Holders of cryptocurrencies in Australia will now be able to pay their bills in cryptocurrencies, thanks to a new partnership between cryptocurrency exchange, Cointree, and automated billing platform, Gobill.
New Partnership Opens Crypto Doors
Cointree, in a tweet, recently announced its partnership with Gobill which would enable cryptocurrency holders to settle their household bills with a wide range of cryptocurrencies. As a part of the agreement, Gobill will take users’ cryptocurrency funds and pay their bills on their behalf, acting as an intermediary between the two parties.The move enables Australians to pay their bills in cryptocurrency to utility or service providers, irrespective of whether they accept payments in cryptocurrencies or not.
Cointree is licensed under AUSTRAC, while Gobill has an Australian financial services license under ASIC.
Cointree currently supports 40 major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, NEO and Litecoin. Users who have their digital assets stored in Cointree’s platform will be be able to access this service when they link their wallets to their Gobill accounts.
“Fast forward into the future and what we’re seeing is, like it or not, this will be part of our daily lives. Gobbill already let people pay bills from their cards or bank accounts, so now they can pay in cryptocurrency too,” said Gobill co-founder Shendon Ewans.
The move is a significant step in promoting cryptocurrency adoption in Australia.
Australia’s positive stance on cryptocurrencies
Australia is gradually establishing its name as a blockchain and crypto-positive country. It has been taking various measures to develop an environment conducive to the growth of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, while ensuring that the stakeholders are safeguarded against fraudulent and manipulative practices.
In April, the government released a set of regulatory requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) now requires cryptocurrency exchanges to abide by anti-money laundering (AML) rules, as a part of which, ‘digital currency exchanges’ must register with concerned government authorities, and comply with various reporting and identity authentication processes.
Australia already has three licensed cryptocurrency exchanges – Melbourne-based BTC Markets, Sydney-based Independent Reserve, and Blockbid, another Melbourne-based exchange.
Australia also released a set of ICO guidelines last year. According to the guidelines, the legal treatment of an ICO depends on the natural structure of its tokens – whether they are utility tokens or security tokens. The token sales are categorized under general Australian consumer law, provided that the ICO is not offering any financial products. An ICO offering linked to a financial product is subject to standard regulatory regime under the Corporations Act.
Recently, Coinbase partnered with WeGift to enable Australian cryptocurrency holders to convert their cryptocurrencies into gift cards and use them at over 120 retailers including Uber, Nike, Google Pay, Amazon and Tesco, among others.
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