Crypto-related companies and figures have provided evidence about being de-banked by Australian financial institutions to a Senate inquiry. Crypto investment firm Aus Merchant, global remittance provider Nium and small peer-to-peer crypto brokerage platform Bitcoin Babe were speaking on a panel as part of the Senate inquiry into “Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre” on Wednesday. All three are registered with financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC and are subject to reporting requirements; however, they all echoed similar sentiments of being de-banked without a concrete explanation as to why. Michaela Juric, the founder of the peer-to-peer trading business dubbed after her nickname …

For a country of 25 million people, Australia punches well above its weight both economically and in the world of blockchain. Australians have long been enthusiastic adopters of new technology, from cellphones to smart homes, so it’s little surprise they’ve embraced crypto too. Chainalysis ranks Australia 20th out of 154 countries surveyed this year for its "The 2020 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report," citing favorable regulation that legitimizes the technology as driving "steady growth in adoption." Australian crypto educator Alex Saunders, founder of Nuggets News, said the Australian crypto community encompasses everyone from hardcore Bitcoin (BTC) maximalists to well-known Ethereans and …

Three of the “big four” Australian banks are forming a new company called Lygon to digitize bank guarantees using blockchain technology. Bank guarantees are an official contract between a debtor and a financial institution. It ensures the debtor and the debt provider that the debt will be paid on time under all circumstances. The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corporation along with two other shareholders — the Australian shopping center company Scentre Group and technology behemoth IBM — are forming the company after a successful pilot last year. The last of …

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is currently prototyping blockchain tokens meant to enable landowners, environmental groups, developers and governments to invest in sustainable development. Commonwealth Bank’s “BioTokens” The bank announced in a press release published on Aug. 21 that it is working on “BioTokens,” enabling sustainable investments co-developed with BioDiversity Solutions Australia. Per the report, the project is part of broader developments meant to support regional businesses across the country — and enable the creation of crypto assets representing biodiversity credits for New South Wales Government’s Biodiversity Offsets Scheme. The government project — introduced in 2017 — requires companies to …