Fintech vs Banking: Which sector controls the future of money?
There could be trouble ahead at the top of the financial market arena. In the red corner is Banking — one of the world’s most pre-eminent industries represented by a handful of stalwart banks, who’ve been around for centuries and considered the bedrock of a modern financially-savvy society. In the blue corner is Technology — in the form of a cloud of hovering tech firms, buzzing around consumers and serving up the most connectible and value-added premium products ever seen. Most innovations that have improved financial services have been down to “financial technology” or “fintech” for short. Separating the two is a wall of compliance and a patchwork of regulatory […]
Digital currency exchange opens Australia’s first OTC desk for institutions
Independent Reserve, the Australian Digital Currency exchange, has opened Australia’s first over-the-counter trading desk for institutions wanting to make large digital currency trades. CEO Adrian Przelozny said the lack of block trading venues had been a barrier for institutions to participate in digital currency investment. “Digital currency markets are just like any other asset class, in that when the market sees a big trade coming through it will move the price against whoever is making that trade,” he said. “In equity markets they solve that problem with dark pools and sales trading desks, but there is no digital currency equivalent in Australia as yet. By establishing an OTC desk with […]
Fintech Australia starts recruitment for new CEO as Danielle Szetho announces resignation
After nearly two years driving the rapid growth of Australia’s fintech industry, Danielle Szetho announced her resignation last week as CEO of FinTech Australia. FinTech Australia has now begun the search for a new CEO, while at the same time appointing Sarah Worboys as interim CEO from 19 March while the recruitment process is underway. “It has been an honour and a privilege to have served Australia’s fintech industry as its inaugural industry association CEO, and to have been part of its founding journey and establishment as a real force for positive policy change and industry growth,” Ms Szetho said. “With the support of the board, our team and our […]
Bitcoin Trading: Where to Start?
Bitcoin divides opinion. Some think it’s the most revolutionary development in global finance ever, whilst others are all too eager to demonize it as “fraud” or Ponzi Scheme. Whatever your opinion of the world’s first truly decentralized money, one thing is certain: the price is incredibly volatile. It’s not uncommon for Bitcoin to see 20% moves in just 24 hours. In fact, the largest swing ever in the price of Bitcoin was in 2013. It dropped from $233 to $67 in a single night. For investors, a crash of 71% such as the one experienced that April will have been heart-wrenching to endure. However, not all would have lost money […]
Cashwerkz term deposit datafeeds now available through XPlan (IRESS).
Cashwerkz now provides a direct feed into XPlan, which enables advisers who hold their clients’ term deposits with Cashwerkz to map this portfolio information into their clients’ XPlan record. The datafeed from Cashwerkz will provide advisers with the ability to comprehensively measure asset allocation, cash exposure and liquidity levels from a total portfolio perspective. This provides a great opportunity for advisers to actively manage their client’s term deposits, enabling them to offer clients greater choice and potentially better outcomes for cash investments. “This is an exciting development for Cashwerkz to further service prospective and current loyal advisers who rely on Cashwerkz for their client’s cash investments” said Hector Ortiz, CEO […]
What caused the Cryptocurrency Boom of 2017?
Bitcoin, which is a digital currency (cryptocurrency), saw a 2000% increase in value from January 1, 2017, to December 16, 2017. Today, cryptocurrencies are the world’s fastest-growing asset class with a market cap of $645 billion, up from just $15 billion in 2017. The lightning rise of Bitcoin led to an accusation by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who called it a “fraud worse than tulip bulbs,” referring to the Dutch tulip bulb bubble that burst in 1637. Other critics like investor Warren Buffet labeled Bitcoin a “mirage,” and cautioned people to “stay away from it.” These are both serious accusations. So why are some people so critical of cryptocurrencies? Up […]
Is Qantas a cryptocurrency in the making?
Qantas points are already Australia’s de facto second currency. Switching to blockchain would make it a real one. In 2017, Qantas (ASX:QAN) made more money selling points than it did selling international flights. Qantas is an airline; only madmen would call it a tech company. Yet over the past decade, that’s precisely what Qantas has become. In 2007, the company’s loyalty program accounted for 11% of pre-tax profits. In the year to December, that figure has grown to 23%. The Loyalty division earned $369m in pre-tax profits compared to $327m from the International division. Qantas’s Frequent Flyer program has 11 million members – nearly half the Australian population – and […]
How to safely buy and sell cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency exchanges and theft have been regular news since Bitcoin went big, but that hasn’t deterred investors: The number of digital cryptocurrency wallets in existence by the end of 2017 was 21.5 million. That’s a huge increase from 2015, when only 5.4 million wallets were around. Along with the new popularity of cryptocurrency has come a new breed of cryptocurrency criminals. In 2016 $95 million worth of Bitcoin was stolen, and in 2017 the amount stolen exploded: $115 million was lost to phishing, $103 million to exploitation of software and storage, $7.4 million to hacks, and $4,000 to Ponzi schemes. That’s a lot of lost cryptocurrency—so how are criminals doing […]
