It has been nearly a year since the Senate Select Committee decided that we needed to pivot to focus exclusively on the opportunities and challenges of digital assets. Cryptocurrency and digital assets were evolving at such a pace, it demanded our urgent attention. As a lawmaker, I was focused on a familiar problem: how to… Read more »
A married couple has been arrested in the US for allegedly possessing and trying to launder 119,754 Bitcoin, today worth $7.4 billion, that were stolen in the 2016 breach of the Bitfinex exchange. The US Justice Department arrested husband-and-wife duo Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Morgan, 31, this week for their alleged involvement in laundering… Read more »
Experts are warning the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) needs to be extremely carefully about how it pursues a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) with fears it could destabilise the economy or create a dystopian nightmare. Central banks around the world are now exploring the evolution of fiat currency through CBDCs in response to the… Read more »
Comedian Robin Williams once called cocaine “God’s way of telling you you are making too much money”. This role may now have been overtaken by non-fungible tokens, the blockchain-based means to claim unique ownership of easily copied digital assets. The latest NFT mania involves fantastic amounts of money being paid for “Bored Apes”, 10,000 avatars… Read more »
John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) was the greatest economist of the twentieth century. Less well known is that he had a parallel career as a successful investor: fairly successful early in his career, and spectacularly successful later on when he changed his strategy. After the first world war, his income depended more on his investments than… Read more »
iHunt4 is gearing up for a big 2022 after being picked as one of the US National Retail Federation’s top 50 retail startups. Sydney-based augmented reality treasure hunt company iHunt4 is ready to crack the lucrative US market after being selected to host a prominent display at the US National Retail Federation’s Big Show in… Read more »
The CBA’s move into cryptocurrency could pay off handsomely for the Big 4 bank with a new study from Visa revealing that up to a third of Australian crypto-owners saying they are likely or very likely to switch their primary bank to one that offers crypto products in the next 12 months. With around 20% of Australians… Read more »
The Australian Government is looking to embrace cryptocurrency and digital assets with federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg announcing plans to investigate the feasibility of a Central Bank digital currency, as well as the existential fintech terror of de-banking. Speaking at the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Frydenberg said his plans “were most significant reforms to… Read more »
We are in the midst of a digital revolution. COVID has accelerated and changed the way Australians and businesses engage with digital technologies. And many new and innovative technologies are emerging throughout the economy, impacting every part of our lives. Nowhere is this digital disruption playing out faster than in the payments and crypto-asset sectors.… Read more »
Australian computer scientist and self-proclaimed inventor of bitcoin Craig Wright has survived a lawsuit that would have seen him hand over half of a 1.1 million Bitcoin fortune – today worth around $71 billion – to the family of former business partner David Kleiman. Wright was, however, ordered to pay US$100 million in damages to… Read more »
The corporate regulator is trying to get its hands on a hidden bitcoin wallet worth up to $22 million as it tracks down money that alleged superannuation fraudsters took from investors. Last month, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) moved to shut down Gold Coast company A One Multi which it alleges was claiming… Read more »
As it hits new highs, there is no shortage of bold predictions about Bitcoin reaching US$100,000 or more. Often these are based on not much more than extrapolations by people with vested interests: the price has gone up a lot so it will keep going up. If it gets above its previous high, it must… Read more »
Researchers are working to head off the collapse of cryptocurrency markets that, experts warn, could happen when quantum computers become strong enough to break the encryption underlying Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies – estimated to come by 2035. That timeline represents an existential threat for Bitcoin and its ilk, which rely on mathematical encryption so… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced last week that it will allow its customers to buy and sell cryptocurrency through its app, in the first move of its kind by a major Australian bank. If Australia’s biggest bank is willing to offer unregulated products like crypto to their customers and take on board a high… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank is embracing cryptocurrencies, and will allow CommBank app customers to buy, sell and hold crypto assets. In the a game-changing move for the sector by the country’s biggest bank will see it partnered with crypto exchange Gemini – founded by the Winklevoss twins of Facebook fame – and blockchain analysis firm, Chainalysis.… Read more »
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