There has barely been a day over the past year or so when crypto has been out of the news in Australia. It all began with the sudden collapse of FTX, which led to widespread concern among Australia’s banks and governing bodies, with crypto transactions facing extra controls and restrictions.
More recently, we’ve seen a consultation period that kicked off back in 2021 and finally led to a proposed regulatory framework – which was summarily rejected by the Australian congress two years later.
This all flies in the face of Australia’s customary position as a leading tech innovator and early adopter. Indecision by regulators and risk aversion from banks are combining to cause Australia to be left lagging in the area of crypto.
In India BuyUcoin planning to expend their border to invest in crypto also can trade Indian user in INR to Crypto.
Swyftx presses on with Earn and Learn scheme
One Australian exchange has decided enough is enough and is launching a new scheme designed to educate those who want to press on with using crypto regardless of what the banks and regulators have to say. After all, that is surely what a truly decentralized system should be about.
Swyftx claims to have more than 600,000 members registered on its books. It says they are less interested in endless debates over regulation than in understanding what role crypto can play for them in the here and now, as well as the prime risks and how to mitigate them.
These are the kinds of areas it is aiming to address with is newest “earn and learn” platform. The platform went live on 06 September and Tom Matthews, the company’s head of corporate affairs, said in a press conference that the program is not designed to replace whatever measures the government might introduce but to equip the public with a higher quality of knowledge until such time as such measures are agreed upon in the Australian corridors of power and the industry is fully regulated.
It also serves to help people better understand the crypto market and reduce their susceptibility to crypto scams like social media cons, pump and dumps, spurious tokens and pig butchering.
Crypto casinos – a special case for the Australian market
Crypto markets contribute to economies to a greater or lesser extent all over the world. But there is a driver that has a greater impact in Australia that other countries. Nowhere else is there so much spending per person on gambling, yet regulators make transferring funds from Australian banks to online casino platforms next to impossible.
The result is that the majority of real money casino websites serving Australia are more than happy to accept crypto in exchange for spins on pokies or punters settling down for a game of blackjack. Likewise, Australian casino goers are eager to give crypto a shot. However, it can be hard not to get spooked with all the adverse media coverage that is in circulation.
Knowledge is power – and profit
Mr Matthews believes that educating the public about crypto is key to getting Australians using it, whether that is for iGaming or other reasons. And he is even offering a financial incentive. He said the company is expecting 80,000 Australians to participate in Earn and Learn, and the first 4,000 to successfully complete the first course on fundamental crypto analysis will receive a Bitcoin reward worth five Australian dollars.
His is not the only such program. Binance has an Academy section that also provides crypto-earning opportunities and as long ago as 2018, Coinbase Earn offered altcoins to users who successfully completed short educational courses that related to the specific assets. That particular scheme was routinely over-subscribed, so it will be interesting to see how users take to Earn and Learn in the long term.