Australia pushes ISO for blockchain standards
Australia’s peak standard-setting body, Standards Australia, is calling on the International Standards Organisation to begin work on global standards for blockchain. The organisation has asked the Geneva-based ISO to begin working on standards for blockchain, the technology behind digital currency bitcoin, offering the assistance of Australian expertise. The ASX has recently taken a stake in New York-based Digital Asset Holdings, which is working on the potential to use its blockchain technology to help replace its CHESS sharemarket clearing system, while the Australian banks are also reviewing the potential uses of the distributed ledger technology. “We have had sufficient stakeholder support to put this proposal to the ISO,” Standards Australia’s acting […]
Winklies, Dorsey Hunt Oz Biz
New York’s Winklevoss twins, the ex-Olympic rowers who famously – and unsuccessfully – sued Facebook for a fortune in 2011, claiming founder Mark Zuckerberg had stolen their idea, have confirmed plans to bring their bitcoin technology to Australia. The twins – Tyler and Cameron – who have since successfully set up a well-regarded bitcoin exchange in New York – have reportedly been negotiating with Melbourne-based Trimantium to help bring their blockchain technology Down Under. Their presence might well be welcomed here, given the problems the local industry has been experiencing, with one outfit, Bitcoin Group, recently refused entry to the ASX for want of an acceptable financial report (CDN, Feb. […]
DigitalX Ltd tests blockchain based app to send money overseas
DigitalX Ltd (ASX:DCC), a blockchain software solutions company is gaining positive feedback from the expanded phase 2 beta-test of its AirPocket money transfer app that was conducted in the U.S. and Dominican Republic. The Phase 2 trial allowed users to transfer money from nine selected states in the U.S. to the Dominican Republic. AirPocket utilises the Bitcoin blockchain technology to transfer money. The majority of the respondents in the beta-test voted that AirPocket was efficient in sending money, and it was easier to receive money using the app than through traditional money transfer channels. The respondents also found the money transfer fees associated with the AirPocket app to be competitive […]
Global regulators move closer to regulating fintech
Global regulators have moved closer to regulating the fledgling fintech sector, which includes blockchain technology that supports bitcoin, to ensure the industry’s rapid growth does not pose any risks to the financial system. The Financial Stability Board (FSB), which met in Tokyo on Thursday, has agreed on a framework for categorising different components of fintech and assessing their potential risks. The FSB, made up of central bankers, regulators and finance ministry officials from the Group of 20 economies, is looking at fintech partly in response to uncertainty over whether it will “disrupt” traditional banking. Some big investment banks, including Goldman Sachs , are already investing heavily in fintech to avoid […]
How to embrace change and survive digital disruption
Digital disruption is a trend that’s here to stay and no industry is safe. Traditional industries like manufacturing, transport, retail, tourism and hospitality, print media and entertainment may have been hit first, and hit hard, but it’s only a matter of time before others, including the advice industry, feel the heat. The banking and finance industry could lose almost a quarter of its revenue to fintech disrupters by 2021, based on a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The report, ‘Blurred lines: How Fintech is shaping financial services’, says the disruption of the financial sector is already underway. It’s currently reshaping the nature of consumer banking and payments, and a second wave […]
Scott Morrison scraps GST on Bitcoin, cuts fintech red tape
Treasurer Scott Morrison said digital currencies such as Bitcoin will be exempt from GST and restrictions on crowdfunding eased, under changes to boost the fintech sector. The government will also reduce tax barriers for venture capital investing in fintech companies and is working with the corporate regulator on a “regulatory sandbox” for start-ups that will allow them to focus on developing new products first and regulatory requirements later. Other measures include tasking the Productivity Commission with deciding whether major banks should be forced to share customers’ repayments data with credit bureaus and creating a new “entrepreneur’s visa”, which was announced in December. Digital currency Bitcoin will be exempt from GST […]
Blockchain safer than existing systems, says IBM’s James Wallis
Recent advances with blockchain technology had already made it more secure than most of the current financial systems it could replace, according to IBM’s blockchain expert, James Wallis. “Blockchain is already more secure now than most systems that are already out there,” IBM’s vice-president, global payments industry and blockchain, told The Australian. Speaking on a visit to Australia, Mr Wallis rejected suggestions that the commercial use of blockchain, the technology behind the bitcoin cyber-currency, which is now be reviewed by the ASX and the big four banks, was vulnerable to hacking. Several bitcoin operators lost millions of bitcoins in hacking attacks last year.“A lot of the computer science that has […]
Greg Medcraft urges innovation on blockchain technology
Australian Securities & Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft has called on market regulators around the world to “start thinking about” the challenges of blockchain, the technology behind cyber-currency bitcoin. Mr Medcraft, who is also chairman of the International Organisation of Securities Commissioners, urged regulators to consider the potential challenges of blockchain at a recent meeting in Madrid. In an interview with The Australian, Mr Medcraft said the broader commercial use of the blockchain technology was “on the horizon” with industry claims that it could “save billions of dollars if they can make it work”. He said it also had the potential to “improve liquidity” in some financial instruments, “which is […]
