Our loans offer that extra boost, which traders, investors, startups, and entrepreneurs in general, need, while they can still benefit from the potential appreciation of assets they own,”

Notably, CEX.IO will make loan funds available via a card — delivering additional crypto card functionality not yet seen in the crypto backed loans ecosystem.

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Law

Australian Bitconnect Representative Banned From Offering Financial Services For Seven Years

Due to his involvement and promotion with the Bitconnect platform – now widely seen as the second biggest Ponzi scheme in crypto history – John Bigatton has been banned by ASIC from providing financial services.

This decision stems from the fact that Bigatton provided – according to ASIC – unlicensed financial advice while working for Bitconnect from August 2017 to January 2018.

Investigation Still Pending

As a wider investigation into specifics of the company are still ongoing, Bigatton still has the right to appeal the decision with ASIC’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal – although it will most likely be rejected.

However, ASIC’s statement at the moment is the following:

“Mr. Bigatton is not a fit and proper person to provide financial services: is not adequately trained, or is not competent, to provide a financial service or financial services, and is likely to contravene a financial services law.”

Bigatton is believed to have collected at least $100 thousand out of $2.6 billion that Bitconnect had collected from investors – right before Bitconnect abruptly shut down their platform, in what was described at the time the biggest exist scam in history.

Australian authorities commenced their investigation of Bigatton after the platform’s collapse.

His assets were frozen by the Federal Court of Australia in December 2018 – a measure promptly followed by travel restrictions imposed on him a month later.

John Biggaton’s wife, Madeline Bigatton, mysteriously disappeared in March 2018, and an investigation into her disappearance and possible death will be started this year.

Although BitConnect was believed to be crypto’s largest Ponzi scheme, last year the OneCoin scam outdid it by defrauding investors out of approximately $4 billion.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Regulation

Australian Fintech Committee Report Reveals Bullish Government Position on Blockchain

A new interim report published by Australia’s Select Committee on Financial Technology (FinTech) and Regulatory Technology (RegTech) reveals new insights into the Australian Government’s position on the future of blockchain and fintech.

The report, published one year after the creation of the committee, focuses on the potential opportunities presented by blockchain technology, as well as the ways in which novel fintech and regtech solutions can help the financial sector overcome a range of different problems.

The Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology’s report acknowledges the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting a number of ways through which the innovative application of various decentralized technology use cases can assist Australia in moving through the pandemic crisis.

Notably, the report presents a number of use cases of blockchain technology, such as virtual signing and witnessing of legal documents or the potential for decentralized regtech platforms focused on digital identity in government agencies.

Blockchain Industry Value Headed Toward $3 Trillion

Australia’s Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology has been presented with a broad spectrum of information with which to create regulatory guidance, leveraging the knowledge of established Australian blockchain and fintech innovators during hearings.  

Within specific committee hearings, Michael Bacina, Partner of both Fintech Group and Blockchain Group, provided the committee with estimates that the international blockchain technology industry could be worth over  $175 billion annually within five years and $3 trillion by 2030.

Other insights presented by the report include criticism of the current regulatory approach governing the fintech and blockchain startup ecosystem, noting that the current regulatory environment is “outdated” and in many cases contradictory. With Australian fintech and blockchain startups now capturing hundreds of millions in VC investment around the country, the Australian government is actively pursuing startup-friendly approaches within the scope of the Australian blockchain roadmap in order to promote innovation and development within the nascent Aussie blockchain ecosystem.

Categories
Australia Cryptocurrency Law Industries

Within 10 Years, All Fintech May Be Blockchain-Based

On the 2nd of September, Andrew Bragg, a member of the Australian government’s Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology released a statement about the current recession, citing blockchain as a way out.

The last financial quarter’s negative results prompted the government to look toward new technologies as a way out of the current predicament – and one of them is investing in the ever-growing fintech sector.

The report contains multiple references to blockchain and technologies based on distributed ledgers.

Huge Profit Margins Estimated

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”.

Piper Alderman’s partner Michael Bacina was also quoted, who believes that the use of blockchain will only grow exponentially as more and more business owners see other business ventures reap the reward, assuring investors of its safety.

“Most fintech and regtech projects will either be built predominantly on distributed ledger technology or blockchain or heavily using that within the next 10 years.”

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.

With the recent adoption of blockchain for quality assurance in Australia, an industry growth of $100 billion dollars in the agricultural sector is foreseen by senator Andrew Bragg.

A final report is due in April 2021, based on the current success stories citing the use of blockchain to record data pertaining to properties and investments as a direct reason for increased revenue.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Commodities

Australian Food & Wine Supply Chain Combats Fraud with Blockchain Tech

Australian Government and supply chain industry experts are pushing blockchain technology as a solution to widespread fraud in the food and wine industry, which currently costs Aussie businesses over $1.7 billion every year.

New collaborative efforts between the Australian Government, blockchain roadmap working groups, and supply chain industry experts has seen government officials advocate for the use of blockchain in eliminating fraud within one of Australia’s most profitable produce and export sectors. 

An online panel discussion on September 4, moderated by Blockchain Australia deputy chair Rob Allen, saw over 150 industry and government attendees meet to discuss potential use cases of blockchain technology in order to combat widespread fraud throughout multiple industries. 

Blockchain technology holds the potential to establish an immutable provenance chain by tokenizing and tracking every Australian-made product. Provenance fraud is widespread both within Australia and throughout export markets, with Australian agricultural businesses struggling to ensure that their products can be verified internationally. 

Blockchains Set to Lock Down Supply Chains

Speaking at the online forum, Department of Industry National Blockchain Lead Chloe White highlighted the importance of blockchain technology in minimizing the $1.7 billion annual cost of agricultural product provenance fraud. 

AgTech Capital AL Fullerton reinforced White’s perspective on blockchain implementation from a private sector position, noting that blockchain can be used in product authentication in order to prevent the spread of forged paper certificates. 

Investigative reports published by Food Innovation Australia indicates that food fraud costs the global food industry over $50 billion every year — the transparent, immutable nature of blockchain technology would allow Australian businesses to create unforgeable digital certificates in order to protect their products and brand. In addition to discussing the potential use cases of blockchain technology in Australian supply chain applications, the online panel also hosted the announcement of Australia’s first blockchain-based Cooperative Research Center, which has raised over $60 million in order to push blockchain adoption through Australian startups.

Categories
Australia Crypto Exchange Payments

Revolut Enters The Australian Cryptocurrency Market

It’s only been a month since Revolut went live in Australia following a beta with 30,000 more on the waiting list. Now, the possibility to buy cryptocurrencies has also been enabled.

For the moment, Aussie crypto enthusiasts can trade in bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), XRP and stellar (XLM) right from their new banking app, with the possibility of more cryptocurrencies being added later still in discussion.

Users of Revolut’s premium service, Revolut Metal, will be the first to access the new crypto trading service. This feature will be rolled out to other customers shortly.

Ease of Exchange

Already known as the app that allows you to enjoy a vacation without worrying about where to find the best exchange rates, Revolut users in Australia will be able to buy cryptocurrency assets in a total of 27 currencies at great rates.

With fewer options for purchasing cryptocurrency than in the European Union, for now, Revolut CEO Matt Baxby saw the app as a way to simplify the hassle of moving assets between platforms, facing fees every time.

“We’re very excited to be adding another feature to our Financial SuperApp with the introduction of our cryptocurrency exchange services.

We’re cutting out that complexity – with Revolut anyone can easily set up an account in minutes and start buying and selling digital currencies instantly, alongside all our other great features.”

Edward Cooper – the head of the crypto division at Revolut – also weighed in on why ease of exchange is central to the company’s ethos. According to Cooper, public feedback on the main crypto trading platforms was quite negative about the semi-hidden exit and deposit fees – something they sought to change.

Carrying over the transparent and advantageous platform fees at the root of their success in the fiat market, Revolut plans to gauge interest for crypto trading in Australia before expanding into other APAC territories, such as Japan and South Korea.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Industries

Blockchain-based Green Energy Group Set To Revolutionize NSW Energy Market

Enterprise software and technology company TYMLEZ Group has just been chosen as a partner for a large-scale, multi-year project with ICT, the national Dutch telecommunications company. TYMLEZ is already planning future cooperations, with outlines for Australian projects in 2021.

Headquartered in the Netherlands and listed on the ASX since 2018, TYMLEZ offers a platform that enables businesses to expedite the design, development and deployment of highly scalable blockchain applications in multiple areas, especially green energy. Their contract with ICT aims to reduce carbon emissions and even provide green energy from the activities of ICT Group.

Ahead of European Legislation

In its June quarter report, TYMLEZ announced its expansion into the Australian market with a subsidiary named TYMLEZ Energy. TYMLEZ energy will be headed by Daniel O’Halloran in the role of managing director and Wayne Clay as chairman.

In a statement, TYMLEZ energy laid out the basics of their business plan.

“We aim to take advantage of legislative environments that enable us to trial and run our platform in a different geographical location and be ready for the two-way energy marketplace by end of 2021.

In order to capitalize on this momentum, TYMLEZ Energy will focus its efforts on the marketing and sales of the energy marketplace in Australia and Asia.” 

TYMLEZ plan of action is more than a year ahead of legislation regarding green energy that will be adopted in the European Union on the 1st of January 2023.

TYMLEZ is also planning on teaming up with private company Tyalgum Energy in New South Wales to install TYMLEZs proprietary decentralized green energy marketplace.

“There is real significance in this trial as not only is it the first in the Southern Hemisphere but, once proven successful, we will be scaling the technology into commercial and industrial applications to further impact the carbon neutral target for big energy consumers.”

If successful, the town of Tyalgum in New South Wales will be 100% powered by renewable energy. 

Categories
Australia Economics Industries

ANZ, Westpac and CBA Switch To Blockchain To Ensure Bank Guarantees

ANZ Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank have joined forces to found Lygon, a company that will switch traditional bank guarantees signed on paper for blockchain-based smart contracts. By vastly reducing the lease negotiation period between landlords and tenants and doing away with fraud, Lygon is on the way to becoming not only a staple of the market, but the way into the future.

Big League Shareholders Onboard

The company behind Westfield Sydney – the Scentre Group – has already invested in Lygon shares. Not keen on being left behind, the tech industry staple company known as IBM has also invested into the Lygon alliance.

Both of these companies are hoping to bring an end to the physical, signed guarantees used by clients in all industries, from construction to real estate.

ANZ’s Nigel Dobson had this to say about the formation of Lygon:

“Digitising the instrument will save commercial landlords onerous, operational overheads over the longer term.”

Following a test run with great results last year, the five companies involved have decided to take the plunge and put their plan into action. Lygon is currently looking for a chief executive as well as a small number of staff to run the platform, after which they plan on partnering with any banks and landlords who wish to join up.

Once this system becomes the norm in Australia, Lygon is planning to expand into New Zealand. If all goes as planned, IBM will use the success garnered so far to spread Lygon’s system to real estate markets worldwide.

Once it goes live this month, Lygon will become the first high profile case of blockchain use by banks in Australia.

Previously used mostly to store and transfer funds, this new alliance may lead to even more investments into blockchain technology.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrency Law

Horse Racing Group Investigated Over Possible Crypto Scam

Aussie horse racing authorities are looking into allegations that a top thoroughbred operation may have been involved in a worldwide money-laundering scheme linked to sham cryptocurrency venture OneCoin.

Phoenix Thoroughbreds, the co-owner of Australian group 1 winner Farnan was banned from racing in France less than a month ago after allegations in a court case taking place in New York.

Witnesses have accused the owner, Amer Abdulaziz Salman, of embezzling $161 million through the OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme.

A massive scam involving a non-blockchain based cryptocurrency, OneCoin, has put a $7.2 billion hole in the pockets of investors in Australia, Europe, and Africa. Investors who bought OneCoin tokens after being told their value would increase had an unpleasant surprise when they realized they could not exchange these tokens to fiat or any other cryptocurrency.

One Australian citizen, Harry Testoni, explained how the scam works.

“They were manipulating everything, and said, ‘it was worth this and that’ and then when you try to withdraw money they say, ‘you can’t draw money out of it’. It was dead money. Gone. Finished.”

Horses may have been bought using embezzled funds

Australian authorities suspect that up to $25 million of the laundered money was used to buy prize racehorses that compete on the Australian circuit through Phoenix Thoroughbreds.

Greg Nichols, the chairman of Racing Australia stated that they were in talks with legal authorities both domestic and foreign. Amid fears that the allegations could compromise public confidence in the sport, a decision is still pending.

“The obvious place for these allegations to be considered is within the legal system but it doesn’t preclude us from making our own observations and coming to our own conclusions beforehand,” Greg Nichols said in a statement this Saturday.

If convicted, Phoenix Thoroughbreds’ Dubai-based owner Amer Abdulaziz Salman could face serious penalties, including the suspension of his company from competing in Racing Australia.