Bitcoin surges to new high

Bitcoin has risen above $US50,000 ($64,500) for the first time.

A physical imitation of a Bitcoin. Picture: AFP

Hello and welcome to The Download, The Australian’s technology blog for the latest tech news.

David Swan 4pm: Imani bags $2m funding round

A new Australian start-up, Imani, has landed a $2m funding round with the help of Deloitte, in a bid to build a digital ecosystem connecting all property and construction companies.

The company‘s founder, Bevan Ross, says Imani uses AI and machine mearning to reduce huge amounts of inefficiencies and waste at every level of the building process.

“What we have at the moment is an established system where building companies have one platform for the sales, another for construction, another for invoicing, banking etc. They basicallty operate their buisnesses as a series of silos that don‘t talk to each other,” he tells The Australian.

“What we‘re trying to do is remove layers of waste and inefficneices around design by digitising the whole process”.

Ross says forexample, what happoens now is that Bunnings does a roaring trade with small builders, who go there but can‘t buy effectively because they don’t have the scale of the big building companies.

“What Imani does is connect these builders with suppliers and save them up to 25 per cent of the price, on average,” he says.

“Our end goal is to make housing more affordable in Australia, to support all building and construction businesses, and to reduce waste. What happens now is that overestimation of materials often means that the pallets of bricks, tiles and wood are left behind due to miscalculations, and end up in landfill”.

The company has now raised a total of $5m, and has a workforce of 30 and growing.

Chris Griffith 9.30am: Bitcoin surges past $US50,000 ($64,500)

Bitcoin rose above $US50,000 ($64,500) for the first time on Tuesday as Wall Street set new records on continued confidence of COVID-19 recovery.

A physical imitation of a Bitcoin. Picture: AFP

Bitcoin surged to a high of $50,547.70 in midday European trading as an increasing number of corporate heavyweights back the world’s most popular virtual currency.

The price of the cryptocurrency has soared 75 per cent since the start of the year.

Wall Street came back from a three-day holiday weekend eager to catch up with earlier rallies in Europe and Asia, and all three major indices opened in record territory on Tuesday.

“Sentiment remains supported by the bullish backdrop of positive COVID-19 vaccine rollouts and cases trends, along with highly accommodative fiscal and monetary policies, with expectations of the passage of President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9-trillion relief package remaining elevated,” said analysts at Charles Schwab brokerage.

Simon Peters, cryptoasset analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro, says Bitcoin’s rise this year shows no sign of abating. “This latest landmark shows how it now has to be considered a mainstream investment asset,” he says.

“The fact that major multinational corporations, from BNY Mellon to Mastercard, are queuing up to lend support to bitcoin demonstrates the clout it now holds. Its buying power is only going to become greater as more big names jump on board.

“Ultimately, bitcoin is disrupting the status quo, and capitalising on the waning power of the dollar. As retail investors look to hedge against inflation, and institutions look for avenues to help drive growth, there’s no reason why $US70,000 can’t soon be the new normal. Although, realistically, the cryptoasset could aim higher based on its impressive 2021 performance thus far.”

With AFP

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Chris Griffith9am: Microsoft unveils wireless headset for gaming

Microsoft has unveiled a wireless headset that it says delivers best-in-class audio and chat performance. The Xbox Wireless Headset is by no means the only wireless headset that Microsoft has in market with the Surface Headphones 2 selling in Australia for $399.95. At $149.95 starting March 16, it adds sense of affordability to the wireless headphones market.

Microsoft's Xbox Wireless Headset

This headset primarily targets Xbox gamers. Microsoft says the headset brings innovation not usually available at its price, such as Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, and DTS Headphone: X. It says you’ll hear all the subtle, yet critical sounds (like enemy footsteps sneaking up on you) that elevate great gamers above the rest.

But Microsoft says it’s not just for gaming. “We spent a lot of time in the audio testing chambers trying to characterise and understand how the headset reproduces audio in different room environments,” says Erik Garcia, project architect and lead. “It goes in your living room, game room, and dorm room and we want it to sound the best for all types of audio.

We’ll see how good it is when we get our hands on a set. It can be pre-ordered from today.