Here’s fintech’s secret pitch to the RBA to create an Australian dollar cryptocurrency
A group of fintech startups have submitted cases to the Reserve Bank of Australia and the federal Treasury to demonstrate the need for a new government-endorsed Australian dollar cryptocurrency. Business Insider can reveal three fintechs, through industry body FinTech Australia and the government’s Fintech Advisory Group, presented use-cases for a new Digital Australian Dollar – the DAD – which would be pegged to the physical Australian dollar and compete against the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum. “The Digital Australian Dollar would be a huge step to grow our vibrant blockchain and digital currencies industry,” said FinTech Australia chief executive Danielle Szetho. “Having key stakeholders like the RBA involved in further […]
Bitcoin Gold: The world’s biggest cryptocurrency looks set to split again
Another bitcoin split is in the works, as a group of developers plans to establish an offshoot called Bitcoin Gold (BTG). According to bitcoin developer Jimmy Song, the aim is for BTG to become “a better gold than bitcoin”. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency is commonly compared to the precious metal, as investors debate its merit as a safe-haven store of value. Back in August, analysts at Morgan Stanley made an interesting appraisal of the similarities and differences between the two assets. Bitcoin Gold developers are planning to establish a hard-fork on October 25 and the new version of the currency is scheduled to be in operation by the start of […]
What is Bitcoin, and how does it work?
If you find the concept of Bitcoin confusing, you are not alone. The virtual currency has been a constant source of controversy, but it is still not well understood. On Tuesday, one Bitcoin was worth USD$4,394. Are Bitcoins those coins I see in photographs? No. Those coins are novelty items that newspapers used in photographs because they couldn’t find anything else to illustrate their stories about Bitcoin. A Bitcoin is a digital token — with no physical backing — that can be sent electronically from one user to another, anywhere in the world. A Bitcoin can be divided out to eight decimal places, so you can send someone 0.00000001 Bitcoins. […]
Ignore bitcoin at your peril, naysayers warned
It’s taken three weeks for bitcoin to erase the losses it suffered when JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon dismissed the digital currency as a fraud.
Bitcoin ‘more than just a fad,’ Morgan Stanley CEO says
Not every Wall Street bank chief is bearish on bitcoin. Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman takes a more measured view on the cryptocurrency than crosstown rival Jamie Dimon, the JPMorgan Chase & Co. head who earlier this month called it “a fraud” that’s in a speculative bubble worse than tulip bulbs. Bitcoin is “certainly something more than just a fad,” Gorman said Wednesday at an event held by the Wall Street Journal. “The concept of anonymous currency is a very interesting concept — interesting for the privacy protections it gives people, interesting because what it says to the central banking system about controlling that.” The digital currency has […]
The world’s first blockchain smartphone is in development
Sirin Labs, the company behind the US$14,000 Solarin smartphone, is now developing an open-source model that runs on a fee-less blockchain. The Finney — named in honor of bitcoin pioneer Hal Finney — will be the only smartphone in the world that’s fully secure and safe enough to hold cryptographic coins. Or so says the company, which is launching a crowdsale event this October (date to be confirmed) to support the phone’s development. According to Sirin, all Finney devices (there’s an all-in-one PC coming, too) will form an independent blockchain network powered by IOTA’s Tangle technology. The network will operate without centralized backbones or mining centers cluttering up the transaction […]
Want to learn more about Ethereum? Ethereum Co-Founder explains his cryptocurrency
Etherum co-founder Vitalik Buterin was one of the key speakers at this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt, which was held last week in San Francisco. Asked to explain what Ethereum is to the average user, Buterin defined a blockchain from the perspective of those who understand its current most popular use — in cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin. Buterin said that a blockchain can keep track of how much money a person has at any given time — or what he calls “cryptoeconomics.” But, while that’s the initial use of a blockchain, Buterin and his colleagues have found that such a decentralized system of keeping tabs on transaction records can extend to a far […]
Why China’s ban on Bitcoin may be temporary
China’s ban on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may be temporary, to appease international agencies and hardcore communist members ahead of the upcoming Communist Party convention. China’s big government and banks cannot tolerate Bitcoin. It threatens their very existence, as it was previously written in a piece here. That’s in the long term, though, when Bitcoin has the potential to replace the yuan in everyday transactions, and as a monetary asset. At present and in the immediate future, however, the size of the Bitcoin economy is far too small to be a real threat to the Beijing government and the banking system it owns and manages. That’s why something else must […]
