Australian Senator Warns Banks Not To "Act Like a Bunch of Ostriches" When Regulating Bitcoin
Australian Bitcoiners seems to have a champion within the government, a rare sight that may have the potential to reverse Australia's current Bitcoin regulatory haze. Labor Senator Sam Dastyari, the chairman of the Australian Senate's Economic References Committee, has urged a list of 74 organizations and companies from around the world to provide comment to his committee's inquiry into digital currencies. Earlier this month, the Australian Senate revealed that it was launching an investigation into Bitcoin with a finalized report scheduled for release on 3/15/15. Senator Dastyari told the....
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Independent Reserve (IR) is an Australian Bitcoin exchange in Sydney that ran a pre-launch survey that reached 442 people from every corner of the world. From their survey, IR determined that only 8% of participants had used Bitcoin. However, more than half claimed that they "felt they understood Bitcoin" and over three-quarters admitted to having planned to "find out more" in the future. Australia is still holding out as a Bitcoin bastion despite bad news, Bitcoin wallet scams, and Ostrich-like regulation. IR will charge a flat 0.5% fee and will not charge a goods and services tax (GST).....
Following an investigation, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has cleared Australian banks of colluding to deny banking services to local bitcoin companies in the country. An investigation requested by Senator Matthew Canavan suggesting the ACCC should look into the possibility of banks colluding together to close the bank accounts of bitcoin companies has resulted in the regulator concluding that the banks did no wrong, as reported by the Australian Financial Review. In response to the request, ACCC chairman Rod Sims wrote to the senator telling him that there was....
An Australian Senator has requested the country's competition overseer to start an inquiry into the banks' recent crackdown on Bitcoin companies. Senator Matthew Canavan, who was also part of the recent Senate Committee studying Bitcoin technology, doubted the coordinated approach of banks while shutting down the accounts of around 17 Bitcoin companies. He further implied that the banks are taking an unethical route to clamp down potentially competitive companies. "The actions by the banks," he wrote, "would appear to directly engage competition in the financial services industry as it....
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is investigating why some Australian banks are closing bitcoin business bank accounts, according to the Australian Financial Review. The Australian Financial Review previously reported that 17 bitcoin companies in Australia received letters from banks saying they planned to close their accounts. Nationals Senator Matthew Canavan asked the ACCC to investigate the matter. Rod Sims, chairman of ACCC, said banks have been asked to explain their actions. He said the commission is also asking the banks what contact they had with each....
Australian Senate chamber. The Australian Senate's Economics References Committee announced this week it would hold an inquiry into bitcoin and digital currency implications, aiming to present its findings to parliament in March 2015. Chaired by Senator Sam Dastyari of the Australian Labor Party, the committee will examine the potential economic impact of digital currencies across various industries, including banking and retail. A further aim is to help decide Australia's framework for regulating and taxing digital currency-related activities, in the hope that legal clarity will see the....