What Monopoly? Blockchain startup Setl sets sights beyond Australia
Setl founder Peter Randall isn’t waiting for permission to build the first competing platform in an Australian post-trade system long dominated by a monopoly. While the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) enjoys exclusive rights to clear and settle transactions for the nation’s financial institutions, Randall’s startup has already built a service he believes can process the load more quickly and at lower cost than ASX’s proprietary CHESS platform. Ironically, ASX’s exploration of distributed ledger tech with partner Digital Asset Holdings has boosted the blockchain industry in Australia, yet its monopoly means less competition in bringing solutions to market. Nevertheless, Randall isn’t waiting for the nation’s regulators to begin loosening older, monopolistic […]
Super-fast, safe blockchain technology being developed at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney researchers are building a new super-fast, safe blockchain technology that has the potential to revolutionise the global economy. Best known as the technology that underpins Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, blockchain is a digital public ledger where transactions are recorded and confirmed pseudonymously. Named the ‘Red Belly Blockchain’, the new system being developed by the University of Sydney’s School of Information Technologies will allow secure and almost instantaneous digital transfer of virtual currencies across the world. “In recent testing, our blockchain achieved the best performance we have seen so far – with more than 440,000 transactions per second on 100 machines. In comparison, VISA’s network has a […]
What is the impact of Blockchain on the Economy?
Blockchain, a type of ledger technology, has been under intense study for the last year by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, or CSIRO, specifically by their Data61 group. Data 61 is a partnership group dedicated to finding, creating, and studying data innovation. Therefore, their recently released reports pronouncing blockchain a “highly promising” way to manage supply chains for the government, finance, and industries and to increase Australia’s productivity are an exciting breakthrough that could put Australia at the forefront of technology and enterprise. But the CSIRO reports come with a warning that Blockchain may have some vulnerabilities as well. After being commissioned by Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison, MP, […]
How Sydney blockchain startup Hashkloud scored partnerships with two Bangladeshi banks
Blockchain has been receiving a deluge of media attention in recent weeks, and Sydney-based startup Hashkloud is capitalising on the growth of the technology by launching its offerings with two financial institutions in Bangladesh. Hashkloud is working with Dhaka Bank to launch its Serviskloud platform within the next week, in a partnership that will use the blockchain as a software connector to consolidate the integrity of the data that is transferred between banks, as well as securing transactions between the bank and its customers. The startup has also recently signed with the United Commercial Bank in Bangladesh to explore how its services can help the bank utilise the blockchain platform. […]
The truth about blockchains
Blockchain is the new ‘hotness’ in the innovation world, but like all new technologies, it is widely misunderstood. A blockchain is a set of difficult mathematical computations, based on cryptography. Participants in the chain provide transactions to it. Some participants perform the maths of encoding those transactions into the chain. This happens at a regular interval. Once encoded into the chain, each transaction is public and permanent. Bitcoin, which is the poster child for the technology, is a blockchain used as a currency. It relies on ‘miners’, or the participants who encode the transactions into the chain. These miners get rewarded with a newly created bitcoin each time they do […]
Winners of the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017
Congratulations to the winners of the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017. The 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards celebrate the achievements of the dynamic people and businesses comprising the FinTech sector. These Awards seek to recognise success in the FinTech sector in its many forms. The event was a fantastic evening of celebrating the best innovation, created by the best innovators and entrepreneurs that live and work in Australia. Here are the winners for the 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards 2017: FinTech Innovation in payments ZipMoney FinTech Innovation in Wealth Management (Robo-Advice) Pocketbook FinTech Innovation in Lending Tyro Payments Best FinTech Communications Campaign BRICKX Best Research […]
Bitcoin looks a lot like an early Amazon
by Gordon Scott. You might as well get used to the Bitcoin headlines. They aren’t going away. And that’s because cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin aren’t going away. If history is any guide, this may only be the beginning. Bitcoin may be the most lucrative trading opportunity since internet stocks such as Amazon.com Inc. in the dot-com era. If that notion sounds as scary as it does exciting, it should. While it is true that trading digital currencies holds real risk, there is also a real opportunity for traders right now. Please note that I said traders here, not investors. Even if it were true that investors could multiply their money, they […]
Blockchain applications rolling out in financial markets
The blockchain gives investors transparency over loan-level data, asset provenance, payment history, loan terms and the quality of underlying security.
