It was a good morning for ASX traders, with the market higher to midday.
The S&P/ASX200 was up 1.4% at 7,425.20 at 12.30pm AEDT, despite crossing below its 125-day moving average.
The index has lost 0.28% for the last five days, but sits 2.69% below its 52-week high.
Top-performing stocks in this index are AMP Limited (ASX:AMP) up 8.37% and Orocobre Limited (ASX:ORE) up 8.25%.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX:TLS) was also slightly in the green, up 0.77% at time of writing, after announcing it would renew a five-year, $1 billion contract with the Australian Department of Defence to deliver critical network and telecommunications services.
The contract may be extended.
"It is the largest ever customer contract of its kind signed by Telstra Enterprise and contributes to Telstra’s previously communicated target of returning the Enterprise business to growth," the company told investors.
Secretary of the Department of Defence Greg Moriarty and Telstra CEO Andrew Penn will sign the agreement on Wednesday.
"We are very pleased to extend and deepen our partnership with the Department of Defence and use our unique sovereign capabilities, decades of experience and cutting-edge technology to co-design solutions for today and into the future," Penn said.
On the crypto front
The CBA will accept cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, saying 'the tide is turning' on the technology.
This move has been supported by Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg, who chaired a Senate enquiry into crypto and fintech.
The enquiry made 12 recommendations including a shake-up of how bitcoin will be taxed.
"For too long, banks have cast aside cryptocurrency as an illegitimate fringe pursuit. I am pleased the tide is turning, as digital assets are mainstreamed," Bragg said.
"Now banks are adopting cryptocurrency, they should stop 'debanking' hardworking Australians. Last week AUSTRAC warned banks that debanking was not a good approach.
"The Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre was right to identify debanking as a major issue which damages people and our economy. Debanking is to be addressed by four of the 12 recommendations.
"If adopted in full, the Senate’s crypto reform agenda would bring Australia’s regulations in line with the best in the world, like the UK and Singapore. These recommendations should be implemented within 12 months."
There is certainly plenty going on in the crypto space.
Looking specifically at Bitcoin, it is holding its ground after another week spent mostly to the north of $60,000.
The currency hit its all-time high on October 21.
It opened last week at $60,855 and closed slightly higher at $61,356. In between, it peaked at $63,620 on Monday evening and swiftly recovered from a midweek low of $58,311.
The result was a monthly gain for BTC of more than 40% in October.
Ethereum is also performing well.
“Following in its footsteps, Ethereum hit its own all-time high this week. After trading as low as $3,919 on Thursday morning, it jumped to a peak of over $4,444 on Friday afternoon, marginally beating its previous record from May this year,” eToro's market analyst and crypto expert Simon Peters said.
“Over the weekend, ETH dipped back below the $4,300 level, but still closed the week up 5.3% and the month up 43.2%. A good way to start November.
Gaming giant moves into crypto
Major gaming developer Ubisoft is looking at incorporating blockchain technology into its business.
“The move raises the prospect that the developer could soon begin making so-called ‘play-to-earn’ games, where gamers are rewarded for time spent in games with digital assets,” Peters said.
“The gaming industry has been flirting increasingly with blockchain technology, but not all participants are yet convinced, with developer Valve banning anything blockchain-related from its Steam platform recently.”
Mastercard (NYSE:MA) gives business access to crypto
Finally, major payments network Mastercard plans to open up its payments infrastructure to crypto transactions for businesses ‘soon’.
“The firm is partnering with Bakkt, a behind-the-scenes custodial services provider that specialises in crypto. The move means that thousands of businesses and millions of Mastercard holders could soon have direct access to crypto payments infrastructure,” Peters said.
“The firm will enable credit and debit cards to spend using crypto and will enable crypto reward and loyalty schemes to function on its network. This could lead to rewards from firms such as airlines being converted into cryptoassets by the recipient.
“According to the firm, there are more than 2.8 billion Mastercard users around the world, making for an unprecedented potential expansion of the availability of crypto at the point of purchase.”
On the small cap front
Paradigm Pharmaceuticals Ltd is up 26.21%. PAR has received Investigational New Drug (IND) application approval from the FDA for a phase 3 clinical trial investigating its proprietary drug Zilosul® – formulated from Pentosan Polysulphate Sodium (PPS) – for the treatment of pain associated with knee osteoarthritis.
Apollo Minerals Ltd (ASX:AON) is up 16.67% following the announcement it will raise $7.2 million to accelerate activities at its zinc-lead Kroussou Project in the Ngounié Province of western Gabon.
Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX:PDI) is up 8.11% following new results from exploration drilling at its Bankan Gold Project in Guinea.
Zelira Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ZLD, OTCQB:ZLDAF) is up 7.89% having opened new pathways to develop pharmaceutical-grade cannabidiol capsules and tablets with its proprietary Enhanced Distillate Capture and Dissolution Matric (EDCDM) technology.
Latrobe Magnesium Ltd (ASX:LMG) is up 6.67% as it intends to expand its proposed Victorian demonstration plant in a bid to meet rising global demand for magnesium products.
Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE, OTCQB:LLKKF) is up 6.45%. LKE has strengthened its operational capacity in Argentina with the appointment of Gautam Parimoo as chief operating officer (COO).
Red 5 Ltd (ASX:RED) is up 2.86%. Red has delivered high-grade gold results and identified new gold zones during resource definition and exploration drilling