Bitcoin spikes after Japan says it’s a legal payment method
Bitcoin trades up 2.8% at $1,133 a coin as of 7:08 a.m. ET on Monday. The cryptocurrency’s gains come after Japan announced on Friday that bitcoin would be accepted as a legal payment method beginning on April 1, 2017. It’s the first bit of good news for bitcoin in quite some time. Recent chatter in the market has centered around developers threatening a “hard fork” that would split the currency in two. Additionally, the US Securities and Exchange Commission rejected two bitcoin ETFs in March, saying that it did not find the proposals “to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the […]
ASIC to offer blockchain guidance to businesses
This year businesses will move from talking about the potential of distributed ledger technology inspired by Bitcoin’s blockchain to actually implementing and trialling it, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s chairperson, Greg Medcraft, today told the organisation’s annual forum. As a consequence, ASIC is planning to shortly release an information sheet for businesses that are implementing and testing distributed ledger solutions, Medcraft said in remarks prepared for the forum. “The information sheet provides a framework to help industry and ASIC to assess whether using the solution would meet the relevant technology and risk management requirements,” the ASIC chairperson said. “This information sheet will be relevant for both existing licensees and […]
Don’t write off bitcoin yet, despite blow to Winklevoss plan
It seems that bitcoin’s prophets of doom celebrated prematurely after the US Securities and Exchange Commission comprehensively knocked back the Winklevoss brothers’ bid to create an exchange-traded fund tied to the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The obituaries written over the weekend made much of Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’s feud with Mark Zuckerberg over founder’s rights to Facebook, the world’s most popular social networking website. “They lost on Facebook; now they’ve lost on bitcoin,” the twins’ updated narrative said. Not so fast. Sure, the bitcoin price collapsed by 18 per cent after it had motored past the price for an ounce of gold in the week preceding the SEC’s […]
The Benzinga Global Fintech Awards – entries closing soon
The Benzinga Global Fintech Awards May 11, 2017 in New York, is the premier event in Fintech, celebrating financial innovation from around the world. The Benzinga Awards is a competition to showcase the companies with the most impressive technology, who are paving the future in financial services and capital markets! Applications are still open, so apply now before the March 17 deadline. At the event, you’ll get a first look at groundbreaking technology, innovative platforms, and the chance to network freely with top industry professionals. Over 550 FinTech CEOs, C-suite executives of financial institutions, VCs, press, and others attended the 2016 Benzinga Fintech Awards. 45 exclusive exhibitor spots on the show floor […]
Bitcoin price plunges after SEC rejection
Regulator says no to first ETF to track the digital currency. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has denied a request to list what would have been the first US exchange-traded fund built to track Bitcoin, sending the price of the digital currency plunging. Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have been trying for more than three years to convince the SEC to let them bring the Bitcoin ETF to market. CBOE’s Bats exchange had applied to list the ETF. In response to the rejection, the digital currency’s price fell as much as 18 percent in trading before rebounding slightly. It last traded down 7.8 percent to US$1098. Bitcoin had scaled […]
Bitcoin is now more valuable than gold
The currency’s success is in part due to its popularity in Asia. The Bitcoin digital currency has exceeded the value of gold for the first time in history, hitting a high of $US1,278.21 while the price of an ounce of gold was worth $US1,236.10 at the time of writing. The value of Bitcoin has been steadily increasing over the last three months, rising 30%, while the value of gold has decreased, suggesting people are starting to accept the digital currency as a serious way to pay for goods. Bitcoin’s value has risen as a result of increased demand in China, despite a crackdown by the government, which claimed the currency […]
Bitcoin worth more than gold as price reaches all-time high
The crypto currency known for its anonymity and decentralised nature reached an all-time high on Friday afternoon, making it more valuable than gold in Australia. Bitcoin was trading above $1634 on bitcoin.com.au, as gold hovered around $1620 an ounce. The currency has been surprisingly steady this year, remaining above the arbitrary $US1000 mark ($1297) for its longest ever stretch, according to researcher CoinDesk. Industry heads point to the nearing deadline of a decision by Securities Exchange Commission in the US to introduce the first of three bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF). “There is a lot of excitement that the Winklevoss twins’ ETF is coming close to approval,” says Asher Tan, CEO […]
Dart aims for a United States of Fintech
Australian tech entrepreneurs have launched a new digital home for the global fintech community, providing an agnostic platform that founders hope will one day become the seat for an inclusive and encyclopaedic fintech commonwealth. Founder and CEO, Cameron Dart, told AB+F that the International FinTech platform, combines a web portal and directory to meet growing demand from the global community to have a dedicated, online and natively fintech presence for a sector that transcends borders. “We like to think of it as the beginnings of a LinkedIn for fintech,” Dart said. This week’s launch, built on the back of the original Australian FinTech, already encompasses more than 1,000 global fintech companies […]
