So it was great to have a week off from events but it still meant we had major things happening. First up, we got to onboard a new sponsor in Stables. We made the announcement on our socials yesterday (here’s Twitter): https://twitter.com/AusDeFi/status/1677806371683844097
and it came out along with this article https://www.defi.org.au/post/stables-aus-defi-association-and-notcentralised-collaborate-in-a-game-changing-defi-alliance
Welcome aboard folks!
Another major thing this week was the Aus DeFi YouTube where we’ve gone through an overhaul and have revamped the podcast with a variety of segments. We’ll still have our interviews with the community and recording of meetups, but we’ll also be creating new content such as deeper dives into emerging tech, explainer series and more. You can see more details here in this LinkedIn thread Twitter thread
You can also check out the first episode of one of the new shows called the Emerging Tech Pulse
In other news we have to congratulate our friends (and Melbourne sponsors), Sensand, who closed a $6m deal for their carbon credit platform - see more in the AFR here https://www.afr.com/technology/the-tech-deals-you-need-to-know-20230614-p5dgkc?post
And on their Twitter https://twitter.com/sensandhq/status/1675727126434283520
Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter each week for more updates from us and highlights from around the world of web3.
News
Great to see this recap post and video from Amy-Rose at Blockchain Australia. The whole team over there did an amazing job running the week. See here https://www.linkedin.com/posts/amy-rose_bw2023-activity-7081738381210120192-AcTj?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android
We also saw this article from NotCentralised diving deeper into ZK proofs (and with open-source software they’ve recently released). Read more here: https://medium.com/notcentralised/beyond-blockchain-week-a-tale-of-decentralisation-privacy-and-the-emergence-of-notvault-e492433a61bd
Here's Raoul Pal's view on the future of crypto and how it intersects with AI on the Bankless podcast here
For those working in the digital assets space, what you’re liable for is something you should be more certain about and the legal brains over at Stirling & Rose have helped clarify that in this article https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-you-work-digital-assets-space-might-liable-your-businesses%3FtrackingId=7z0UFOfl62Hlm0XJcbndOQ%253D%253D/?trackingId=7z0UFOfl62Hlm0XJcbndOQ%3D%3D
We also saw other web3 companies, in this case Readii, raise $2m for a crypto-backed stablecoin https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/news/five-aussie-startups-raised-46-9-million-this-week/
If you missed it, Loretta Joseph put out a great article on digital asset and the work being done in Australia and globally to get alignment to help provide balanced and effective regulation whilst also ensuring innovation isn’t https://www.linkedin.com/posts/loretta-joseph-853a5b142_adc-forum-webcast-how-can-australia-implement-activity-7083003965751140352-Y-5S?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Its tax season so if you need GST guidance on your crypto, the ATO has released new details. Mike Bacina goes into this over at Bits of Blocks https://www.bitsofblocks.io/post/ato-drops-gst-guidance-for-crypto
Gary Gensler was in the news with a fake AI advertisement saying he had been fired. We also saw the team at Bankless dive into this topic with Warren Davidson
CoinBureau here with no love lost for Larry Fink and going into the background of who could be the most powerful man in crypto with the power that BlackRock brings
Finally, for those working with tools like ChatGPT in their web3/blockchain work, this might be of interest. It’s a video on ChatGPT privacy which is part of our new explainer series that covers blockchain tools and services as well as AI, as there is a lot of crossover.
About Aus DeFi Association
The Australian DeFi Association (Aus DeFi) is a non-profit community organization dedicated to increasing education and awareness of blockchain technology, specifically decentralized finance (DeFi) and web3-based projects. Their goal is to empower the Australian community with the knowledge and tools to participate in the decentralized economy, and to promote the adoption and growth of blockchain technology in Australia. They strive to provide a more grassroots approach to promoting blockchain technology compared to other industry-focused organizations in Australia, and to provide a platform for community members to learn about and engage with this emerging technology.
You can watch our recorded meetups and interviews here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ausdefiassociation3956/videos
Sponsors
We also thank all of our sponsors who help us run and organise and keep this association going. We could not do it without them so check out their details here