Fintech startup HashChing has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign
Mortgage marketplace startup HashChing, a fintech startup disrupting the monopoly of the big banks, has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign. It’s currently live on the Equitise platform, which has one of the seven crowdfunding licences issued for the first time this year. HashChing, which is seeking between $1 million and $5 million, has so far raised $286,500, at a minimum $250 investment, with another eight days to go. “A slight difference in interest rates can cost a homeowner thousands of dollar each year,” says Mandeep Sodhi, founder and CEO. “This is why one out of two Australians like to deal with a mortgage broker instead of going direct to the […]
CoinJar opens the trading floor with Australia’s fastest digital currency exchange
Australian cryptocurrency company CoinJar, has launched its new high-speed digital currency trading platform, CoinJar Exchange. The exchange is the fastest in Australia, and will allow cryptocurrency traders to trade Bitcoin and Australian Dollars against popular cryptocurrencies Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple. CoinJar Exchange boasts a superior trading engine which processes and fills orders faster than any of its competitors in Australia. This reduces latency and provides sophisticated and retail traders with a faster experience when trading using the CoinJar Exchange. Integration with buy and sell orders from other exchanges will provide greater market liquidity, allowing CoinJar traders to enter and exit with ease. The exchange also has an open trading application […]
The best, and worst, performing Australian ETFs for 2018
Exchange-traded funds (ETF) under management in Australia grew 33% over the past year to $36.2 billion, according to the annual ETF Report by robo-advice fintech Stockspot. The best performer was UBS IQ MSCI Asia APEX 50 Ethical ETF, which generated a return of 30.1%. The biggest loser was BetaShares Australian Dividend Harvester Fund which lost 16.2%. This fund invests in large ASX shares that are about to pay dividends while also selling futures contracts as a form of hedging to reduce risk. Chris Brycki, CEO and founder of Stockspot, says this year’s findings signal the ongoing disruption to the asset management industry by ETFs and indexing. “The investment industry is […]
YBF Ventures just scored $1.1 million in a new partnership deal
Melbourne-based innovation hub YBF Ventures has secured $1.1 million from Silicon Valley-based Partners for Growth (PFG) through a tailored debt funding facility. YBF CEO Farley Blackman says the funding will allow the hub to focus on growth, which includes significant expansion of its footprint throughout Australia.“As we grow, so will the number of startups, scaleups and companies that we support,” he said. The US investor, which provides specialised lending, has a strong track record in Australia, including funding facilities for 38 of Australia’s fastest growing companies such as Prospa, Koala Sleep and CashRewards. The investment is part of a new strategic partnership deal between the two organisation, to advance entrepreneurship […]
Online lender Prospa delays float 30 minutes to listing
The sharemarket float of online lender Prospa has been postponed about half an hour before the planned listing, after the corporate watchdog wanted further details of its small business loan contracts. Prospa and its joint lead managers – investment banks UBS and Macquarie – said the 48-hour delay was because it was “seeking to clarify queries raised by ASIC yesterday in relation to Prospa’s small business loan terms,” as part of a wider review. “Prospa was first contacted yesterday by ASIC in relation to its industry-wide review of small business lending – bank and non-bank. The review covers a range of topics,” a Prospa spokeswoman said. “We take our legal […]
Virtual currency sales jump in 2018
But results skewed by two big token sales. Virtual currency sales ballooned to US$9.1 billion ($11.9 billion) so far this year, exceeding the US$6.6 billion total for all of 2017, new numbers show. But the monthly trend actually showed a slowdown if the two biggest offerings are excluded. Digital technology startups around the world have raised funds by selling cryptocurrencies, or tokens, that sidestep banks or venture capital firms as intermediaries. Financial technology provider Autonomous NEXT reported the US$9.1 billion figure, noting that the total includes token sale offerings of Telegram, a messaging service founded by Russia-born entrepreneurs Pavel and Nikolai Durov in 2013, and Block.one’s EOS currency. Telegram raised […]
Macquarie slips $20m into Stocard’s mobile wallet
Mobile wallet firm Stocard has landed $20 million from Macquarie Capital, with follow-on financing from original investors Shortcut, Alstin, Rocketship, HTGF and Engelhorn. Stocard co-founder and chief executive Bjorn Goss said the company would use the funds to launch a mobile payment functionality, recruit 40 employees across engineering, sales and marketing, and expand into new markets starting with the opening of its Paris office this week, then Toronto in the coming weeks. “It’s no longer a question that wallets will go mobile; the question is around how to execute the transition with the consumer’s best experience in mind,” he said. “Digital will reshape the shopping process and experience, as mobile […]
$817M Later: LexisNexis partners with first institutional cryptocurrency exchange
Risk management giant LexisNexis Risk Solutions is now working with the first cryptocurrency exchange to use technology acquired in an $817 million deal earlier this year. The partnership to verify the identities of Melbourne-based Blockbid’s customers also marks the first time LexisNexis has combined its existing database of high-risk individuals with 1.4 billion unique identities brought to the company from ThreatMetrix, which was acquired in a cash deal announced in February. While Blockbid plans to use the two pools of identity data to gather information about its customers during the onboarding process, LexisNexis senior vice president Thomas Brown positions the newly combined products as part of a larger push within the […]
