The head of a company that helps people to invest small amounts in bitcoin on a regular basis has described blockchain as merely a glorified database and ridiculed those who use it for pushing their products, by saying that such efforts are merely "classic PR announcements" by "large, boring corporates" who want to show that they are still innovative.

Three of Australia's big four banks have joined IBM and the Scentre Group - which looks after Westfield's properties - to launch a digital platform named Lygon which uses blockchain technology to manage bank guarantees that are often needed to lease a retail properly.

Facebook’s announcement of its intention to launch a new virtual currency has prompted a warning from a Charles Sturt University expert that cryptocurrencies have a number of features that make them attractive to criminals.