RMIT to make Blockchain Hub a part-time gig, hints at resource crunch

December 12, 2024 Coin Telegraph

FTX reboot could falter due to long-broken user trust, say observers

January 20, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Aaron Lane

Crypto industry observers have questioned whether customers or investors will ever want to "come near" FTX again.

Several crypto industry commentators have laid skepticism on FTX CEO John Ray’s vision to potentially reboot the crypto exchange, citing trust issues and “second-class” treatment of customers as some reasons why users may not “feel safe to go back.”

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted on Jan. 20 praising John Ray for looking at a reboot of FTX, suggesting it is the best move for its customers.

I'm glad Mr. Ray is finally paying lip service to turning the exchange back on after months of squashing such efforts!

I'm still waiting for him to finally admit FTX US is solvent and give customers their money back...https://t.co/XjcyYFsoU0 https://t.co/SdvMIMXQ5K
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) January 19, 2023

This came after John Ray told the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 19 that he was considering reviving the crypto exchange as part of his efforts to make the users whole.

Ray noted that despite top executives being accused of criminal misconduct, stakeholders have shown interest in the possibilities of the platform coming back — seeing the exchange as a “viable business.”

In comments to Cointelegraph, Binance Australia CEO Leigh Travers believes it will be difficult for FTX to secure a license again, particularly as the industry moves into a new year with increased regulation and oversight by regulators.

Travers also noted that since the closure, FTX users have migrated “to other platforms, like Binance.” He questioned whether those users will “feel safe to go back.”

He addressed the fact that FTX governance and controls were called into question, with administrators sharing details about some clients getting “preferential treatment,” including “back door switches.” Travers noted:

“How will users feel comfortable going back to a platform that treated some clients as second-class?”

Digital assets lawyer Liam Hennessy, partner at Australian law firm Gadens, thinks that it would be “very difficult” for FTX, given the reputational damage and lack of trust, for any customer or investor to “come near them again.”

Hennessy was also skeptical whether FTX will ever get approved for a license again, saying that it is “one big question mark” which entirely depends on jurisdictions.

The lawyer believes that in some offshore jurisdictions, it will be easier for the exchange to get license approval, but it will be pointless if its users do not intend to return.

“To jump through the hoops the major jurisdictions will set such as the US, UK and Australia will be a serious challenge.”

Meanwhile, RMIT University Blockchain Innovation Hub senior law lecturer Aaron Lane told Cointelegraph, that it is “not surprising" that FTX would consider reviving the exchange business, stating that is the purpose of the Chapter 11 process — giving the company the ability to propose a plan to run the business and pay the creditors back “over time with the court’s approval.”

He believes that the “onus will be on FTX,” or a creditor that files a competing plan, to show that creditors will get a “better result” under the revival plan compared to liquidating FTX’s assets.

Lane however also questioned whether customers will ever trust FTX again, saying it is possible that another company looking to launch a new exchange “purposes those assets” rather than developing its own interface from scratch.

Lack of ‘qualified people’ without more Web3 education, say academics

September 29, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Australia

Blockchain Academy International’s Huxley Peckham says there are already 60 different industries using blockchain tech today.

Australian blockchain academics and educators have called for more robust Web3 education in schools, preparing students for a world that will be dominated by blockchain technology.

Huxley Peckham, head trainer for Blockchain Academy International told Cointelegraph that there are “very few qualified people in the blockchain industry, but there is big demand for qualified people,” noting that worldwide, there are at least 60 different industries using blockchain tech.

Both Peckman, and Blockchain Academy International founder Tim Bowman said it was time to rapidly expand blockchain education in schools in order to prepare for a shift in the world economy.

Peckham believes blockchain education is important as it will allow “the next generation of strategists and consultants to come out with some real grip in this industry,” noting that knowing how to apply the technology will “really enhance their career.”

He suggested blockchain is a lucrative industry to jump into, noting he’s seen various jobs in the industry commanding “$300,000 [Australian dollars] plus incentives.”

Chris Berg, Co-Director of RMIT University Blockchain Innovation Hub told Cointelegraph that it is vital students have an idea “on what does the economy look like, how the economy is changing” as it relates to cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Berg firmly believes that students “need to leave year 12 with an understanding of the changing nature of the economy, and the technologies that will affect it, one of those is blockchain.”

Meanwhile, Leigh Travers, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance Australia told Cointelegraph that it was imperative that Australian students can access the same level of high-quality education in blockchain as those seeking a career in traditional industries.

Travers noted that Binance Australia recently introduced a “Binance Internship” — allowing students to learn from the best in “Web3 and crypto” and “hopefully land jobs outside of that.”

This is alongside plans for Binance Australia to form a partnership with Australian universities so that a “blockchain master’s degree” can be established to help people “get into the Metaverse or build that out for the future.”

Bowman noted that his academy has “met with a school in Brisbane who are going to be offering a Diploma of Applied Blockchain to their year 11 and 12 students in 2023.”

Blockchain Academy International is the first blockchain education facility to be approved in Australia for government-issued student loans.

This allows Australians to enroll in its blockchain courses without having to pay upfront, instead taking out a loan with the Australian government the same way university loans are provided.

Bowman said he believes young Australians are already ahead of the curve in many ways recalling a personal experience he had talking to a primary school principal who asked a sixth-grade class “who here knows what an NFT is?” which was followed by “half the class putting their hands up” before learning that “six students had already bought an NFT.”

A newly released survey report from Australian crypto exchange Swyftx estimates Australia to gain one million new cryptocurrency holders over the next 12 months, bringing total crypto ownership in the country to over five million.

RMIT