The Australian government will allocate money to blockchain research, according to the source Finance Magnets. This was announced in its federal budget for 2018/2019 year.
Research into blockchain technology will receive 0.75 percent of this funding:
“The Government will provide $0.7 million in 2018-19 for the Digital Transformation Agency to investigate areas where blockchain technology could offer the most value for government services,” - the statement says.
The Digital Transformation Agency was established in 2015 to facilitate the Australian government's entry into the digital world.
In the past, Australia proved that it wants to become a cozy place for cryptocurrency. In its budget document for the 2017/2018 year, it said that the country was, “committed to establishing Australia as a leading global financial technology hub”.
In July, Australia recognized Bitcoin as a currency and passed a law that says that the digital currency will be treated exactly like real currency when it comes to money laundering and terrorism. This move was made in part because the country reportedly lost more than $28 billion a year to money laundering.
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), which is the largest securities exchange in the country, announced in December 2017 after two years of testing that this year it would switch its roster to blockchain technology. The exchange has a market capitalization of 11.99 billion Australian dollars and is therefore one of the largest enterprises in the world of its kind.
By Ekaterina Ulyanova