Australia
Jack Harlow’s ‘First Class’ Flies to No. 1 In Australia
Jack Harlow is living it up on Australia’s singles chart as “First Class” blasts to No. 1. “First Class” (via Atlantic/Warner) is the U.S. rapper’s first leader and second solo Top 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart, following “Whats Poppin,” which peaked at No. 8 in July 2020. The top tier this week is bracketed by Harlow numbers, as his collaboration with Lil Nas X, “Industry Baby,” holds at No. 10, and his previous single, “Nail Tech” reenters the chart at No. 26, just four places below its peak position. Following the release of her third and latest album Familia, Camila Cabello’s “Bam Bam” (Warner/Sony) continues to climb. “Bam Bam,” a collaboration with Ed Sheeran, lifts 15-11 in its sixth week on the survey. Familia (via Epic/Sony) debuts at No. 27 this week on the national albums li...
DAO regulation in Australia: Issues and solutions, Part 3
Lawmakers in Australia want to regulate decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). In this three-part series, Oleksii Konashevych discusses the risks of stifling the emerging phenomenon of DAOs and possible solutions. Crypto anarchy is unlikely to be the future that the majority of people support. Company regulation, in its essence, has a lot of positive aspects or at least, a good intention, albeit one often embodied in a red tape that stifles business. Nevertheless, nowadays, corporation rules and regulations are formalized to the extent that they could be put in the machine code. So, the role of the government is to establish mandatory standards for those DAOs that would like to operate in the Australian market. [embedded content] Non-digital There are cases when a written legal tex...
Rick Springfield and Zoot Cancel Australia Tour
Rick Springfield’s long-overdue homecoming reunion tour with Zoot has been scrapped. “It is with much sadness and disappointment that we must announce that the Zoot tour of Australia is cancelled,” reads a statement issued Wednesday (April 13) from DRW Entertainment, producer of the multi-city trek. “Much has changed in the two years since we announced the tour, and individual members of the band, whilst excited about the potential offered by the tour, are now unfortunately not in a position whereby they can move forward with the tour as scheduled,” the message continues. The reunion dates were scheduled to visit Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne this October, for Zoot’s first Australian shows in over 50 years. Springfield was to be joined on stage by Rick Brewer, Beeb Birtle...
Female investors led crypto market growth in 2021, says new report
The crypto market is maturing and is no longer driven by speculation, according to a new report from BTC Markets (BTCM). According to the report by the Australian cryptocurrency exchange, the crypto market’s growth in 2021 was driven by utility. The BTCM Investor Study Report 2021 is an in-depth analysis of data from the BTCM exchange for the year 2021, divided by demographics (age, gender, investor type) to anonymously examine and analyze cryptocurrency investment habits among its 325,000 customers. As per the report, “crypto queens” or rather female investors on the platform have grown at a faster rate than their male counterparts. Female investors surged by 126% in comparison to male investors, who increased by 83%. According to the report, the most significant in...
OTR to offer crypto payments option powered by Crypto.com
OTR will collaborate with payments processor DataMesh to roll out point of sale terminals for the new option The convenience store chain will accept crypto in 170 of its outlets Australian convenience store mammoth On The Run (OTR) has announced plans to offer customers an option to complete payments for goods and services using more than 30 cryptocurrencies. The initiative will be brought to life via a collaboration with Singapore-based crypto and digital asset exchange Crypto.com. The exchange will enable OTR to integrate the Pay Merchant layer that allows merchants to settle crypto transactions. With the service planned to become active starting in July, the chain will offer the option in 170 of its outlets across the states of South Australia and Victoria. Sydney-based payment services...
Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets introduces a MasterCard payment option
BTC Markets customers can now make direct credit, debit, and prepaid payments to purchase crypto MasterCard previously launched crypto-funded payments cards (for goods and services) in collaboration with crypto exchange CoinJar Legacy payments platforms have in recent months been diving deeper into cryptocurrencies via partnerships and flagships. The latest, albeit not unfamiliar, name to make headlines is MasterCard. The financial services firm is collaborating with the Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets. According to local reports, the partnership would see BTC Markets clients enjoy a provision to purchase crypto from the exchange via direct credit, debit and prepaid payments powered by MasterCard. The exchange users will now be able to enjoy ease and safety in completing payments fo...
Australian bank ANZ mints the first Australian dollar-backed stablecoin
ANZ bank minted and transferred 30 million A$DC tokens, in a pilot test, before redeeming them into fiat The bank, one of the big four in Australia, leveraged its EVM compatible smart contract to mint the A$DC stablecoin In what is the first event of its like in Australia, Melbourne-headquartered big four bank ANZ today announced the minting of A$DC stablecoin. A$DC IS the first-ever stablecoin pegged on the Australian dollar. The minted tokens were availed via crypto-asset investment platform Zerocap to the Victor Smorgon Group that wanted to invest in crypto markets. “An ANZ-issued Australian dollar stablecoin is a first and important step in enabling our customers to find a safe and secure gateway to the digital economy,” ANZ Banking Services Lead Nigel Dobson said. “S...
FTX exchange expands operation by launching Australian unit
The exchange completed an acquisition to gain the required regulatory license to launch in Australia FTX Australia will offer locals derivatives and other market-leading products Sam Bankman-Fried led crypto exchange FTX has revealed that it’s launching a new service for its customers in Australia. The leading global exchange announced the creation of FTX Australia in a statement published yesterday. The exchange said that Australian consumers will get exposure to market-leading products and services, including derivatives and a collection of exchange and over-the-counter products. CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was keen to point out that the launch of the subsidiary would allow users to conduct their activity on a locally regulated and licensed platform. Though Australians have previously be...
Australian Liberal Senator proposes digital assets regulation
Senator Andrew Bragg has submitted a proposal pushing for policies to protect the consumer The legislative proposal, if approved, would define regulation for DAOs, crypto markets, custodial services, and taxation Australia is set to join the list of countries worldwide that have adopted initiatives towards regulating the use and adoption of digital assets. According to recent reports, the Australian government plans to redefine the state of payments systems, a move that would also affect digital currencies. The goal is to create investor protection measures, laws for crypto taxation and regulate digital asset custodial firms and exchanges. “The government can’t guarantee your crypto any more than it can guarantee a painting or a share in a company, and nor should it,” Aus...
Law Decoded: Arab States of the Gulf open up to digital asset services, March 14–21
Last week got off to an antsy start as the clause that many interpreted as a direct route to ban proof-of-work-(PoW)-based cryptocurrencies made a sudden comeback to the draft of the European Union’s key directive on digital assets. Many in the crypto policy space got immediate flashbacks to other instances of harmful last-minute additions to must-pass legislation days and hours before the vote. It all ended well, though, as the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs voted against the draft that contained the hostile language. Over in the United States, monetary policy kept growing more political, as evidenced by Sarah Bloom Raskin, President Joe Biden’s pick for the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision, being forced to withdraw her nomination due to a Senate gridlock. Ukrainia...
23-year-old Australian buys $314k property via planned crypto investments
A young resident from Queensland, Australia played the long game of accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) over several years to eventually overcome the soaring real estate prices during the 2020 bull run and own his dream home. The 23-year-old Loi Nguyen started his journey as an investor back in 2017 by purchasing a few hundred dollars worth of BTC, ETH and traditional stocks. However, his interest in crypto reached new heights while pursuing an Economics degree: “Crypto came back into my life when I did a course at the uni on inflation. I learned that Bitcoin can be disinflationary.” Speaking to news.com.au, Nguyen revealed that the lower interest rates (less than 0.5%) offered by traditional banks could never help him break into the real estate market. By following a dollar-cost...
Gang of Youths Run to No. 1 In Australia With ‘Angel In Realtime’
There’s an Angel atop Australia’s albums chart this week, as Gang of Youths debut at No. 1 with their latest album, Angel In Realtime (Sony). The Aussie rock favorites snag a second leader with Angel, following their 2017 sophomore LP Go Farther In Lightness, which went on to win four ARIA Awards, including album of the year. “We just want to thank everybody for sticking with us and buying and streaming our record,” says the five-piece in a statement. “We are proud to be an Australian band and we just want to say again how much we appreciate the support we get from you all.” The London-based Sydney band leads an all-new Top 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart, ahead of Slash & Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators’ 4 (Sony). It’s the rockers’ third No. 2 release after Apocalyptic Love (No. 2 in Ma...
