The Australian Securities and Investments Commission today issued a stop order upon Bitcoin Group Limited which prohibits the company from making any further statements about its much discussed yet yet to surface IPO. Continue reading
Category Archives: Australia
PayPal Australia: Regulate Bitcoin Businesses, Not Individuals
A copy of PayPal Australia's submission to the Australian Senate inquiry into digital currencies held in late 2014 is now available. Contained within the submission, PayPal Australia argue that while an individual's use of Bitcoin should not be regulated, businesses which offer a service based on it should be. Continue reading
Canberra Times: Police Concerned Over Online Drug Purchases
According to the Caberra Times the phenomenon of "tech-savvy young people" buying drugs online is leading to police and "crime experts" expressing concern over the phenomenon. One of the cited "crime experts", Dr Susan Goldsmid of the Australian Institute of Criminology, when asked about the size of online drug markets and the population patronizing them could not offer a response other than saying it was an "unknown" while also offering that it was unlikely in her estimation that users are buying drugs online when they have access to the traditional physical networks typically used for commerce in drugs.
CoinJelly Exchange Warns Users They Have 24 Hours To Remove Coins
Ownership of the Australian Bitcoin exchange CoinJelly is alleged to have changed hands and as a result of the purchase, CoinJelly users have been warned that they have 24 hours to remove their coins from the site. Despite the announcement, which was made via email and twitter, no notification of account closures has been made on the CoinJelly website although the sign up process has been disabled. Continue reading
Australian "Big Four" Attempt To Build Real Time Payment Network.. Again
The National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ, which make up Australia's "Big Four" banks and an additional eight financial institutions have announced their intention to build a new payments network that will enable real time payments. The network is to be built by Belgium based company SWIFT who today signed a 12 year contract to build and operate the infrastructure. Continue reading
Australia: The Tax Institute Calls for 'Voluntary' Bitcoin Registry, Treating Bitcoin as Currency
In a filing with the Australian Parliament the Tax Institute proposed a number of changes and suggestions for future measures the Australian Government could consider with respect to Bitcoin. Among those changes were treating Bitcoin as a currency rather than a good which would end the burden of processing GST taxes on Bitcoin purchases, a bane which has lead at least one startup to leave Australia. Also proposed is a "voluntary registry" of Bitcoin addresses in order to: Continue reading
Project Longstrike Launches, Meanwhile Australian Citizen Extradited To United States Over Silk Road Charges
Reuters reports that an unnamed Australian law enforcement agency is investigating the use of bitcoin in organised crime. It's unknown whether the LEA conducting the investigation, named Project Longstrike, is one at the state or federal level. Given the project's scope for local and international crime, it's likely to be the later of the two. Continue reading
MasterCard's Submission To Economics References Committee Now Available
A copy of MasterCard's submission to the Economics References Committee held by the Australian Senate on the 26th of November 2014 is now available to the public. Within the submission, MasterCard argues that the Australian regulators must address the pseudonymity of Bitcoin as it can be used to facilitate the purchase of illegal goods and services, launder money as well as finance terrorism.
MasterCard stated that for Australia to have an effective regulatory system for Bitcoin, it must make it a requirement for all transactions to go through regulated and transparent administrators rather than just the blockchain itself. The company also claims that Australia must address the risks that harm consumers and enable criminal behaviours through the use of digital currencies such as Bitcoin if the country is to take a market leadership position going into the future.
CoinJar Relocate From Australia To UK, No Longer Charging GST
CoinJar has announced the relocation of its headquarters from Melbourne, Australia to the UK. As a result of the change, CoinJar customers are no longer subject to a GST of 10% when purchasing bitcoin via the platform.
CoinJar first began collecting the GST on bitcoin purchases as of October 3rd 2014. The addition of the GST made CoinJar the most expensive place to purchase bitcoin in Australia. After the GST was implemented, Qntra speculated that CoinJar customers had no reason to use the website as competitors, such as Circle, were now accepting credit cards from Australian users1 and did not collect the GST, making it a cheaper option despite currency exchange fees. Continue reading
Hit and miss depending on who issued the credit card. ↩
ATO Submission To Economics References Committee Now Available
A copy of the Australian Tax Office's submission to the Economics References Committee held by the Australian Senate on the 26th of November 2014 is now available to the public. A copy can be downloaded via PDF here or read below. Continue reading