IBM has signed a five-year AU$1 billion ($740 million) deal with the Australian government to use blockchain and other new technologies to improve data security, Bloomberg reports Thursday, July 5. The major contract will see IBM provide technology such as blockchain, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to Australian federal departments, including defense and home affairs. IBM’s Asia Pacific head, Harriet Green, told Bloomberg that the new partnership will give Commonwealth citizens access to the “world’s greatest technologies” “across many, many government agencies.” The new partnership will catapult Australia to “the top three of digital governments in the world,” she suggested. …

Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has confirmed trading on its new Australian platform begins today, July 5. The exchange is fourth largest in the world as of press time, with $713 million in daily trade volume, according to Coinmarketcap. In an announcement, Huobi, which last week also unveiled its London-based operation serving the European market, said trading pairs would be phased in throughout Thursday from 10am Sydney time. Ten pairs will initially be on offer for Australian dollar, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Cash. “In the future, Huobi Australia will open more trading pairs to all users,” the …

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched an international taskforce together with tax enforcement authorities from four other countries to take on cryptocurrency-enabled crimes, according to a press release published Monday, July 2. The new coalition, dubbed ‘The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement,’ or ‘J5,’ comprises tax enforcement agencies from five countries in total –– Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, alongside the U.S. As part of J5, the agencies will cooperate on intelligence and criminal investigations “to reduce the growing threat to tax administrations posed by cryptocurrencies and cybercrime,” as well as to target transnational …

The central banks of Australia and New Zealand denied they would issue their own cryptocurrencies June 26, in a speech calling Bitcoin “fascinating” but “inefficient.” Addressing the Australian Business Economists in Sydney, Tony Richards, head of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) payments policy, appeared hawkish on cryptocurrency as Australia’s government devotes considerable funds to blockchain research. “It's not a high priority for us, but it's something we're continuing to work on,” he said about the bank issuing its own token. “We are particularly looking at the aspect of whether or not a central bank digital currency for B2B use …

Have you ever heard about smart cities where traffic, public services and document circulation are fully automated? The smart city concept integrates big data and the internet of things (IoT) to optimize the efficiency of urban processes and services and connect to residents. One example of this innovation could be light sensors that save electricity and road surveillance costs. The basis for how automated systems and infrastructure sensors will coordinate their activities and communicate with each other is currently being tested in Dubai, some cities in China and the US. The future is now McKinsey analysts predict that by 2020 …

Australian tax experts have confirmed that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is cracking down on cryptocurrency investors this year, local news outlet The New Daily reports Friday, June 15. The ATO had said in early March that they would be using a combination of data matching and “100-point identification checks” to find crypto investors this tax season, as well as utilizing bilateral tax treaties and AML agreements to identify even more investors from the traditionally anonymous crypto sphere. According to Liz Russell, a senior tax agent at Etax.com.eu, the ATO is on the “warpath” to make sure all crypto investors …

Risk management giant LexisNexis has partnered with crypto exchange Blockbid to increase the exchanges security measures Blockbid reports on its Medium account June 4. Blockbid is reportedly one of the first trading platforms to voluntarily observe global anti-money laundering (AML) measures by partnering with LexisNexis and ThreatMetrix security technology firms. Boosting fraud prevention and know your customer (KYC) measures in respect to banks, the solution “Trade with Confidence” intends to prevent crypto being used in cases of money laundering, terrorism financing, human trafficking, and other illegal activity. According to the blog post, the newly adopted technology by Melbourne-based exchange Blockbid …

PwC Australia, the Port of Brisbane, and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have partnered to release a blockchain-based supply chain management proof of concept (PoC), according to PwC’s press release published today, May 29. The Trade Community System digital application will connect commercial operators across a supply chain for international trades. The press release notes that 9 mln containers are moved from Australia’s 5 major ports each year, with the number set to grow to 15 mln by 2025. According to Bryan Clark, the Director of Trade and International Affairs, Australian Chamber, “the current inefficiency across Australian supply …

Australia’s $530,000 blockchain research push this year came as a result of a specific request by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, reports reveal Tuesday, May 22. According to local news outlet ITNews, which quotes government officials, Turnbull had explicitly asked the country’s Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) – a body tasked with bringing government services into the digital age – to study blockchain. “The Prime Minister in fact wrote to our minister [assistant minister for digital transformation Michael Keenan] and asked us to have a look at blockchain, which evolved into this particular piece of work,” DTA chief digital officer Peter Alexander …

Australian consumers lost approximately $2.1 mln to cryptocurrency scams last year, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) annual scams report published May 21. The ACCC’s analysis reveals that the use of digital currencies as a payment method in scams peaked in the last quarter of 2017. Almost $100,000 was reported lost per month to cryptocurrency-based scams from January to September, while in December, reported losses exceeded $700,000. The average reported loss in December had soared to $13,205 from $1,885 in January. Among major means of deceiving users, the Commission highlighted fake initial coin offerings (ICO), pyramid schemes, …

UNICEF Australia announced yesterday, April 29, an initiative that allows users to give over their computer’s processing power to mine cryptocurrency as a donation to the charity. We're excited to launch The Hopepage. This innovative website allows you to easily donate some of your computer processing power to generate #cryptocurrency and fund life-saving aid for children in crisis. #UNICEF #ForEveryChild https://t.co/rPXCnTcahy — UNICEF Australia (@unicefaustralia) April 29, 2018 Tony Andres Tang, the digital brand and content manager of UNICEF Australia, told news outlet ITnews that they “are transparent in the fact [they] are borrowing a computers' processing power, and provide …

Australia’s Securities and Investments (ASIC) Commissioner John Price delivered a speech in which he highlighted the financial regulator’s updated guidelines for ICO and cryptocurrencies, at a Fintech event in Sydney April 26: “The development of innovative technologies like blockchain and ICOs has the potential to revolutionize how our society engages with financial products and services, but with revolution comes risk… Scams are corrosive when it comes to building any form of trust, and we all have a role to play in making sure they don’t happen.” Price’s speech focused on protecting Australian consumers, highlighting that Australian corporate and consumer laws …