Crypto exchange Binance Australia won the “Best Innovation in Digital Currencies” category from. won Finder innovation awardsHe announced that recently on Thursday afternoon.
Now in its sixth year, the awards program aims to recognize Australia’s most pioneering and innovative companies that have shown advances in innovation and growth over the past 12 months.
Submissions in 27 major innovation categories, including digital currencies, were judged by a panel of 46 industry experts from Deakin University, the Australian Investment Council, the Australian FinTech, the Australian Tourism Industry Council, and some of this publication.
Runner-up for the Best Innovation in Digital Currencies award was the Brisbane-based blockchain development agency Labrys and the Sydney-based crypto payment solution RelayPay.
Binance Australia, which has been operating for a little over a year, has grown to be the largest crypto exchange in the country by AUD trading volume, with more than 480,000 Australian users to date and a trading volume of billions in its first year.
To cope with booming user activity, the Australian chapter of the world’s largest crypto exchange recently announced that it would triple its workforce in its second year.
Above: Winner of the Finder Innovation Award Binance Australia.
Australia is in the middle of a crypto tech boom
James Edwards, cryptocurrency expert at comparison site Finder, says Australia is well positioned to benefit from a cryptocurrency tech boom.
“Australia has a thriving cryptocurrency community with a rich ecosystem of businesses, developers and users,” Edwards said today, adding:
“We are fortunate to have received fairly clear instructions from the government that have allowed the industry to grow without regulatory challenges or interference, as has been the case in other countries like the US.”
Edwards pointed out that there is more than a fair share of innovation and start-ups in Australia.
Synthetix, PowerLedger, Rocket Pool, THORChain and Illuvium are just a handful of prominent local examples from an ever-growing field of blockchain talent who play a huge role in shaping the industry globally.
It is these indigenous innovators who “bring adoption beyond users to the economy,” Edwards believes.
“If Australia continues down this blockchain-friendly governance path, we could host our own cryptocurrency tech boom, which is pretty exciting,” continued Finder’s crypto expert. “We’re already seeing great advances in financial services, gaming, and even the arts – all related to blockchain technology.”
A recent Finder survey of 1,004 Australians found that 25% own or plan to own cryptocurrencies by the end of the year. Even so, one in five (20%) doesn’t know how to buy it.
The nationwide representative survey also found that 10% are interested in buying cryptocurrency but say they haven’t gotten around to it yet.
You can view the full list of finalists and winners in Finder’s 27 categories here.
Binance Australia Update: Restriction of the offer of derivatives
In further Binance news, the exchange has just announced that its Australian users will not be able to open new accounts for options, margin products and leveraged tokens. This does not affect the regular spot trading activities on the exchange.
The statement reads:
“With immediate effect, users from Australia will be prohibited from opening new accounts for options, margin products and leveraged tokens. This is an extension of the restriction as Australian users were prevented from opening new futures accounts on 7/8/2021 (UTC).
It’s another move by Binance to proactively address the regulatory and compliance scrutiny that the exchange has faced globally this year.
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