Aussie Bitcoin exchanges now need to register with the govt
Operators of Australian exchanges for Bitcoin and other digital currencies will now need to register with the country’s anti-money laundering agency after new legislation passed through parliament. AUSTRAC has been given the authority to monitor local cryptocurrency exchanges through the new Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2017. The bill was introduced in August to combat the threat of serious financial crime, in the wake of revelations about the Commonwealth Bank’s breaches of money laundering laws. It was also spurred on by global watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) findings of significant deficiencies in Australia’s anti-money laundering framework two years prior. The new law, which passed through the senate yesterday, for […]
Bitcoin shakes off bubble warnings in race past $US16,000 mark
Bitcoin touched $US16,000 for the first time on Thursday, extending its advance this month to almost 70 per cent as concerns mounted the cryptocurrency’s rapid rise masks risks. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency is surging on expectations that new bitcoin derivatives products expected to begin trading this month will boost mainstream demand. Some of the world’s biggest brokerages criticized those plans on Wednesday, telling regulators the contracts have been rushed to market without enough due diligence. Bitcoin jumped as much as 23 per cent to $US16,374, before paring gains in New York trading, according to Bloomberg prices. That takes the digital currency’s surge this year to more than 1,500 per cent […]
Australia’s stock exchange is moving to a blockchain style system for trade settlements
Australia’s equity market the ASX has decided to replace its CHESS system to record changes in shareholding with distributed ledger technology found in blockchain. The global equities exchange community has been watching the ASX as it develops and tests a system to cut the cost of transactions, and make them faster and more secure. Blockchain uses computers with advanced encryption to keep track of transactions, giving confidence to both buyers and sellers. Transactions of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin are tracked used blockchain. Dominic Stevens, the ASX managing director and CEO, says the exchange has been carefully examining distributed ledger technology for almost two-and-a-half years. “We believe that using DLT (distributed ledger […]
Commonwealth Bank to deliver ‘world-first’ issuance of a bond on the blockchain
The bank’s head of blockchain has revealed the Commonwealth Bank is currently implementing with a large world issuer in what will be a ‘world-first’ issuance of a bond on the blockchain that it hopes to bring to market in 2018. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is expecting to be the first to implement the issuance of a bond on the blockchain, and hopes to launch it into the market early next year with help from a “very large” world issuer. Although the details are limited, the bank’s head of blockchain Sophie Gilder told the GMIC Sydney conference on Tuesday that the launch will be the culmination of CBA investing […]
Bitcoin now bigger than Buffett, Boeing and New Zealand economy
Bitcoin’s extraordinary price surge means its market capitalisation now exceeds the annual output of whole economies, and the estimated worth of some of the world’s top billionaires. With the debate over its bubble status still raging, the flagship cryptocurrency continued its march higher on Monday, solidifying above $US11,000 and bringing its climb this year to more than 1,000 per cent. With market tracker Coinmarketcap.com putting the total value of all bitcoins in circulation at $US190 billion ($250 billion), it’s come a long way from August, when one coin could buy you a hefty supply of avocados. Here are five things that have been eclipsed by bitcoin in terms of market […]
Do you know how your Bitcoin will be taxed?
Bitcoin has enjoyed a meteoric rise and could be in for a similarly spectacular fall.Either way, trading in Bitcoin has tax consequences. And staying out of trouble with the Australian Tax Office means knowing whether you are a hobbyist or serious investor, advisers say. As far as the ATO is concerned, there are broadly two reasons for purchasing Bitcoin: personal consumption and speculative gain. How you are taxed will depend on which category you fall into and, most importantly, how the ATO will view your activity. Above all, every single transaction needs to be fully documented, including not only “what”‘ is purchased, but “why” it was purchased, Hall & Wilcox […]
Bitcoin is safe, sustainable and here to stay
“Tulips”, “Ponzi scheme”, “fraud”, “only used by criminals and drug dealers’” have been some of the descriptions of Bitcoin in the past few weeks. Whether or not “fake news” is driving the price, the mystique of Bitcoin is enhanced by the fact that its “true” value cannot be determined using traditional financial analytical techniques. That mystique, however, does not justify the gulf between the bad press and what the facts show. For instance, former ASX boss Elmer Funke Kupper’s imputation that Bitcoin is “trade in drugs and other illegal products” drew instant scorn from Marco Santori, a regulatory expert and adviser to the International Monetary Fund at Cooley, a New York law firm. […]
VCs target Australian blockchain and cryptocurrency firms with $44m in funds
Start-ups with designs on making it big in the fast-growing world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies will be targeted by two new funds focusing on the Australian market, with almost $44 million to spend. Apollo Capital, founded by venture capital fund Dominent Venture Partners’ Domenic Carosa and Holger Arians and Wall Street veteran Henrik Andersson, is attempting to raise a minimum of $30 million and will specialise in crypto asset investments, which it defines as digital currencies, blockchain-based assets and initial coin offerings. At the same time an $80 million global blockchain development fund, NEM.io Foundation, is expanding to Australia, with its global director of partnerships and strategic alliances, Jason Lee, […]
