- A spectacular drone display celebrating Australia’s crypto industry lit up the skies over Sydney Harbour on Sunday night as part of The Australian Crypto Convention 2024.
- The display was a fittingly high-tech celebration of the progress crypto has made in Australia in the past few years; more Aussies than ever own crypto, several domestic ETFs have launched and Aussie crypto startups like ImmutableX are thriving.
- During the convention the urgent need for regulatory clarity was a prominent theme, with opposition Senator Andrew Bragg calling on the government to stop dragging its feet on the issue.
The spectacle of the Australian Crypto Convention continued beyond the speeches as a crypto-themed drone display lit up the skies above Sydney Harbour on Sunday evening.
The dazzling display wowed the crowd of crypto enthusiasts as it celebrated the growth of the Australian crypto industry and symbolised the evolution of money. The drone display included several breathtaking crypto-themed scenes, including an enormous Bitcoin, prompting one awestruck crypto-addled reveller to comment “that’s the biggest Bitcoin you’ll ever see!”
Related: Stand With Crypto Expands to Australia in Effort to Educate Local Policymakers
High Tech Display Celebrates Domestic Crypto Industry
The impressive drone display, which was sponsored by Brisbane-based crypto exchange Swyftx, was a fittingly spectacular way to toast the growth of the Australian digital assets industry over the past few years. Experienced Australian fintech/blockchain lawyer John Bassilios from Hall & Willcox posted on LinkedIn that the Swyftx yacht party and drone show was the highlight of the event.
During the convention speakers had covered such topics as the urgent need for regulatory clarity for the Aussie crypto industry and the growing role crypto is playing in regional communities as cash on- and off-ramps become harder to access.
Although there’s a long way still to go, particularly in terms of regulation, the Aussie industry has seen strong growth recently with one in five Aussies now owning some form of crypto. In the past year we’ve also seen the launch of several new domestic ETFs (both Bitcoin and Ethereum) and the ongoing success of local startups such as ImmutableX.
Convention Speakers Call for More Action on Regulation
A prominent theme of this year’s Australian Crypto Convention was the need for swift action on regulation to ensure Australia can seize the opportunity presented by the growth of the global digital assets industry.
Speaking at the convention on Saturday federal opposition senator, Andrew Bragg, criticised the current government for “goofing around” on crypto regulation, suggesting the Labor had intentionally dragged its feet on crypto legislation. Bragg also suggested Labor don’t want to provide the nascent industry with regulatory clarity, instead preferring the current ‘regulation through enforcement’ approach.
Related: Australia Stuck In Crypto “Regulatory Slow Lane” Under Labor Government Says Senator Bragg
Another important issue raised during the convention was that of crypto ATMs filling the gap left as traditional banks withdraw from regional Australian communities. CoinFlip Vice President of Australia and New Zealand, Ben Brockliss, told the convention that his company’s crypto ATMs are becoming increasingly important in regional communities as they now often provide the only easy access to cash, saying:
We’ve seen a significant increase in demand for our crypto ATMs in regional areas, as they provide a crucial alternative for the community to continue using cash. This surge in demand comes as over 650 bank branches have closed across regional and rural Australia since the start of 2020. Residents in these areas are now facing extensive travel to access banking services, while businesses are encountering serious operational challenges.
Ben Brockliss, CoinFlip Vice President of Australia and New ZealandCredit: Source link
