Category: Cryptocurrencies

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Australia Bitcoin Cryptocurrencies

Australian National Jailed For Buying Controlled Substances With Cryptocurrency

Thomas Nickless, a 27-year-old port worker, has received a 2-year sentence – out of which he must serve eight months – for attempting to import illegal substances into Australia via the dark web via post to the Victorian coastal hamlet of Metung.

The Australian Border Force has seized five parcels addressed to the defendant, over a period of nine months between May 2018 and February 2019.

Cryptocurrency Used For Untraceability

The packages – which were addressed to Nickless from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands – contained 61 grams of MDMA (also known an ecstasy), 9.8 grams of cocaine, and 35.3 grams of other amphetamines.

Nickless had used cryptocurrency to purchase the drugs, a practice made common back in 2011 before by the Silk Road .onion website – which has since been taken down by the FBI.

“The attempted importations were part of your small-scale business to bring drugs into Australia by post, pick them up at the Metung post office, use them yourself and sell small amounts to friends and acquaintances,” said County Court Judge Gerard Mullaly.

Nickless had bought a total of 15 similar parcels from the deep web using cryptocurrency, but only 5 were stopped by the Australian Border Force.

This is not the first drug-related offence of the defendant – in March 2019, a police raid on Nickless’ house yielded small amounts of ketamine, Xanax, and MDMA, as well as several home-grown marijuana plants.

Even though the scale of the busted operation was relatively small compared to other drug deals made on the black market, the jury decided a non-custodial sentence would not be appropriate.

Thomas Nickless pleaded guilty to seven charges including trafficking offences, attempting to import a border controlled drug, and possession.

Although Nickless was sentenced to two years in prison,  he is only obligated to serve eight months as part of a recognizance release order.

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Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Payments

Coca-Cola Amatil Invests in Centrapay to Make Contactless Crypto Payments a Reality

International beverage giant Coca Cola Amatil has announced an expansion of its current partnership with New Zealand and Australia-based payment processor Centrapay, investing in the platform’s recent seed funding round.

Amatil X, Coca Cola’s corporate venture capital fund, announced a minority investment in Centrapay’s seed funding round on Thursday. The Centrapay platform, which currently provides services to companies that include KFC, Carlton Draught, and BP, secured an investment from Amatil X in order to fuel a new initiative that will expand the platform’s payment capacities. 

Coca-Cola Amatil launched a corporate partnership with Centrapay earlier this year that brought cryptocurrency payment options to thousands of vending machines around Australia and New Zealand. Centrapay’s new funding round and investment from Amatil X will see the platform expand into contactless fiat currency payments, gift cards, and vouchers. 

While Centrapay has not yet announced any plans to integrate cryptocurrency payments into the new contactless payment options under developments, the new services offered will allow Centrapay Wallet users to send fiat or any other supported payments in the same manner as a text message — potentially including cryptocurrency payments.

Centrapay Focuses on Pushing Digital Currency Adoption

Centrapay CEO Jerome Faury highlighted the importance of bringing new payment options to market, notably referencing “programmable” money — reflecting the functionality offered by smart contract enabled cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum:

“The global money supply is evolving rapidly with new economic models and the advent of smart, programmable money. The way we exchange value is set to change dramatically. There’s more change likely in the next 10 years than we’ve seen in the past 100.”

Faury also stressed the core focus of the Centrapay platform as a means to push adoption of digital currency, noting that Centrapay is focused on playing a “pioneering role in driving acceptance of digital assets with merchants.”

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Coinbase Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency Law

Coinbase Platform for Startups In The Works

Staple cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase is developing a platform designed for startups that will allow new companies to mint their own custom crypto assets.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was recently a guest on the podcast led by investor Patrick O’Shaughnessy, Invest Like The Best.

While outlining his vision for the future of cryptocurrencies, Brian Armstrong stated that a common grievance of many new companies is the abundance of regulatory and funding impediments faced by crypto startups. As a relatively new phenomenon, not all countries and markets have gotten around to drafting proper legislation, often sparking confusion.

 Although Coinbase has invested in over 60 crypto startups through Coinbase Ventures, Brian Armstrong is of the opinion that the loopholes and nuances in current cryptocurrency legislation often discourage new talent with new ideas – A problem he is aiming to fix with this new platform.

“There’s a lot of really talented teams trying to build companies this way now, but a lot of the regulatory environment is still unclear for them about, ‘Is this a security? What kind of securities regulations might you trip up if you do these’ And so, there’s all these kind of different exemptions and stuff that people are trying to jump through hoops to try to make [it] work.”

Coinbase Launch, Coming Soon

The new Coinbase platform designed to help entrepreneurs join in on the action will be called Coinbase Launch – although the name may change in the future. Coinbase Launch will assist new companies with processes, the creation of smart contracts, token offerings, legislative suggestions, and so on and so forth.

Once launched, the new platform could potentially lead to exponential growth in the adoption of cryptocurrencies. Now armed with the knowledge and resources to put their plans into action, we may soon be seeing an avalanche of startups taking opportunity of Coinbase’s expertise and reputation to change the world.

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Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrencies

Increasing Demand for Digital Wallets & Crypto as Australia Goes Cashless

Demand for digital banking solutions, contactless payment services, and cryptocurrency is rising rapidly in Australia, with cryptocurrency adoption at an all time high — accelerating the country toward a cashless future.

New “neobank” financial platforms have exploded into the Australian economic ecosystem, with platforms such as international digital bank and crypto trading app Revolut opening waiting lists and launching at full-scale throughout Australia. 

The rate at which Australians are integrating cashless payment solutions into daily life is accelerating, according to eftpos CEO Stephen Benton:

“Many Australians are choosing to use eftpos when paying with their mobiles, with eftpos mobile transactions growing more than 400 percent year on year in July 2020 across all supported mobile ecosystems,” 

While contactless solutions provided by card payments are currently the most popular way to pay for goods and services in Australia, services such as Apple Pay, Afterpay, Revolut, Transferwise, and other digital wallets are creating a payment ecosystem in which Australians are more likely to use digital payments than ever before. 

The high speed at which Australians are taking advantage of digital payment platforms reflects the accelerated rate at which cryptocurrency usage is becoming mainstream. Australians can now purchase Bitcoin at post offices around the country, trading over $5 billion in cryptocurrency every year. 

Crypto Adoption Speeds Up as Aus Gov Moves Towards Cash Ban

With the Australian legal system now recognizing cryptocurrency as a valid security for legal expenses, and homeowners now able to purchase or sell property with Bitcoin and other digital assets, cryptocurrency is quickly becoming an everyday method of value exchange —over 80 percent of the Australian population is now aware of what cryptocurrency is, with 1 in 100 Aussies paying for consumer goods with crypto.

New restrictions on the use of cash introduced in 2019 are set to limit the ways in which Australians are able to use cash, with the Australian government proposing a $10,000 limit on the amount of cash Australians are able to carry or use in a single transaction. 

With cryptocurrency awareness rising and the Australian government introducing regulatory structures that limit the ways in which consumers can carry or transfer cash, cryptocurrency offers Australians a viable alternative to fiat cash currency free from the restrictions associated with digital banking platforms.

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Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency Law Scams

Australian Federal Police Loot Cryptocurrency, Homes, Luxury Goods from Gangsters

The Australian Federal Police has executed a series of initiatives designed to decentralize organized crime syndicates away from ill-gotten goods, confiscating cryptocurrency hoards, designer goods, luxury cars, and homes in a new policing effort.

The latest AFP campaign against criminal syndicates has seen Federal Officers confiscate designer handbags and other luxury assets from the wives and girlfriends of criminals, along with significant cryptocurrency holdings. 

In statements released to Australian news media, AFP Criminal Assets Confiscation national manager Stefan Jerga announced that the AFP is actively targeting all forms of currency possessed by criminals, along with goods, vehicles, and real estate. 

“We come after all their assets. Whether it be the roof over their heads, their modes of transport and recreational toys, moneys in their possession or bank accounts, or the watches, bags and shoes they parade, we target it all,”

Elaborating on the focus of the confiscation program, Jerga specified that the efforts of the AFP are designed to disrupt organized criminal activity, causing maximum damage to the criminal environment. 

AFP Captures Hundreds of Millions in Criminal Assets

To date, the AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce has confiscated and restrained over $250 million in criminal assets both in Australia and abroad. Confiscated assets include real estate, luxury vehicles and watercraft, high end jewellery such as diamond-encrusted luxury watches, and cryptocurrency.

Seized cryptocurrency amounts to a significant store of capital for the Australian Federal Police. 

In January 2018, for example, members of the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce and Criminal Assets Litigation teams in Brisbane successfully restrained the Bitcoin of a suspect under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) — seizing the cryptocurrency assets of an arrested individual that were, at the time, worth $7300.

By November, 2018, the individual in possession of the Bitcoin agreed to forfeit the Bitcoin holdings. The interim price rise in the value of the asset saw the cryptocurrency hoard increase in value to approximately $154,000.

More recently, a December 2019 drug bust led Australian Federal Police Officers to a record cryptocurrency seizure,  with police forces capturing “millions of dollars” worth of physical property and over $1.5 million dollars worth of cryptocurrency. 

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Bitcoin Crypto Exchange Cryptocurrencies Scams

Australian Crypto Traders Hit With Barrage of Bitcoin Scam Emails

Australian cryptocurrency and traders are receiving higher amounts of Bitcoin and crypto-related scam emails than ever before — despite the best efforts of the Australian Federal Police and a new international anti-scam initiative.

The latest flood of Bitcoin scam emails targeting Australian cryptocurrency holders and investors take a “traditional”  approach to defrauding targets out of their crypto holdings, promising foolproof investment schemes, fraudulent payment claim phishing emails, and nonexistent bonus programs aimed at capturing financial details from unsuspecting recipients. 

Bitcoin Email Scammers Use Leaked User Data

Phishing and payment claims scams are nothing new in the world of cryptocurrency — Australian predictive email security platform MailGuard published a warning in December 2019 warning Aussies of a cryptocurrency focused extortion scam fueled by multiple large scale data breaches. 

Cryptocurrency scammers use data leaked in hacks that, in many cases, provides fraudsters with names, email addresses, and other personal information. A major cryptocurrency exchange leak in November 2019 saw the BitMEX exchange, for example, saw a vast amount of user email addresses leaked through negligent misuse of mass-email practices in an event described by crypto-focused lawyer Jake Chervinsky as “outrageously incompetent”

A more recent data leak saw a large portion of the users of cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex notify customers that their email addresses and passwords had been leaked, resulting in widespread distribution of scam emails taking advantage of the event.    

Aussies Targeted by Bitcoin Sextortion Scam

The new wave of crypto scam emails targeting Australian traders reflects a recent rise in scammers focusing on Australian traders. Earlier this year, the Australian Cyber Security Center published a notification warning Australians of a new “sextortion” campaign in which scammers threaten to release personal or sensitive information unless paid in Bitcoin.

The Australian Federal Police has taken a hardline approach to combating international cryptocurrency scammers, recently distributing AFP officers around the world in order to target criminals in Eastern Europe, Nigeria, and Brazil. 

While the scam emails presented in this email article are all marked as spam by email filters, cryptocurrency holders are reminded to maintain a vigilant stance toward email-based cryptocurrency spam. 

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Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Trading

RMIT Data Reveals Aussie Crypto Trading Peaked During COVID-19 Lockdown

What happens when you combine a lot of time at home to contemplate investment options and a growing population of tech-savvy aussies?

Data published by RMIT indicates that the result is a sharp increase in cryptocurrency trading. Australia’s RMIT University insights reveal that during the COVID-19 lockdown instituted between the 23rd of January and the 15th of May, cryptocurrency trading in Australia witnessed an increase in volume.

Data shows there was a 50% spike in home trading volumes, globally, and a 66% jump in Australia.

Angel Zhong – RMIT

Prior to the lockdown, the average daily turnover was only 0.27%, compared to 0.44% during the lockdown.

Whether this skyrocketing investment rate is due to an increase in corporate employees working from home, young entrepreneurs with more funds and options than ever before, or even the closure of casinos, it’s clear that cryptocurrency trading is increasingly considered as a lucrative investment option for investors across Australia.

Cryptocurrency Prices Rise as Australia Locks Down

This increase can be witnessed in the price mark-up since the beginning of the pandemic — Bitcoin is now valued at almost 16,000 AUD, more than twice the value it had in March 2020, where prices hovered near 7000 AUD.

Ethereum currently trades at  500 AUD, far above the price of 200 AUD it held in March, with prices surging by 30% between mid-July and today.

In both cases, the price has more than doubled for both leading cryptocurrencies. Is this a new phenomenon? Yes, but not really. Investing in strong currencies has always been a hallmark of days fraught with economic uncertainty – but now the paradigm has shifted.

In prior times of economic turmoil, the price of gold has increased.The price of gold has also surged during the recent COVID-19 lockdown, but for the first time in history, cryptocurrency has shown its face as an equally, if not superior investment option.

Is decentralization finally catching widespread appeal? Australian trade data appears to indicate that it is. Present data hints towards an economic future that will lean more towards deflationary currency than inflationary, centralized fiat currency.

DeFi is the latest major use case of blockchain technology.

Professor Jason Potts, the Director of the Blockchain Innovation Hub at RMIT University thinks that Decentralised Finance (DeFi) is the latest major use case of blockchain technology and could be the future of financial markets for tokenised assets.

Interest in DeFi – which is the beginnings of a new global digital financial system – is driving this current cryptocurrency price surge.

Jason Potts – RMIT

And also we saw that Decentralized Exchange Volumes are up 70% in June, past $1.5 billion according to Jack Purdy, decentralized finance analyst at Messari.

Blockchain networks are also starting to think about DeFi with projects like Qtum announcing a $1 million DeFi development fund.

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Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency Law Regulation

$300 Billion Class Action Lawsuit Against Social Media Giants “Ready to File” as Signups Draw to Close

An impending class-action lawsuit that could see international social media giants such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter sued for over $300 billion is “ready to file,” with signups for claimants closing next week.

Announced in early June 2020, the class action lawsuit is spearheaded by Andrew Hamilton, the CEO of Sydney-based legal firm JPB Liberty. The class action lawsuit is focused on holding various social media platforms accountable for cryptocurrency advertising bans executed by throughout 2018.

The suit has already captured over $600 million USD in claims — nearly $875 million AUD — with multiple litigants. The case has already been placed before a senior barrister for review, and accuses a series of social media platforms of acting in a cartel-like manner in order to collaboratively crush the developing digital currency industry in 2018.

Hamilton, in a conversation with crypto news media, stated that he is prepared to file proceedings for the case within a 48 hour period — noting that signups for claimants are scheduled to close on August 21.

“This is a very big threat to Facebook and Google strategically, because, instead of having startups that have to fundraise all the way through and end up getting bought by Facebook or Google or someone before they become a competitive threat,”

Google, Facebook Banned Crypto Ads to “Eliminate Competition”

Initial coin offerings and other digital currency based startups, according to Hamilton, are a significant threat to the status quo of the tech tech industry. Hamilton highlights the cumbersome, slow moving nature of fundraising in the tech industry, stating that ICO’s “front-loaded” the investment process, allowing tech startups to compete on equal footing with major tech companies.

The suit focuses on the “hypocrisy” of major tech platforms such as Facebook developing and launching projects such as the Libra stablecoin, while simultaneously banning all digital currency competitors. Everyone who was in the nascent web 3.0 space at the time and planning on competing with Google or Facebook, states Hamilton, was crushed.

The suit, if successful, will see 70 percent of any settlement distributed to litigants, with 30 percent directed toward the suits funders.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin Breaches $10,000 as Australia Faces Down Worst Inflation Numbers On Record

Australian investors appear hesitant to dive into traditional markets this week, anticipating the release of the worst inflation records on record — as Bitcoin breaks through the $10,000 ceiling, hinting at potential bull run.

The SPI futures index dropped 0.45 percent, or 27 points n Sunday, revealing a potential easing on the S&P/ASX200 for Monday morning. The benchmark equity index hovered near the 6,000 point position late last week, ending the week 1.16 percent down at 6,024 points.

Australian market movements mirror US and European movements, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.7 percent. 

Trepidation surrounding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the Australian economy has seen both CBA and AMP capital forecast Australia’s consumer price index — a critical inflation benchmark — to drop two percent.

Inflation data in line with CBA and AMP Capital forecasting would represent the largest quarterly fall since inflation records began in 1948, taking the annual rate in a negative direction for the first time since 1997.

Digital Asset Markets Fire Up

While traditional markets may be taking a slow turn this last week, digital currency investors have displayed none of the hesitation present in their institutional counterparts. Bitcoin reached a two-month high of $10,135 at 10:05 UTC on Sunday, the highest value demonstrated by the crypto market leader since June 2.

The rapid price size saw Bitcoin capture 8 percent gains on a week to week basis. Similarly, Ethereum’s price skyrocketed to a 13-month high of over $300, reaching $319 early Friday afternoon. 

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Crypto News Cryptocurrencies

Easy Crypto Launches Auto-Buy Feature For Australian Crypto Investors

Purchasing cryptocurrency has traditionally been a complicated process. While the cryptocurrency ecosystem has matured dramatically over the last decade, streamlined, regulated fiat to crypto payments have only recently become mainstream.

The modern cryptocurrency ecosystem is far more accessible than ever before, providing crypto investors and traders with the ability to purchase Bitcoin or other cryptos through a wide variety of different payment methods — from bank transfers, to crypto ATMs, or with credit or debit cards.

Buying into the cryptocurrency market may be simple — but it’s important to carefully plan your capital distribution. Easy Crypto, a popular New Zealand-based cryptocurrency brokerage platform, now allows both NZ and Aus-based users to set up automated cryptocurrency purchases in a few simple steps, streamlining the purchasing process and allowing for careful investment budgeting.

What is Easy Crypto? 

Founded in 2018 by Alan and Janine Grainger, Easy Crypto is a simple, easy to use cryptocurrency brokerage platform designed to streamline the process of purchasing or selling cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Stellar, Nano, and more.

Notably, Easy Crypto is one of the first fully-guaranteed crypto platforms in the Asia Pacific region, providing users with a full guarantee that their funds are safe while using the Easy Crypto service. Easy Crypto doesn’t hold user capital, and focuses on providing a simple, transparent purchasing interface ideal for first-time or casual crypto buyers.

Additionally, Easy Crypto provides a dedicated portfolio tracker, allowing users to track their investment and stay up to date with market movements. 

How Does Easy Crypto Auto Buy Work?

Easy Crypto’s Auto-Buy functionality can be set up in a relatively straightforward manner, allowing users to automate purchases of over 60 different cryptocurrencies. 

Easy Crypto provides a dedicated section for automatic payments, which provides users with a clean interface which is used to select the schedule, payment, and distribution of which cryptocurrencies to purchase. 

When set up, Easy Crypto’s Auto Buy function will automatically purchase and distribute cryptocurrency to the addresses designated by the user. Payments can be made via bank accounts on an automated basis.