Bitcoin taps fresh record highs amid rising demand from Japan, China
Bitcoin climbed above USD$2,000 for the first time Saturday on increased demand from Japanese and Chinese investors. The digital currency rose more than 4.5 percent to hit an all-time high of USD$2,061.88, according to CoinDesk.com. Bitcoin was last trading near USD$2,047. Japan accounted for nearly 55 percent of trade volume, up from near 40 percent Thursday, according to CryptoCompare.com. Prices for bitcoin on the Hong Kong-based Bitfinex exchange rose, narrowing a recent gap with the global rate in anticipation that bitcoin traded on Bitfinex can soon be easily converted to U.S. dollars. Chris Burniske, a blockchain products lead analyst at fund manager ARK Invest, pointed out in a tweet Saturday […]
Stockspot CEO Chris Brycki says advisers will become financial ‘curators’
The financial adviser of the future will be a “curator of digital services”, with no alignment to any particular bank or wealth manager, says Chris Brycki, the founder of a disruptive robo-adviser that gives investors access to low-cost exchange traded funds. Financial Review Rich Lister Graham Tuckwell led a $3 million capital raising for Stockspot this month to help the robo-adviser expand its team of engineers, rather than build up financial advice expertise. “It’s going to be more about technology and less about teams of financial advisers, analysts and fund managers, who in our view don’t add the value that we can add,” Mr Brycki said. “Their [financial advisers’] role […]
Millennials to drive huge passive funds management switch, threatening jobs
The massive generational group of Millennials will accelerate the seismic shift to passive fund management as they seek to grow and protect their wealth, costing the jobs of more stock-picking professionals, according to investment specialists. Jay Pelosky, principal of New York-based Pelosky Global Strategies, said the Millennials’ greater experience with technology compared with Baby Boomers, distrust of so-called “experts” since the 2008-09 financial crisis and debt burdens from university education, meant they were attracted to low-fee automated investing such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and robo advice. “There will be a much greater and sustained move towards passive investing in part because of the Millennials,” said Mr Pelosky, a former Morgan […]
VentureCrowd CEO Vivian Stewart slams lengthy crowdfunding legislation process
The newly appointed chief executive of crowd-sourced equity funding platform VentureCrowd, Vivian Stewart, has labelled the leisurely pace at which the government passed equity crowdfunding funding laws “embarrassing”. “Aussies are entrepreneurial and we’ve earned the right to stand on the world stage,” the renowned tech entrepreneur and investor told The Australian Financial Review. “But sometimes structural things around the way we do business have let us down. The delay in getting the crowd-sourced equity funding legislation up and running here is an example of an un-Australian way of not being innovative. It was embarrassing to see these other large first world countries moving faster than us.” The comments from Mr […]
ATO recognises fintech start-up Gobbill as Early Stage Innovation Company
The Australian Taxation Office has ruled that technology start-up company Gobbill satisfies the requirements to be an Early Stage Innovation Company (ESIC). Gobbill is a new digital service to automate and centralise all bill payments, giving users a streamlined solution offering greater security and increased control of their finances. The start-up is sponsored by Microsoft’s BizSpark program and is also a partner of Stay Safe Online, a Commonwealth initiative to protect Australians from cyber related crimes. New users can sign up for a free account at gobbill.com.au The ATO ruling states, “Gobbill’s email bill innovation is the first holistic product that provides end-to-end processing using a digital service platform that […]
Bitcoin rises to record high in blockchain-related boost
Digital currency bitcoin hit a record high overnight as demand for crypto-assets soared with the creation of new tokens to raise funding for start-ups using blockchain technology. Blockchain, the underlying technology behind bitcoin, is a financial ledger maintained by a network of computers that can track the movement of any asset without the need for a central regulator. Bitcoin hit a record $US1760.40 on the BitStamp platform and was last at $US1747.89, up 6 per cent on the day. So far this year, bitcoin has surged nearly 80 per cent. Bitcoin’s market capitalisation overnight soared to $US52.5 billion, according to data from coinmarketcap.com. Aside from being an asset that can […]
Fintech platform Stake wants to make investing in US stocks as easy as online shopping
There are a few particularly popular niches within the Australian fintech space, with online small business lenders to platforms allowing consumers to find and negotiate the right home loan particularly hot areas. Another is investment, with offerings popping up to target a breadth of consumers. From the likes of Acorns, which is gathering up a user’s ‘loose change’ and investing it for them, through to Brickx allowing users to invest in property brick by brick, and Stockspot using AI to help better invest its customers’ money, the choice for the consumer is vast. Adding another option to the mix is Sydney startup Stake. Founded by Matthew Leibowitz, Jon Abitz, and Daniel […]
Australians are turning to alternative types of investments
Australians unable to buy in an overheated property market are turning to other investments to boost their wealth. As property prices in capital cities particularly Sydney and Melbourne continue to soar and returns on cash in the bank remain around two per cent, many savers have had to look at alternative ways to grow their money. KILL your debts quicker than ever before Ray Corcoran, 29, who runs his own marketing consultancy has put off buying property and instead is investing his money through a Robo-adviser — an automated investment service. After having his savings in an online account collecting interest at a rate of 1.6 per cent he decided […]
