Brisbane entrepreneurs make buying bitcoin easy
Digital Surge has removed all of the complications of other exchanges, making the purchase and trade of Bitcoin as simple as internet banking.
Wall Street has helped eliminate one of bitcoin’s biggest problems, and it could fulfil ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision’
Many crypto enthusiast long for a day when bitcoin will replace the entire financial system. But in the meantime, Wall Street might actually be helping the digital asset’s long term adoption, one firm says. New data from SFOX, the cryptocurrency trading technology firm, shows that 2018 has witnessed a drop-off in price variations on digital asset exchanges. The firm argues that trend is tied to the entrance of large Wall Street firms into the market, which makes it more stable. “Before institutional firms were actively trading crypto or heavily involved (before 2018) bitcoin price differences between exchanges varied as high as 4.5%,” said Danny Kim, head of growth at SFOX. […]
Why Brisbane is the cryptocurrency capital of the country
Queensland is banking on cryptocurrency to boost tourism in the state, with a sizeable grant given to a Brisbane-based start-up that will enable visitors to pay for every aspect of their travel using digital currencies like Bitcoin. The local start-up, TravelbyBit, has received two rounds of funding from the state government and, in turn, has transformed its hometown of Brisbane into one of the most crypto-friendly cities in the world. TravelbyBit’s digital currency point-of-sale system has been deployed to over 200 merchants across Australia, with at least 60 per cent of those located in Queensland. In May, Brisbane Airport became the first in the world to accept cryptocurrency, enabling travellers […]
Cryptocurrency regulation in Australia: Pains and Gains
We start this analysis with an unusual positive: cryptocurrency regulation in Australia is moving in the right direction, and the latest legislative developments regarding cryptocurrencies should be welcomed by the general public as a step in the right direction. Offering protection to crypto consumers and investors, and providing legal certainty to blockchain-related businesses – without extinguishing the fire of blockchain innovation and adoption – is an incredibly hard thing to do, and the Australian authorities seem to be very active and willing to achieve this balance. The Land of Plenty may not be the biggest player in the game, but it sure is a significant one. Let us take a […]
Could Bitcoin replace Credit Cards?
Growing competition in the retail sector – and the possibility that the digital currency could help merchants lower transaction fees that cut into profit margins — could induce them to replace credit cards with Bitcoin. “From a merchant perspective, Bitcoin has the advantage of not having large fees from credit card companies that cut into profits,” writes Ian DeMartino, in The Bitcoin Guidebook: How To Obtain, Invest, And Spend The World’s First Decentralized Cryptocurrency. “Credit card companies typically charge between three to four percent for each transaction, a fee the merchants normally take on themselves. For merchants with small profit margins, that fee could be up half or more of […]
Why this un-banked Kiwi crypto startup has relocated to Sydney
Kiwi cryptocurrency broker startup Cryptosaver has relocated from its Auckland birthplace to Sydney, with the founders claiming they have been unable to open a bank account for the business in New Zealand. Founded a year ago by James Viggiano, Denym Bird and Jack Daffron, Cryptosaver is an investment platform for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, designed to make it easy for users to purchase cryptocurrency and track gains on their investments. Co-founder James Viggiano, who is now based in Sydney while his co-founders work out of Auckland, tells StartupSmart the startup was initially able to open an account with one of the New Zealand banks, but that bank soon closed their account. […]
The key to investor confidence in cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency markets plummeted this week with the market capital of the entire cryptocurrency market falling below $200 billion USD for the first time this year. This comes off the back of a barren 6 months for the cryptocurrency market which has seen that market capital more than halve in that time, a far cry from the stratospheric heights it reached at the end of 2017. Much of the recent negative market sentiment has been attributed to persistent reluctance by the US Securities & Exchange Commission to approve a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) with the most recent decision by the SEC to delay a decision expected this week to the […]
Blockchain to bring clarity, liquidity: academic
Blockchain technology will radically transform the economy around us and the Australian Securities Exchange’s switch to it is just the tip of the iceberg, academic Chris Berg says. Blockchain – the technology that makes bitcoin possible – has “a large number of applications across the economy for much more than things like cryptocurrencies”, he says. Berg is a senior research fellow at the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub, an adjunct fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs, and an academic fellow with the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance. He says blockchain offers almost limitless possibilities, in contrast to Bitcoin, which he argues is less of a sure thing for the future. “I’m obviously […]
