How the Rich Invest: Owen Kerr is making huge profits in forex with Pepperstone
Profits at Owen Kerr’s foreign exchange broker Pepperstone have surged in the 2017 financial year, as the company enjoyed a large increase in clients from Asia. Pepperstone’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) surged 99 per cent to a record $96.7 million from $166 million revenue. Net profit for the firm reached $71.2 million after the Melbourne-based company paid about $25 million in tax, documents recently filed with the corporate regulator revealed. The 2017 results were more than double from the previous year, during which Pepperstone had made a net profit of about $34 million from $96 million revenue and EBIT of $48 million. It also means Pepperstone’s valuation could […]
Ethereum Founder: Central Banks far from Digital Currency
Vitalik Buterin, the 23-year-old creator of the world’s second biggest digital currency, Ethereum, isn’t worried about coming competition from the central banks of the world. Speaking in Toronto on Tuesday, Buterin downplayed the possibility of countries creating digital versions of their currencies that could rival or displace bitcoin or Ethereum. He said the advent of a national currency based on a blockchain, which is the distributed ledger technology that underpins bitcoin and Ethereum, will take years to launch. “If there is [such a launch] it will be a server and a bunch of marketing buzzwords to make it look like a blockchain,” Buterin said, suggesting central banks lack the ability […]
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 […]
Fintech startup InstaReM expands services to the EU
Cross-border payment firm InstaReM has announced a continued expansion across the globe – this time to the European Union. The company has come a long way since opening its very first corridor in Australia in 2014. With the issuance of the Electronic Money Institution license (EMI) from the Bank of Lithuania, InstaReM will be able to provide international money transfer services in Europe from Vilnius, which will be InstaReM’s seventh office globally. Operating out of Lithuania will not only allow InstaReM to grow its customer base exponentially throughout the EU, but will also play a significant part in developing Lithuania’s fintech eco-system. InstaReM aims to invest approximately 3 million euros […]
DigitalX advises Power Ledger on Australia’s first Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
DigitalX Ltd advises that it has been engaged as an advisor to Blockchain energy trading company Power Ledger for its Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Following a pre-ICO or “Token Generation Event”, in which Power Ledger raised the equivalent of AUD$17 million of digital currency, Power Ledger is offering 140 million POWR tokens as part of the main sale. POWR tokens will effectively be auctioned to the public, generating interest from solar developers, renewable energy projects, retail investors and speculators. “DigitalX is quickly becoming a market leader for ICO advisory services and we are pleased to be able to work in a strategic role to the Power Ledger project. “Power Ledger […]
Stricter regulations are coming for new digital currencies in Australia
The Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) has released a guidance paper on the regulatory framework for initial coin offerings (ICOs) in Australia. “ICOs generally operate by allowing investors to use cryptocurrency (such as bitcoin) to purchase coins via the internet for a set period of time,” ASIC said. “The ICOs are often global offerings which can be created anonymously and/or accepted anonymously.” The paper clarifies what type of ICOs would be regarded as a Managed Investment Scheme (MIS), and therefore subject to the Corporations Act. Here’s ASIC on what constitutes an MIS: A managed investment scheme (MIS) is defined within the Corporations Act. Basic indicators of whether an arrangement […]
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 […]
