What caused the Cryptocurrency Boom of 2017?
Bitcoin, which is a digital currency (cryptocurrency), saw a 2000% increase in value from January 1, 2017, to December 16, 2017. Today, cryptocurrencies are the world’s fastest-growing asset class with a market cap of $645 billion, up from just $15 billion in 2017. The lightning rise of Bitcoin led to an accusation by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who called it a “fraud worse than tulip bulbs,” referring to the Dutch tulip bulb bubble that burst in 1637. Other critics like investor Warren Buffet labeled Bitcoin a “mirage,” and cautioned people to “stay away from it.” These are both serious accusations. So why are some people so critical of cryptocurrencies? Up […]
Is Qantas a cryptocurrency in the making?
Qantas points are already Australia’s de facto second currency. Switching to blockchain would make it a real one. In 2017, Qantas (ASX:QAN) made more money selling points than it did selling international flights. Qantas is an airline; only madmen would call it a tech company. Yet over the past decade, that’s precisely what Qantas has become. In 2007, the company’s loyalty program accounted for 11% of pre-tax profits. In the year to December, that figure has grown to 23%. The Loyalty division earned $369m in pre-tax profits compared to $327m from the International division. Qantas’s Frequent Flyer program has 11 million members – nearly half the Australian population – and […]
How to safely buy and sell cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency exchanges and theft have been regular news since Bitcoin went big, but that hasn’t deterred investors: The number of digital cryptocurrency wallets in existence by the end of 2017 was 21.5 million. That’s a huge increase from 2015, when only 5.4 million wallets were around. Along with the new popularity of cryptocurrency has come a new breed of cryptocurrency criminals. In 2016 $95 million worth of Bitcoin was stolen, and in 2017 the amount stolen exploded: $115 million was lost to phishing, $103 million to exploitation of software and storage, $7.4 million to hacks, and $4,000 to Ponzi schemes. That’s a lot of lost cryptocurrency—so how are criminals doing […]
Fintech – The evolution of modern financial technology in the 21st Century
Financial procedures have evolved drastically over the last 100 years. We have seen a huge change in how many aspects of finance are processed such as payments, investment, data storage and types of currency. A term that has sprung up in the last couple of decades and gained prominence is ‘Fintech’ – this articles details exactly what Fintech is, and why it is essential for the modern world. What is Fintech ? Fintech = financial technology This is the basic meaning. Fintech is much more than that however – it is any new type of innovative technology that competes with or precedes traditional financial methods; particularly the delivery of financial […]
These are the 12 cryptocurrencies fintech experts say will soar by the end of 2018
A group of fintech leaders say bitcoin will hit $38,000 by the end of 2018, but its 194% growth will be miniscule compared to rising cryptocurrency stars. Comparison site finder.com.au has just released the results of its March Cryptocurrency Predictions Survey, forecasting how the top 10 by market cap and top two trending cryptocurrencies will perform in 2018. Comparing the forecast market capitalisations, nine experts say the big three – bitcoin, bitcoin cash and ethereum – will experience modest growth by crypto standards: Bitcoin – +194% Bitcoin cash – +123% Ethereum – +212% But of the 12 coins reviewed, by far the biggest forecast came for Dogecoin, the digital currency […]
Danielle Szetho is stepping down as CEO of FinTech Australia
Danielle Szetho, the inaugural CEO of industry group FinTech Australia, is leaving after almost two years of successful lobbying for change in Australia’s financial industry landscape. Sarah Worboys, a former chartered accountant now active with startups, will be interim CEO. More recently she was head of strategy and operations at Melbourne-based peer-to-peer invoice financier Timelio. Szetho, a former Fairfax Media product manager, was the driving force behind the not for profit industry body, establishing the annual the Finnie awards, arguing successfully for equity crowdfunding and getting the federal government to make fintech a priority. During her tenure, membership at FinTech Australia, whose aim is to make Australia one of the […]
Scale Investors and VentureCrowd introduce new female board members
Female-focused angel investor network, Scale Investors today announced a strategic partnership with alternative assets crowdfunding platform VentureCrowd, as well as the appointment of three new members to the Scale Investors board – Catherine Robson, Judith Smith and Lynda Coker who have joined the board, effective from 1 March. The Scale Investors and VentureCrowd collaboration has two main components. VentureCrowd will ease syndication of an investment for Scale Investors by handling the administration, such as collecting investment funds, setting up a unit trust and all required documentation. It also includes facilitating on long-term relationships between startups and a syndicate by managing investor updates and communications. Secondly, companies that Scale Investors invest […]
Link4 explores current bookkeeping issues with ICB CEO Amanda Linton
CEO of The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers, Amanda Linton, visited the Link4 office to provide an up to date insight into bookkeeping in 2018. This allows the Link4 team to stay on top of things and continue to serve bookkeepers diligently based on their current challenges. In her recent visit, Amanda Linton talked about the main issues bookkeepers face in their day-to-day business. More importantly, she discussed how technology is dramatically changing how they undertake their work. Bookkeepers are taking on a completely different role now to what they were a decade ago. “Ten years ago, bookkeepers would spend around 80 percent of their time entering data from invoices, […]
