Tag: blockchain

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Australia Blockchain New Zealand Real Estate VeChain Western Australia

Australian Real Estate Body: Blockchain Will Revolutionise the Industry

A new report from the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) confirms it is firmly in favour of blockchain adoption by the industry. The report outlines the various uses for blockchain in the sector as implementation methods become a hot topic.

Web3 Will Revolutionise Real Estate

The Blockchain: Opportunities and Disruptions for Real Estate report, released this week, details how the Aussie real estate industry can utilise blockchain tech to stay ahead of the game in an unstable market. The report is the result of a collaboration between REIA, REINZ (its New Zealand counterpart), and the RMIT (Royal Melbourne University of Technology) Innovation Hub.

REIA president Hayden Groves predicts that “fully integrated Web3 technology” will allow the industry to cope with rising interest rates, and housing affordability and supply issues. And according to Professor Jason Potts, co-director of RMIT University’s Blockchain Innovation Hub, blockchain has the potential to reshape customers’ experience into something far more positive:

https://rmitblockchain.io/jasonpotts

The time is right for Australia and New Zealand to become early adopters and in doing so provide more options for their customers such as tokenisation of real estate assets, which can lead to lower costs, increased liquidity, and therefore faster settlement times.

Professor Jason Potts, RMIT

However, Groves stresses that the research is only as good as the adoption, and that an implementation strategy is yet to be decided on. He wants “agents and agencies to be trusted members of their communities” with property transactions and blockchain offering the potential to “completely improve and grow trust in a real way”.

To learn more about how blockchain can function in the real estate industry, the video below is a useful starting point:

Sustainability and Training Also to the Fore

This is only the latest chapter of real estate’s exploration of blockchain in the industry. In September 2021 Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL), a multinational commercial real estate company, made a deal with blockchain platform VeChain to promote more sustainable practices in the sector.

More recently, REIA Western Australia introduced ‘mandatory blockchain training’ for its real estate agencies. The May 2022 initiative sought to aid the industry’s adoption and evolution as crypto and blockchain progressed into the mainstream.

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Australia Blockchain

Blockchain Could Help Aussie Government Recover $45 Million Annually, Report

A world-first Australian blockchain pilot could be the answer to Australia’s lost excise tax revenue issue. The collaboration between the federal government and consulting company Convergence.Tech will mark the first radical tax system overhaul in a century, addressing the hundreds of millions of dollars lost in uncollected excise each year.

Alcohol on the Blockchain

The pilot targets one of Australia’s significantly haemorrhaging industries: alcohol. According to Australian Taxation Office (ATO) estimates, alcohol excise duty should bring in A$6.5 billion annually for the government. However, the ATO estimates that 9 percent of this figure currently cannot be collected – equating to A$582 million in lost revenue.

The Pilot Grants Program has tasked Convergence.Tech with leading exploration into reducing regulatory compliance burdens for businesses via blockchain tech, according to Australia’s new National Blockchain Roadmap.

The resulting pilot Blockchain Excise Program can track excisable goods from production through the supply chain to their eventual sale. The platform will use a private blockchain to allow the industry to provide a real-time ledger of alcohol transactions directly to the regulator.

This type of technology … allows us to focus our efforts, have a differentiated approach and hopefully reduce compliance costs for the legitimate operators.

Anthony Barnard, director, Excise Centre, ATO

According to analysis by KPMG, this tax system overhaul could potentially recover A$45 million in lost excise revenue each year. Anthony Barnard, director of the ATO’s Excise Centre, says that the “prospect of being able to trace goods through the supply chain is very exciting for the ATO”.

A$DC Powers the Pilot

However, a relationship with fiat currency must be established prior to the implementation of any of this technology. Thus Convergence.Tech and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) have been working together to integrate the platform with A$DC – ANZ’s Australian dollar stablecoin. Doing so will provide digital assets with financial liquidity and enable automatically triggered remittance of the excise duty liability to the regulator as alcohol moves through the supply chain:

https://bluenotes.anz.com/posts/2022/06/anz-institutional-news-stablecoin-tax-excise-blockchain
How the pilot functions. Source: ANZ Bluenotes

ANZ will also be able to offer wholesalers and distillers digitised inventory via custodian services, alongside remittance and refunds through highly secure digital wallets and immediate transfers.

The pilot is currently trialling this innovation with spirits; however, it could be extended to beer and ultimately real estate, hydrogen, fuel and tobacco, thereby reaping larger benefits for the relevant industries, taxpayers and regulators alike.

Blockchain and the Aussie Government

In July 2021, the Australian government’s Blockchain Grants Program allocated A$5.6 million towards supply chain pilots. The goal was to explore how blockchain could positively influence Aussie supply chains by aiding companies to navigate regulatory hurdles. Everledger, a digital transparency company, received A$3 million, and Convergence.Tech A$2.6 million.

In additional positive news, the federal government included blockchain in its co-called ‘Blueprint for Critical Technologies’ in November 2021. The blueprint is a strategy to both protect and promote essential technology, and the inclusion of blockchain has signposted the government’s position on the matter.

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Blockchain Crypto News DeFi Solana

Solana Challenges Poor Safety Rating from DeFi Watchdog

Solana has rejected the safety ranking of “second-worst” that it received from DeFi Safety this week after the DeFi watchdog raised concerns over the platform’s frequent downtime and unsatisfactory node structure:

Lack of Transparency Cited

There are five different criteria that DeFi Safety uses in its blockchain evaluations: security and testing, node count, node diversity, documentation, and supporting software. The concerns raised by the watchdog predominantly revolve around the lack of transparency from the network’s archive node, alongside Solana’s processes for storing the blockchain’s data.

Beyond the platform’s insufficient node clients (software aiding users in connecting to the blockchain), Solana’s repeated downtime was a decisive factor for DeFi Safety.

Solana presents systemic technical risk. There is no doubt about it. User funds, in our eyes, are at risk. We penalise them heavily for downtime because users cannot access their funds when the chain goes down.

DeFi Safety Twitter – @DeFiSafety

Presently, Solana has only a single piece of software for its node operators, which DeFi Safety claims has not been audited since 2019. However, the report isn’t entirely negative as the watchdog has given the platform credit for aspects where it performs well.

Credit where it’s due, Solana has made significant strides in validation decentralisation. Thanks to an impressive program that incentivises many validators on other continents, Solana scores well on this point.

DeFi Safety Twitter – @DeFiSafety

More than 15 blockchains and 240 decentralised finance protocols have been reviewed by DeFi Safety so far. Ronin blockchain, Axie Infinity’s popular play-to-earn gaming platform, was ranked the worst. Ronin was hacked for US$625 million in March, in what was the biggest DeFi hack to date.

Solana’s Plagued Past

Heavy downtime has plagued Solana for some time, with several instances over past months inconveniencing users. On January 6, Solana crashed temporarily following a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack which caused massive transaction delays. Upsettingly, a second crash followed in the same week. Solana denied it was due to another potential DDoS attack, claiming the downtime was the result of an increase in high compute transactions.

Last month, Solana was down for seven hours after bots attacked ‘Candy Machine’, the platform’s NFT minting tool, causing four million transaction requests that the platform could not keep up with.

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Alchemy Pay Binance Coinbase Crypto News FTX OpenSea

Forbes Releases Rich List for Crypto and Blockchain Billionaires

Forbes’ crypto billionaires list has grown by seven this year, increasing to 19 members, though these new additions have not knocked Binance founder and CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao off the top spot.

Recent DLT News Review: New Launches by Forbes and Visa ...
Forbes releases its crypto billionaires list this week.

The Forbes list expanded by 58 percent this year. When it was first compiled in 2018, the bar to qualify was set at US$350 million. However, as the industry has since expanded exponentially, only billionaires qualify in 2022.

Binance founder and CEO ‘CZ’ Zhao is holding tight to his top position on the list for another year. Despite Forbes downgrading CZ’s wealth estimate from US$96 billion to $65 billion, he is still several lengths out in front:

In second place is FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, with a current estimated worth of US$24 billion. Bankman-Fried has grand intentions to donate much of his wealth to charities, keeping only 1 percent of his annual earnings each year, stating “I don’t want a yacht”. Brian Armstrong, CEO and founder of CoinBase, took third place with a net worth of US$6.6 billion.

Among the handful of newcomers are FTX’s co-founder Gary Wang, OpenSea co-founders Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer, Song Chi-Hyung (founder of Upbit), Kim Hyoung-nyon (Upbit’s EVP), and Nikil Viswanathan and Joseph Lau, co-founders of Alchemy.

Crypto Billionaires Line Their Pockets

For a select few, crypto investments have paid off immensely. Aussie billionaire Alex Waislitz bought crypto investments that reportedly increased in value by 400 percent. Nicknamed “Australia’s Warren Buffett”, Waislitz invested through a pre-IPO (initial public offering), which turned out to be a very smart move.

Billionaire PayPal founder Peter Thiel, on the other hand, has stated that he is disappointed he didn’t invest more before the boom.

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Blockchain Crypto Art Cryptocurrencies Events NFTs

Emergence Conference in Sydney to Explore Blockchain and Crypto Opportunities

Sydney is set to host a three-day conference exploring potential opportunities for blockchain and crypto technology. The Emergence22 conference (March 9-11) at the Fullerton Hotel in the city’s Martin Place will feature more than 40 guest speakers, with free virtual passes on offer for those who wish to attend digitally.

https://www.emergence22.com/
Emergence22 conference banner ad. Source: Emergence22

From Fintech to Web3 and NFT Art

Day one of Emergence Sydney is dedicated to discussion on renewable energy and the power grid, following a keynote address. Attendees can expect day two to touch on fintech and health care, and day three totally devoted to crypto with sessions on Web3 and NFTs and a lengthy list of industry guest speakers. The conference will also feature what Binance Australia is calling “the first NFT art gallery”.

There are free virtual passes to attend online, with live attendance tickets priced at A$101. For a more in-depth rundown of what’s available across the three-day event, access Emergence Sydney’s itinerary online. If you are looking to attend in person, limited tickets are still available.

More Notable Crypto Dates for 2022

March is action-packed in crypto terms, with several partnerships, announcements, rebrands and conferences greenlit. Most of this month’s live events are online, though we’ve compiled a full list of dates to make it easy for you to keep up.

The Gold Coast is set to host Australia’s largest crypto convention in September. This not-to-be-missed weekend will feature guest speakers, workshops, networkers, and more. Crypto News Australia has two weekend conference passes to give away. Visit our Twitter page for info on how to enter the draw:

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Crypto News Sports Tezos

Manchester United to Partner with Tezos for $27 Million Per Year Sponsorship Deal

English Premier League football club Manchester United is expected to announce a promotions partnership with blockchain platform Tezos. According to sports news website theathletic.com, the deal is worth US$27 million annually and will place Tezos front and centre on United’s training kit.

Tezos Replaces Aon as Man United’s Training Sponsor

Tezos is said to have agreed to a multi-year contract with Manchester United. While an official announcement is pending, Man U has reportedly been filming promotional material at its training centre.

https://madaboutepl.net/2020/10/team-news-and-predicted-manchester-united-lineup-vs-psg/
Manchester United players celebrate a goal. Source: Mad About EPL

This comes as American insurance company Aon’s eight-year contract with the club concludes. United has been without a training kit sponsor for the current season, following the collapse of negotiations with The Hut Group. The Manchester-based company withdrew its interest over concerns regarding potential fan boycotts of United’s commercial partners as part of a protest against the club’s ownership by the Glazer family, who have placed it in considerable debt since taking over in 2005.

United has been in discussion with several other companies, including others in the blockchain field, for the sponsorship deal. However, it is expected the Tezos announcement will be finalised in coming weeks. Manchester United and Tezos have declined to comment on the deal.

Crypto Extends Its Reach in Sports Sponsorship

Tezos is not new to sports sponsorships. Notably, it became the first blockchain sponsor of the New York Mets baseball team in May 2021 and is in partnership with Red Bull Racing to develop an NFT experience for the team. The company has also joined the line-up of sponsors for McLaren Racing across IndyCar, Formula 1 and esports.

However, Tezos isn’t the only blockchain making sponsorship moves in the sporting world. In August 2021, meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin entered a partnership with Watford FC (another popular EPL club). This million-dollar agreement saw Watford players wear the Dogecoin logo for the remainder of the season.

Coinbase has also become an official sponsor of the NBA and is looking to break into other professional basketball leagues including the WNBA and the NBA 2K league.

Additionally, Dutch football club PSV Eindhoven entered a deal in August 2021 with Anycoin Direct to be paid entirely in bitcoin, helping to promote cryptocurrency adoption throughout Europe.

By Lauren Claxton, Crypto News Guest Author

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Australia Bitcoin Blockchain New South Wales

Australian Ranch Awarded Blockchain-based Soil Carbon Credits from Microsoft

microsoft

Major tech giant Microsoft recently announced ambitious plans to cut down on its carbon footprint and implement 100 percent renewable energy at its data centers by 2025.  Furthermore, the company plans to incentivize its suppliers to reduce their carbon footprint by rewarding certain sustainability projects like reforestation, soil sequestration, and bioenergy with carbon capture storage (BECC).

Soil sequestration is the process of increasing the amount of carbon dioxide stored in soil, thereby reducing the amount present within the atmosphere. To do so, cattle ranchers implement special grazing practices with the hope of achieving between a 4 and 6 percent concentration of soil organic carbon in their land.

The environmental regeneration project, Regen Network, built on the Cosmos (ATOM) blockchain, was designed to reward farmers that increase the carbon concentration in their soil. It does so by verifying a farm’s soil sequestration and issuing it tokens, known as CarbonPlus Grasslands credits, funded by corporations that wish to reduce their carbon footprint. Microsoft has partnered with the Regen Network to purchase 43,338 metric tons worth of carbon credits for the Wilmot Cattle Co, an Australian-based ranch owner. The initiative was originally launched by natural capital firm Impact AG and has now been bought by Microsoft.

In addition to reducing its carbon footprint and supporting companies that do the same, Microsoft also hopes to eliminate an equal amount of carbon that it’s been responsible for producing since the company began in 1975. The corporation has set a date of 2050 to achieve this goal, using a combination of negative emission technologies (NET) like BECCs, direct air capture (DAC), and other methods.

Tech Giants Call for Climate Change Action

Microsoft is not the only tech giant calling for more aggressive climate change action.

Elon Musk, CEO of fellow tech giant Tesla, famously announced a $100 million prize to whoever could provide the best carbon capture technology. The often controversial businessman has been a long time supporter of climate change action, environmental causes, and blockchain technology. 

Last week, Musk finally made clear his support for Bitcoin when he changed his Twitter profile to the hashtag #Bitcoin. He followed up the change with the tweet “In retrospect, it was inevitable,” appearing to confirm the widespread belief that he would one day buy Bitcoin. Immediately following the news the digital asset enjoyed a brief 20 percent rise in price, touching the $38,000 level. However, it quickly corrected back down to current levels, indicating strong bearish sentiment within crypto markets.