An Initial coin Offering (ICO) conducted by an Australian crypto startup Global Tech Exchange (GTE) has ceased operations, citing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) requirements, the company’s website reveals Monday, Oct. 22. According to Business Insider Australia, the ICO was launched summer 2018 by GTE to create an an education-based trading and exchange platform and had a fundraising goal of $50 million. The firm quickly gained popularity after being endorsed by Michael Clarke – a former Australian cricket captain and national celebrity. As of August, GTE cited him on its website as endorsing the project: “I am really …

The Australian federal government is exploring the use of blockchain-based “smart money” for use in its National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), according to an Oct. 9 press release. The trial, dubbed “Making Money Smart,” has been jointly developed by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Data61. The latter is a digital innovation center that forms part of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) — an Australian government corporate entity that undertakes scientific research to advance diverse local industries. In CSIRO’s press release, Data61 has defined smart — or programmable — money as currency that “knows what it …

Last week, Austria became the latest government to successfully trial blockchain platforms to issue government bonds. The trial follows in the footsteps of the Australian and Thai governments, both of whom developed blockchain bond issuing platforms earlier this year. Government bonds are debt securities which represent an important way to support government spending and are widely considered to be one of the most risk-free investments available. Government bonds also make up a large proportion of the secondary market, with a total value of $22.116 trillion across the world as of September 2018. In spite of their importance, the process of …

Crypto firm DigitalX Ltd. has been served with an Originating Application and Statement of Claim. The claim was filed by a group of DigitalX’s clients in Australia’s Federal Court, according to an official announcement published September 28. DigitalX describes itself as a publicly-listed firm that offers Initial Coin Offering (ICO) advisory services, blockchain consulting services and blockchain-related software development. It is reportedly based in the Australian cities of Sydney and Perth, as well as New York, USA. In its announcement today, the firm explains that the claim has been filed by clients in relation to an ICO investment for which …

A blockchain system developed by Australia’s national science agency (CSIRO) and Sydney University claims to have set a benchmark of 30,000 transactions per second during a test on Amazon Cloud, according to CSIRO’s Tuesday, September 25 press release. The technology arm of CSIRO, Data61, and the Concurrent Systems Research Group at the University of Sydney created Red Belly Blockchain as a “graduate” from CSIRO’s Pre-accelerator program ON prime. CSIRO and the Concurrent Systems Research Group announced the first outcome of its experiment held on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure. Red Belly Blockchain was tested on 1,000 machines in 18 …

Australian firm Vicinity has announced it will trial a blockchain solution for its energy network. The company revealed this Thursday, September 25 in an official press release. Vicinity – with more than $42 billion in real estate assets under management – has partnered with Australian energy tech company Power Ledger. The newly announced trial is a part of Vicinity’s $75 million solar energy program that is about to start in Castle Plaza – the company’s mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. The new blockchain platform delivered by Power Ledger will reportedly allow Vicinity to manage energy distribution in real time, …

Australian financial watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has issued a warning on “misleading” Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and crypto-asset funds targeted at retail investors. The document was published Thursday, September 20, on ASIC’s official website. According to the release, ASIC has stopped five different ICOs from raising capital since April 2018. This was done due to the lack of appropriate investor protection measures on part of the fundraisers in question. As the watchdog states, these offerings had to be restructured to meet existing legal standards. In September, one ICO was ordered to shut down permanently due to …

Australian regulator the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has revealed plans to increase scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) in its ‘Corporate Plan’ published this week. ASIC, which acts as a supervisory organ for financial market operators, highlighted the exchange sector as an area of priority through 2022. Specifically, the body plans to ensure any “threats of harm” from the nascent industry are mitigated as part of its regulatory remit. “Potential harms from technology driven by the growing digital environment and structural changes in financial services and markets,” it announced in the Plan, continuing: “We will …

Byte Power Group (BPG), the Australian company aiming to launch the country’s first cryptocurrency exchange using an ICO, responded to regulatory pressure with fresh information about its plans Wednesday, September 5. In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), BPG addressed concerns the regulator raised last month as details of the fundraising became public. BPG has since begun selling its BPX tokens, aiming to raise $15 million to build the exchange, whereupon users will be able to use the tokens to pay fees in a manner similar to that of fellow exchange Binance. On August 1, the ASX sent …

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has announced that it will delay its transition to use blockchain for equity transactions by six months, the Sydney Morning Herald reports September 4. As Cointelegraph has previously reported, the ASX has been working to implement blockchain as of December 2017 to replace its current system for processing equity transactions. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the decision to delay the move comes as the exchange plans to devote more time to user development and testing. The launch date for the switchover has now been moved from the fourth quarter of 2020 to March-April 2021 …

IBM, CSIRO’s Data61 and law firm Herbert Smith Freehills have partnered on a new Australian consortium to build a cross-industry blockchain-based smart contracts platform for enterprises, according to a press release published August 29. Data61 is a digital innovation center that forms part of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) – an Australian government corporate entity that undertakes scientific research to advance diverse local industries. The initiative has been dubbed The Australian National Blockchain (ANB), and will pool the tech, scientific and legal expertise of the three partners to create a nationwide, legally-compliant blockchain infrastructure for the digital …

It’s been close to 10 years since Bitcoin came into existence, and in that time, major financial institutions have slowly come to grips with blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Some have taken to the industry quicker than others, and some have outright turned their backs on the thought of using or investing in cryptocurrencies. However, the technology underpinning these decentralized digital currencies has been a major focal point, mainly in terms of how it can be used by traditional banking and financial institutions. A number of big name financial companies have actively developed blockchain-based systems used for different operations. JPMorgan’s Quorum …