In recent news pertaining to cryptocurrency exchanges, Australia’s financial regulators have expressed skepticism regarding Coinjar’s purported trade volume, Paysend has partnered with Bitstamp to facilitate cryptocurrency purchases through its Global Account, and Seed Cx has announced a $15 million USD Series B funding round.
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Australian Regulators Skeptical of Purported Coinjar Volume
In a recent interview with Business Insider, Jordan Michaelides, Coinjar’s head of institutional investment, expressed his frustrations with the slow pace at which he perceives Australia’s regulatory institutions to be reacting to innovation within the crypto sector – claiming that the exchange facilitated $1.4 billion AUD (approximately 1.07 billion USD) in trade volume during the first half of 2018.
In response, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) expressed skepticism regarding Coinjar’s purported volume, with a spokesperson stating: “Tracking the actual industry is even newer than the sector itself, […] aspects of the volume of transactions can be quite opaque, and you could imagine some of the claims by participants might warrant a certain skepticism.”
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) appears to share ASIC’s skepticism, with a spokesperson stating: “AUSTRAC does not monitor or collect information that allows us to quantify total transaction volumes by a reporting entity or industry.”
Seed Cx Announces $15 million Series B Funding Round
Chicago-based Seed Cx has announced a $15 million USD Series B funding round. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures and brings the company’s total funding to $25 million.
Edward Woodford, Seed CX’s co-founder and CEO, stated: “As a licensed exchange for both spot and derivatives trading, we deliver the operational risk safeguards, strong institutional technology, operational support, and regulatory compliance that institutions demand. What is particularly exciting is that our unique offering brings large institutional traders, who have so far sat on the sidelines, into the crypto space for the first time.”
Salil Deshpande, Managing Director at Bain Capital Ventures, stated: “Institutions are seeking regulated, secure, and reliable crypto venues with diverse products that allow them to earn strong returns. Today, trading venues are retail focused, limited to spot trading, often unregulated, and in foreign jurisdictions. The lack of institutional exchanges is the single largest barrier to crypto asset class growth. Seed Cx is serving this unmet need of institutions and has assembled an outstanding team of executives to support this vision.”
Paysend Partners With Bitstamp to Compete With Revolut
Paysend has launched it’s “Global Account” – a product designed to compete with Revolut. The app will allow users to spend and transfer money via mobile app and debit card. The app supports EUR, GBP, USD, RUB, and KZT, and provides access to the cryptocurrency markets on Bitstamp – owing to a partnership between the two companies.
Paysend’s head of product, Alex Murashko, stated: “We are quite different from both a technical infrastructure and consumer offering viewpoint. We own and control our own processing and this gives tremendous ability and flexibility to deliver a wide variety of services whilst controlling the entire consumer journey.”
Mr. Murashko continued: “[…] We believe in simplifying the consumer experience so that instead of feeling like they are bombarded with a long list of features they have available a focused group of benefits.”
What is your response to ASIC and AUSTRAC’s skepticism regarding Coinjar’s purported trade volume? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Paysend
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