Chris Brycki says a cryptocurrency bust could be just what’s needed
The current cryptocurrency market is starting to look a lot like the dot-com bubble of 1997-2000, according to Chris Brycki, the founder and CEO of robo advice fund Stockspot. “Bitcoin and the crypto currency market has already experienced several hype cycles where prices rocketed before falling 80% to 90% as the technology and adoption caught up with inflated expectations,” says Brycki. “One happened in 2011 and then another two in 2013. We would be close to the end of another crypto hype cycle in early 2018.” After peaking around US$830 billion in January 2018, the total cryptocurrency market has fallen 33% in three weeks and is worth $US560 billion. That’s […]
Spending on blockchain technology to double this year to $2.1B
Led by financial services, industries are ramping up spending on blockchain distributed ledger technology at unprecedented rates; 2018 will mark the move from pilot programs to real-world rollouts. Spending by enterprises and other entities on blockchain networks is expected to reach $2.1 billion this year, more than double what was spent on the distributed electronic ledger technology in 2017. The U.S. will lead the world in blockchain investments, accounting for 40% of spending, followed by Western Europe, China and the Asia Pacific region (not including Japan), according to a new report from IDC. By 2021, spending on blockchain is expected to reach $9.2 billion, the report said. Last year was […]
The everyday Aussie is increasingly choosing a peer to peer personal loan
Peer to peer lending cuts out the middleman (the banks) allowing everyday Aussies to both invest and borrow from each other through a regulated platform.
Socialsuite partners with IXO
Socialsuite has partnered with IXO, a blockchain protocol to deliver blockchain smart contracts for funding based on verified social impact. Melbourne-based technology platform Socialsuite has partnered with IXO, a blockchain protocol to deliver some of the world’s first blockchain smart contracts for funding based on verified social impact. Socialsuite is a SaaS platform with a digital marketplace of validated impact measurement metrics that assists not-for-profits and community service organisations measure and report on the outcomes and impacts of their services, improving their service delivery and ability to obtain further funding. It also provides solutions for government, philanthropic and corporate funders to report on the effectiveness of their investments in social […]
A tale of two FinTech hubs
The Victorian government has opted to fund two separate FinTech hubs in Melbourne following an extended tender process. The government announced last June that it would work with an “established innovation hub operator” to establish a FinTech hub at the Goods Shed North in Docklands. But on 21 December, one day before the Christmas and New Year’s break and typically a time used to quietly drop announcements, the state revealed that it would instead fund two two separate FinTech hubs – in two separate location operated by two separate companies, Stone & Chalk and York Butter Factory Ventures (YBF). Stone & Chalk will take the originally proposed space in Docklands, […]
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 […]
Equity crowdfunding plugs the bank gap for Revvies Energy Strips
Revvies Energy Strips is one of the first cabs off the rank to try the new equity crowdfunding rules. The rules allow public companies – which are not necessarily listed companies, although they can be – to raise money. Equity crowdfunding also allows many small investors to take an interest in an early stage investment. John Nolan-Neylan is the co-founder and managing director of Revvies Energy Strips. He decided to raise funds for his business, which has developed caffeine strips athletes use to enhance their performance, to cement relationships with customers. “It’s a way to get them involved in the brand and they get a piece of the pie and, […]
Australia’s first neobank, Xinja, raises more than $1 million via equity crowdfunding
Xinja, which is building the first independent, Australian 100% digital neobank designed for mobile, has raised over $1 million, a week after opening the nation’s first retail equity crowdfunding campaign through Equitise, the crowdfunding platform. “The investor response has been incredible,” said Xinja CEO and founder Eric Wilson. “We’ve seen extraordinary support from more than 500 people who want a share in Xinja at this early stage.” The offer is scheduled to remain open until the end of March but may close sooner. Mr Wilson said retail investors have invested as little as $250 and as much as $10,000. This capital raising forms part of Xinja’s […]
