Currency

Feb
19

Why parents are worried about children’s digital money habits

OUR rapid transformation to a cashless society is concerning many parents and increasing the need for new ways to pay children pocket money. Mums and dads are worried about their children’s understanding of digital money, yet four out of five parents still pay kids using physical cash. As digital spending surges with apps, tap-and-go technology and other cashless methods, 39 per cent of parents say they are concerned their kids don’t know enough about it, according to new research from financial technology and education business Spriggy. However, 78 per cent pay cash pocket money, which Spriggy co-founder Mario Hasanakos describes as “such a disconnect”, given that Reserve Bank data shows […]

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Feb
01

The founder of Ethereum: Vitalik Buterin

After discovering cryptocurrencies while still at school, Vitalik Buterin dropped out of university to travel the world and explore crypto projects. He then realised he could take the blockchain technology far beyond financial applications. Vitalik Buterin ‘I went around the world, explored many crypto projects, and finally realised that they were all too concerned about specific applications and not being sufficiently general – hence the birth of Ethereum, which has been taking up my life ever since.’ – Vitalik Buterin Born in Russia in 1994, he emigrated to Toronto in Canada in 2000 with his parents Dmitry Buterin, a computer scientist, and Natalia Ameline. Subsequent to quitting his hobby of […]

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Jan
30

Bank-based blockchain projects are going to transform the financial services industry

Cryptocurrencies are constantly evolving, with popular currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum maintaining their popularity despite recent market corrections. At the core of both technologies is the cryptographically secure digital ledger known as the blockchain. It’s a digital ledger where cryptocurrency transactions are recorded chronologically and publicly. Indeed, as the popularity of cryptocurrencies has grown, so has the banking industry’s interest in blockchain for fintech, with an increased and focused push on bank-backed blockchain projects. Some of the largest projects underway include the IBM-backed Hyperledger Fabric project, the Utility Settlement Coin, and R3’s blockchain consortium, signifying a growing acceptance in institutional policy to support blockchain growth. How does it work? […]

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Jan
25

Aussie parents worried about kids in cashless economy

As Australian families prepare for the holidays to come to an end, new research* into attitudes towards money and financial education, reveals that 43 per cent of parents believe their children don’t learn enough about money at school. Spriggy, a financial education app, commissioned the national survey of parents with kids between the ages of 8-17 years, and found that more than a third (39 per cent) of those surveyed are ‘worried’ about their children’s understanding of digital money, with Queenslanders the most concerned. Despite this, three quarters (78 per cent) of Aussie mums and dads continue to provide pocket money using physical cash. Aussie parents are big believers in pocket […]

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Jan
23

Could cryptocurrencies be a serious alternative to the dollar?

With its wild fluctuations, which even created some “Bitcoin billionaires”, the cryptocurrency craze that has swept the financial world over summer is hard to ignore. Yet for all the hype about the Bitcoin roller-coaster, is there any chance we will one day be doing the shopping with Bitcoin, or some other crypto-dollar? This question has the potential to affect all of us, not to mention the core institutions at the heart of our financial system. And it’s not quite as far-fetched as it may sound. At the moment Bitcoin looks to have taken off as a highly speculative asset, rather than a realistic alternative to money. In the longer term […]

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Jan
10

Ethereum price jumps again as it approaches a new all-time high

The price of cryptocurrency ethereum is closing in on a fresh all-time high during European morning trade on Tuesday as its recent rally shows no signs of stopping. Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, crossed $US1,000 per coin for the first time on Friday, and continued to gain over the weekend, surpassing $US1,200 on Monday morning, before hitting a fresh record high of $US1,261.41 at around 5.00 a.m. GMT. The cryptocurrency then dipped a little as Monday’s trade continued, but has climbed once again on Tuesday, hitting a daily high of $US1,217, a gain of roughly 7.5%.   To read more, please click on the link below… Source: Ethereum […]

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Jan
01

Ripple’s 53 per cent surge makes it the 2nd-biggest cryptocurrency

A new contender has moved into second place in the race to catch bitcoin. Ripple, a cryptocurrency that first surfaced in 2013, surged 53 per cent in 24 hours to surpass ethereum and take the title of the world’s second-most valuable digital coin by market cap on Saturday US time. Ripple’s market value rocketed to $US86 billion ($110 billion), making ether No.3 at $US73 billion. Bitcoin’s market cap is near $US250 billion. It’s the latest twist in the crypto saga known as the “flippening”. That’s what ether enthusiasts call the coin’s anticipated rise to the most valuable by market cap. Rather than catching up to bitcoin, though, ether has fallen […]

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Dec
27

Is bitcoin back? Cryptocurrency passes $US16,000 as rebound begins

Bitcoin rallied past $US16,000 ($20,705) on Tuesday US time as traders of the world’s biggest digital currency sought to draw a line under its rollercoaster five-day slump. The tokens rose 16 per cent to as much as $US16,132.09, the biggest gain on a closing basis in more than two weeks and the first in six days. It traded higher by 14 per cent to $US15,659.9 as of 1.36pm in New York. Rival currencies litecoin and ethereum were up 4.4 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. High trading volumes at Coinbase, one of the biggest exchanges, forced the company to issue a warning on its website that […]

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