What Every Investor Should Know Before Buying Cryptocurrency
by Mary Ann Callahan If you are here, then you have probably grown curious enough to find out more about the next big investment opportunity everyone has been screaming about. Techies call cryptocurrency the money of the future or digital gold, and skeptics refer to it as a bubble that will burst anytime soon or the biggest digital scam ever. Needless to say, beyond the initial noise that surrounded the global rise of cryptocurrencies, there seems to be a growing interest and increasing curiosity about the potentials of these digital coins. New investors are attracted by the fact that cryptocurrency has managed to turn many who have been bold enough […]
Independent Reserve launches Ripple
Independent Reserve, the Australian digital currency exchange, will commence trading in Ripple (XRP) on 7 July, 2018. All XRP trades will be discounted to 0.1% for the first two weeks. XRP is the third largest digital currency by market cap after Bitcoin and Ether. Developed by Ripple Labs, the protocol and currency were designed with the banking and institutional market in mind, enabling fast, low-cost transfers between fiat currencies as well as other assets including gold and airline miles. Ripple Labs has partnerships with a wide range of institutions around the world including NAB, Westpac and American Express. Its current market cap is around USD $18 billion. One XRP is […]
Airwallex in the money with $108m raise
Melbourne-based fintech start-up Airwallex has closed the second-largest fundraising round in Australian start-up history, taking in $US80 million ($108 million) for a Series B round led by Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings, alongside Sequoia Capital China and Melbourne’s Square Peg Capital. The company, which was founded by five Chinese-Australian 30-somethings, has built a system to enable cross-border payments by combining payments and foreign exchange transfers into a single transaction. In 2017 it raised $US19 million ($26 million) from the same investors, but it has now also added two more backers from China’s booming venture capital scene in Hillhouse Capital and Hong Kong-based Horizons Ventures, as well as Indonesia’s Central Capital Ventura. […]
World’s largest blockchain loyalty program launches in Australia
Blockchain company EZToken has announced the launch of its global cryptocurrency loyalty program (EZToken Rewards) in Australia. EZToken Rewards is the world’s biggest blockchain loyalty program (by size of retailer network). Members are rewarded with EZToken cryptocurrency rather than loyalty points for transacting with over 80 participating retailers. Unlike loyalty points, the value of EZToken constantly changes as EZToken is actively traded on digital exchanges around the world. With real potential to become one of the most popular loyalty currencies in the world, members who have earned EZToken can hold and see if the value rises, trade at participating retailers or transfer to other EZToken Rewards members. Best of all, […]
How real is the competition to Bitcoin?
Cryptocurrencies continue to take the world by storm, with values increasing and new products entering the market all the time. While Bitcoin is still the world’s biggest digital currency, it faces serious competition from Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Ripple just to name a few. The rise of cryptocurrencies has been called the biggest evolution of the financial system in history, as decentralised exchanges and blockchain technology continue to change how the world views money. While no-one knows exactly what’s in store for the crypto market for the remainder of 2018, the trending markets seen in 2017 seem to be consolidating into trading ranges across time scales. The entire cryptocurrency market […]
Verrency signs long-term innovation services deal with volt bank
Australian global payments innovation provider Verrency has signed a significant long-term deal with volt bank, Australia’s first independent 100% digital bank. The multi-year agreement enables volt bank to leverage Verrency’s cloud-based payments innovation platform and services marketplace to enable cost-effective delivery of a multitude of value-added services to its customers. The agreement comes on the back of Verrency being named FinTech Australia’s winner of the 2018 Excellence in Establishing a Global Market Presence. David Link, Founder and CEO, Verrency, said: “Verrency will enable volt bank to rapidly and cost-effectively deliver value-added services to Australian consumers – including via easy connection with multiple service providers – without requiring significant change in their […]
ETF Securities says ROBO ETF surpasses $100m as investors embrace global opportunities
ETF Securities Australia today announced that ETFS ROBO Global Robotics and Automation ETF (ASX code: ROBO) has achieved inflows of $100 million since its launch in September last year. This is the fastest growth of any ETF offered by ETF Securities since its founder and Australian philanthropist Graham Tuckwell launched the world-first GOLD product in 2003. ROBO is the first exchange traded fund in Australia to provide investors with access to global companies focusing on robotics, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. It represents a partnership between ETF Securities Australia and US-based specialist robotics and automation index and research provider ROBO Global, tracking the ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index. […]
The Finnies. The Winners!
Congratulations to the 2018 Finnie Awards Finalists and Winners! FinTech Organisation of the Year WINNER: Afterpay FINALISTS: ● Afterpay ● Avoka ● BRICKX ● Class Limited ● Cover Genius ● Flamingo AI ● Invoice2Go ● MoneyPlace ● OnMarket ● Prospa ● RateSetter Australia ● SocietyOne ● Stockspot Emerging FinTech Organisation of the Year (company must be <2 years old) WINNER: Civic Ledger FINALISTS: ● Civic Ledger ● Finch ● InDebted ● LanternPay ● Link4 ● Longevity App ● Look Who’s Charging ● Medipass ● Till Payments ● TIQK ● TravelbyBit Outstanding FinTech Leader of the Year (can be from any field) WINNER: Katherine McConnell – Founder and CEO, Brighte FINALISTS: […]
