Ethereum has outpaced its rival cryptocurrencies since the start of 2018
Ethereum is the best performing major cryptocurrency so far in 2018. The second-largest coin by market cap has gained 46% since January 1, compared to the overall market’s 15% drop. The global cryptocurrency market might have lost 15% – or $US93 billion of value – since January 1, but not all coins have declined equally. Ethereum has fared well in 2018, avoiding the drastic selling that has left other coins in the red. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is up more than 46% this year, according to Markets Insider data, far outpacing bitcoin’s25% decline. XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency, controlled largely by its creating company Ripple, is down more than […]
Australia’s fintech industry wants to remove roadblocks for private company equity crowdfunding
Australia’s fintech industry has called for the fast adoption of stalled private company equity crowdfunding legislation to help more Australian small-to-medium sized businesses access the funds they need to grow. Legislation supporting crowdfunding for private companies was introduced to the House of Representatives in September last year hasn’t progressed. FinTech Australia chair Stuart Stoyan today called on Federal MPs to work together to give priority to the legislation when Parliament returns next week. He also called on legislation to start immediately after passing the Australian Parliament rather than a six month delay. The legislation would give hundreds of thousands of Australian businesses the ability to crowdsource up to $5 million […]
InfiniGold digital gold launches with The Perth Mint
In collaboration with The Perth Mint, InfiniGold has released the latest innovation in gold investment – a flexible digital gold product compatible with a wide range of technology platforms including blockchain. InfiniGold digital gold certificates offer institutions the opportunity to present investors with a new, secure and easy way to trade, hold and transfer physical gold. These digital certificates represent direct ownership of physical gold that is securely stored in The Perth Mint’s network of central bank grade vaults, which are located in the safe geopolitical environment of Western Australia. InfiniGold spokesman Sean McCawley said that InfiniGold certificates are the closest a customer can get to buying physical gold, in […]
Liberty buys MoneyPlace in personal loan push
Non-bank lender Liberty has purchased MoneyPlace, in a deal that will provide the marketplace lender with funding flexibility to target rivals SocietyOne and RateSetter along with the personal loan books of the big four banks. The acquisition suggests brokers, which currently facilitate half of all mortgages, will play a more influential role selling personal loans given Liberty’s deep broking relationships. It also suggests risk-based pricing of personal lending will become more common, given MoneyPlace and the other P2P lenders are willing to undercut bank interest rates for high quality borrowers. Liberty and MoneyPlace have not disclosed the price tag for the Melbourne-based platform, which has been operating for 18 months […]
This investment company is a step closer to a $3.5 million blockchain placement
First Growth Funds is a step closer to a blockchain-related investment with the green light from a leader in the field, Blockchain Global. In early January the pair announced a conditional placement led by Blockchain Global to raise $3.45 million for First Growth’s (ASX:FGF) expansion into the hot sector. Blockchain technology, which provides an encrypted, public ledger of transactions, is best known as the basis of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. But it has many other potential applications such as enforcing digital contracts, securing public records or regulating online voting. First Growth and Blockchain Global forged a partnership to identify blockchain-related investment opportunities. On Monday, First Growth announced the successful completion […]
China’s crypto start-up exiles like InvestDigital target Australia for ICOs
It was a futuristic deal. As the traditional capital markets took a breather in the days after Christmas, InvestDigital, a Chinese-based start-up building a funds management platform for crypto assets, raised $US23 million ($28.4 million) worth of the cryptocurrency Ether in an initial coin offering (ICO). It was also a landmark deal for the Australian market. After China last year put a halt to ICOs, the new form of fundraising allowing funds to be raised anonymously over the internet by issuing digital tokens, InvestDigital looked around for a country in which to base its offer – and chose Australia. Fintech lawyers and venture capitalists say this modern deal shows that […]
Shares in fintech payments startup Zip Co are going nuts
Shares in Zip Co — the owner of zipPay, zipMoney and Pocketbook brands — jumped after the latest quarterly results exceeded guidance. At the close, the shares were up 22.1% to $1.16.The company posted record December quarter revenue of $9.3 million, up 35%. Transaction volume was up 47% to $140 million. A record 1,800 new retailers joined the platform during the quarter, including Kogan, Fantastic Furniture, Anaconda and Spotlight, says Zip Co. The company says it has unified the Zip network, enabling a Zip wallet funded by either zipMoney or zipPay to transact at any accredited merchant. To read more, please click on the link below… Source: Shares in […]
Best interests duty extends to cryptocurrencies
Financial advisers’ will need to be well versed in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum despite them not being considered financial products, a compliance consultant has warned. Speaking to ifa, Assured Support principal Sean Graham said the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies poses a number of challenges for financial advisers. “The problem is that it’s mums and dads jumping into it at the moment, and from conversations I’ve had with advisers, they feel under pressure from clients who want to chase that growth or are asking them to do it,” he said. According to Mr Graham, while cryptocurrencies are not classed as financial products under most circumstances, advisers still need to […]
