ZDNet: Blockchain Global to power NEM exchange in Melbourne
Article appeared first on ZDNet, by Asha McLean
Blockchain Global has announced it will be powering the first dedicated cryptocurrency exchange platform for the NEM Foundation, a non-profit supporting the NEM blockchain.
The NEM peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and blockchain platform launched in early 2015. It currently claims the title as the sixth most valuable blockchain token in the world with a market cap of $1.5 billion, behind bitcoin in first spot with $42 billion, then ethereum with $19 billion, followed by ripple, litecoin, and dash.
The NEM exchange will be built by white-labelling the technology powering Blockchain Global’s Australian Cryptocurrency Exchange (ACX), which the Melbourne-based company claims is Australia’s largest bitcoin exchange by volume, accounting for over 70 percent of the country’s transactions — or AU$600 million-worth of bitcoins traded to date.
“There is no one else in Australia building cryptocurrency exchanges, and this partnership places us at the forefront of Australia’s fintech innovation in this cryptocurrency space,” Blockchain Global CEO Sam Lee said.
The new exchange will initially feature the XEM currency, with Lee touting more cryptocurrencies to follow.
NEM Foundation is expected to spend around $40 million over the next year to fund its global expansion programs, allocating $5 million towards supporting blockchain companies that will be incubated in the new Blockchain Center — a co-working space in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, recently opened as an initiative of the NEM Foundation and Blockchain Global.
Blockchain Global made a AU$4.35 million investment in fellow blockchain firm Digital X last month, paying AU$300,000 of the total by way of a convertible loan in bitcoin.
The investment sees Blockchain Global hold a 40 percent stake — approximately 1.6 million shares — in the Australian Securities Exchange-listed company.
Blockchain Global scooped up Digital X’s Digital X Direct liquidity desk customers in February, onboarding them onto the ACX.
Blockchain Global was founded in 2014, but was operating previously as Bitcoin Group. It rebranded after the company expanded operations beyond being simply a bitcoin mining operator, now comprising a management consulting division and a corporate incubator — which ACX.io was born out of.
In January last year, Bitcoin Group closed its initial public offering (IPO) after raising AU$5.9 million to secure its spot as the world’s first publicly floated bitcoin mining firm.
However, in March 2016, Bitcoin Group had to scrap its ASX plans after a listing rule prevented the company from adhering to the regulatory requirements.
