- Blockchain Week 2024 was held in Sydney, blending discussions of blockchain and Whisky with industry leaders.
- Tommy Honan from Swyftx detailed challenges in the Australian crypto market, emphasising regulatory hurdles and banking vulnerabilities.
- Andrew Vranjes of Blockdaemon discussed DeFi innovations and strong institutional crypto adoption in APAC.
Blockchain Week 2024, an Australian event which has been an important fixture in local calendars since 2014, just went underway in Sydney. In an interesting, thought provoking and slightly mind-altering discussion, blockchain briefly merged with Whisky.
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Blockdaemon VP of Sales, Andrew Vranjes and Swyftx Head of Product, Tommy Honan, sat down to discuss the latest industry insights and “a shared love for whisky”.
Swyftx Navigates Australian Crypto Challenges
Honan provided an overview of Swyftx’s position in the Australian cryptocurrency market, detailing several key aspects of the company’s operations and challenges. He noted that Swyftx has a substantial user base, with 750,000 clients engaged in various crypto transactions.
However, Honan also addressed several regulatory hurdles that Swyftx and similar companies encounter. He specifically mentioned the regulatory limitations affecting derivatives trading due to local laws.
Additionally, Honan raised concerns regarding the potential risks and vulnerabilities in the Australian banking sector that could affect crypto operations. He highlighted the need for robust and supportive regulatory frameworks to mitigate these risks, ensuring a secure environment for crypto transactions.
Robust Institutional Adoption in APAC and Beyond
Vranjes said Blockdaemon is excited about “DeFi innovations and the potential of re-staking technologies”. The company is also experiencing strong institutional adoption in the region especially in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.
Much of this institutional adoption seems to be driven by Spot Bitcoin ETF approvals worldwide. According to The Bold Report around 5% or 1,076,000 BTC of all BTC are held in these funds worldwide.
Hong Kong had its funds approved in April with three funds, Bosera HashKey, ChinaAMC and Harvest Global commencing trading. Unlike in the US, these fund managers were able to list Ethereum ETFs at the same time. The US is still expecting a decision on that matter with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claiming the ball is in the court of applicants.
Meanwhile, Australia has just seen its second listing of a Spot fund on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). The DigitalX Bitcoin ETF fund with the ticker BTXX is going live on Friday July 12.
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DigitalX CEO Lisa Wade called the listing “a watershed moment for us as a business and for the Australian digital asset investment market”.
Only a few weeks ago VanEck listed the first BTC fund on the ASX. The fund with the ticker VBTC currently holds AU$18.64M in total assets.
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