Monat: Oktober 2023

Veröffentlicht am

Australia proposes new licensing regime for crypto exchanges

  • Exchanges with specific asset levels must obtain an Australian Financial Services License
  • The draft legislation is expected to go out by 2024.
  • A consultative process seeks input from stakeholders and the public on 32 key regulatory themes.

In a significant move towards regulating the rapidly expanding cryptocurrency industry in Australia, Australia’s Treasury has unveiled plans to introduce a comprehensive licensing regime for crypto exchanges.

The initiative is designed to enhance consumer protection, bring much-needed clarity to the digital asset sector, and pave the way for the nation to align with global regulatory standards.

The newly proposed regulatory framework

Under the newly proposed framework, cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Australia must obtain an Australian Financial Services license (AFSL) from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

This regulatory measure will be applicable to exchanges that hold more than AUD 1,500 of any single client’s assets or have total assets exceeding AUD 5 million. The approach seeks to ensure that exchanges are equipped to safeguard the interests of their customers and adhere to robust financial and operational standards.

Draft legislation by 2024

The Treasury’s timeline outlines a plan to release draft legislation covering licensing and custody rules for crypto asset providers by 2024. Once the legislation is enacted into law, crypto exchanges will have a 12-month transition period to align their operations with the new regulatory framework. This means it may take until 2025 for an Australian digital asset platform to receive a license under this fresh regulatory regime.

The proposed regulatory framework’s approach is consumer-centric, aiming to strike a balance between ensuring consumer protection and fostering innovation. It acknowledges that the digital asset landscape is evolving rapidly and seeks to provide clear guidelines to industry participants.

Consultation and feedback

The government has initiated a consultation process, soliciting feedback from industry stakeholders and the public. This approach underscores the desire to create well-informed, balanced, and acceptable regulations for the broader community.

Caroline Bowler, CEO of BTC Markets responded to the consultation paper from the Commonwealth Treasury regarding the proposed regulation of crypto-asset exchanges in Australia via X (formerly Twitter) and termed the development a “key milestone.”

The proposal includes 32 key themes and invites written submissions by December 1, 2023, reflecting the government’s intention to involve all relevant stakeholders in shaping the final regulations.

Australian Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) research

In addition to the crypto exchange regulation, Australia is making strides in the field of central bank digital currency (CBDC) research.

The Reserve Bank of Australia and the Treasury will jointly publish a report in 2024, offering insights into CBDC research within the nation and outlining a roadmap for future work. This move reflects a coordinated approach to exploring the possibilities and implications of digital currencies.

Australia’s delayed but anticipated regulatory proposal signals a robust commitment to regulating the crypto industry in a manner that balances protection and innovation.

As the consultation process unfolds, the nation is gearing up to join its international peers in establishing a framework that addresses the unique challenges of the digital asset space while safeguarding the interests of consumers.

The post Australia proposes new licensing regime for crypto exchanges appeared first on CoinJournal.

Veröffentlicht am

As the Sandbox usage slows, is Memeinator the next big thing?

The Sandbox is one of the most prominent players in the crypto industry. Together with Axie Infinity and Decentraland, the network were the leading players in the gaming and NFT industry at their peak. 

The Sandbox users slow

Recently, however, the ongoing crypto winter has affected the crypto gaming industry, with prominent platforms seeing slow user metrics. The most recent data by DappRadar shows that the network had just 2.85k Unique Active Wallets (UAW) interact with its platform in the past 30 days. 

The number of transactions in the ecosystem jumped by more than 28% to 3.6k while the overall volume crashed by 15.5% to $2.26 million. Another crucial data shows that the total fiat value of coins in its platform has dropped by 0.58% to over $23 million. These numbers pale in comparison to what it had during it peak.

The Sandbox is not alone. Decentraland, a pioneer in its industry has done even worse. It had just 2.28k in Unique Active Wallets and handled 40.24k transactions. The total volume in its platform was just $19 million.

There are several reasons why Sandbox and Decentraland have seen their users crash over time. First, unlike during the pandemic, many people have now gone back to work and have less time to play.

Second, many Decentraland and Sandbox players have been disappointed by the relatively weak returns in the sector. MANA and SAND prices have plunged by over 80% from their peak.

Most importantly, interest rates have jumped to a multi-decade high as the Fed battles with high inflation. Riskier assets like Sandbox and Decentraland underperform in a period of high-interest rates.

Memeinator continues to outperform

Meanwhile, Memeinator, an upcoming meme coin has continued to defy gravity. The platform has raised over $695k in the past few weeks as investors continues accumulatioon. Their goal is that the price will surge once it is listed in key exchanges like Binance and OKX.

Memeinator is a meme coin that will combhine the aspects of gaming and artificial intelligence. These technologies will help to create utility in the ecosystem, making it one of the top-performing platforms.

Memeinator aims to take advantage of the hype that has pushed meme coins like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin to become the biggest players in the industry. It also aims to use technologies like AI to boost its market share and defeat existing tokens.

Most importantly, there is a likelihood that the MMTR token will do well in the next crypto bulll run. This run willl be triggered by a Bitcoin ETF, Bitcoin halving, and a change of tune by the Federal Reserve. You can buy MMTR token here.

The post As the Sandbox usage slows, is Memeinator the next big thing? appeared first on CoinJournal.

Veröffentlicht am

Liquity, Loom Network Surges as Shiba Memu Token Sale Continues

Cryptocurrency prices have been in a deep slumber in the past few weeks as investors move back to stocks and other safe havens like short-term bonds and money market funds. Bitcoin has remained stagnant betweeen $25k and $30k while the total market cap has remained stuck above $1 trillion.

Loom Network, Liquity surge

Not all cryptocurrencies have remained in this consolidation phase in the past few weeks. As I wrote here, Loom Network price has surged by more than 500% in the past few days, making it the 92nd biggest cryptocurrency in the world. The rally happened after Gate.io, a leading exchange listed the cryptocurrency. 

And this week., Loom Network’s futures were added to leading exchanges like Binance and LBank. As all this happened, the coin entered the so-called markup stage of the Wyckoff model where demand is usually higher than supplies. 

The other top mover was Liquity, a platform that operates the Liquity US dollar stablecoin known as LUSD. Users can take loans using the stablecoin after staking ether as collateral. LQTY price has surged to $1.35, higher than last month’s low of $1.35. 

Liquity’s price action was mostly due to the increased activity in its ecosystem. The latest data shows that users who staked in the protocol received $625k in the last month even as the crypto winter continued. 

Shiba Memu token sale continues

The other big winners in the past few weeks has been Shiba Memu, which has continued raising additional capital in the past few months. The token has raised over $3.8 million, making it one of the most successful token sales in the world. 

For starters, Shiba Memu is a meme token that aims to disrupt the industry that is now dominated by the likes of Shiba Inu and Dogecoin. It aims to do that by combining two of the most popular technologies in the market.

The first technology is artificial intelligence (AI), which has grown rapidly because of the success of ChatGPT and other companies like Anthropic. Analysts believe that AI will be the most disruptive industry in the market.

Shiba Memu will use some of the top building blocks of AI like predictive modelling, data analysis, and image analysis. The end goal is to have a meme coin that evolves over time and markets itself.

The other technlogy is the meme coin, which is mostly hype driven. But in this case, Shiba Memu will have a clear utility as the network grows.

Therefore, analysts believe that investing in Shiba Memu in its presale gives you an opportunity to make a fortune when it gets listed on key exchanges. You can buy the Shiba Memu token here.

The post Liquity, Loom Network Surges as Shiba Memu Token Sale Continues appeared first on CoinJournal.