Agoracom Blog Home

Author Archive

ThreeD Capital Inc. $IDK.ca – Blockchain Fund Launches With $22 Million Round Backed By Roger Ver $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:01 AM on Wednesday, February 27th, 2019

SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.

Idk large
——————-

Blockchain Fund Launches With $22 Million Round Backed By Roger Ver

  • Switzerland-based Pangea Blockchain Fund is making its debut after closing a $22 million seed round backed by crypto investor Roger Ver.
  • Announcing the news on Wednesday, Pangea said other investors in the round included Copernicus Asset Management, a Swiss firm regulated by the country’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority. Copernicus is also acting as investment manager for the fund.

Pangea will invest in “transformative” blockchain startups around the world to provide them with an early-stage capital boost and other resources. The aim is to focus on the “commercial and industrial applications” of blockchain technology, and there are no plans to invest in cryptocurrency, the fund said.

The fund’s Swiss investment advisor is Blockchain Investment Advisory Sagl, while U.S.-based Blockchain Investment Advisory LLC is acting as sub-advisor. Pangea expects to cap its fundraising at $200 million.

James Duplessie, co-founder of Blockchain Investment Advisory Sagl, said he believes blockchain technology will “fundamentally alter the way society collaborates, transacts, governs and brings new concepts to life.”

He continued:

“Blockchain technology has the potential to change the nature of the systems that lie beneath the things we do every day and could be the greatest driver of value creation in our lifetime.”

Maggie Rokkum-Testi, chief investment officer of Copernicus Asset Management, added that the use cases for “a transparent, verifiable register of data transactions are endless.”

Blockchain Investment Advisory Sagl will also launch a Swiss-based incubator to be called Ticino Labs in the coming months.

Roger Ver image via CoinDesk archives 

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/blockchain-fund-launches-with-22-million-round-backed-by-roger-ver

BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca – Budget 2019 likely to boost India’s education sector $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:24 PM on Tuesday, February 26th, 2019
SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. Connecting global leading educators to the mass population of India. BetterU Education has ability to reach 100 MILLION potential learners each week. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V

————————

Budget 2019 likely to boost India’s education sector

Published: February 23, 2019

  • India’s Annual Budget decides the way ahead for different sectors in the country.
  • Government has emphasised on education along with other sectors.
  • How the Budget 2019-20 will pave way for improvement in education sector

Akhil Shahani, Managing Director, The Shahani Group

The acting Finance Minister, Piyush Goyal said that India is among the youngest nations in the world and the Government is proud of its youth. The problems of India’s education sector are well known, so how effectively has he addressed this major issue for India’s youth in the 2019 interim budget.

Overall funding for school and higher education has gone up by 10 percent to Rs 93,847.64 crore. However, this could be considered insufficient considering India’s inflation rate of 6-7 percent. The newly constituted Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) will receive 24 percent less funding for the coming year. Considering that IIT’s, IIM’s and other central universities have been asked to get loans from HEFA instead of depending on Government grants, this reduced funding could limit their efforts to expand or improve quality.

Goyal said in his Budget speech, “The poor have the first right on the resources of the nation. The Government while maintaining the existing reservation for SC/ST/Other Backward Classes, have now ensured 10 percent reservation in educational institutions and Government services for poor. In these institutions, around 25 per cent extra seats (approximately 2 lakh) will be provided so that, there is no shortfall of presently available/reserved seats for any class.” So, he has asked institutions to increase their student capacity by 25 percent but has not allocated extra funds for them to do so. A couple of minor announcements included the establishment of an institute for Artificial Intelligence and a new AIIMs in Haryana.

Overall, it could be argued that 2019’s budget could have done a lot more for the education sector. For example, the Government has provided free healthcare for 50 crore people via its Ayushman Bharat scheme. It could have launched another scheme that provides scholarships for students to study in any quality institution of their choosing, instead of being limited to Government schools. Additionally, the Government could have allowed private investment into for-profit companies to setup schools and colleges. Funds for teacher training, primary research in universities and student career guidance could also have been allocated. The GST rate of 18% on digital education could have been slashed or removed.

Based on the above, are there any aspects of the 2019 budget that could facilitate growth in the education sector?

Albert Einstein once said, “Within every difficulty, lies opportunity”. The fact that the education sector’s problems remain mostly unaddressed, offers interesting prospects for education entrepreneurs. Having a look at the other parts of the budget speech indicates what some of those opportunities could be for education entrepreneurs.

The first aspect is that Rs. 60,000 Crore has been allocated for the MNREGA scheme which provides 100 days of paid employment for rural households. Additionally, the Government has launched the PM Kisan program which allocates Rs. 75,000 crore in cash grants to around 12 crore farmers. The key aspects about both these programmes are that rural families will be able to raise themselves out of extreme poverty and aspire for a better life.

One of the most common actions done by aspiring families is to find ways to educate their children so that they will be able to live better lives than their parents. Interestingly, many of these parents prefer to send their children to private schools as they believe that the education offered is better than what is available in free Government schools, which have high teacher absenteeism and unsatisfactory education outcomes. This means that there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to open private budget schools charging fees of Rs 100-200 per month per child, which is within the reach of many of these families.

The past years have seen an 11 percent drop in student enrollment in Government schools and a 36 percent increase in enrollment in these private budget schools, totaling around 16 million students. This shows that there is a great demand from lower income families for low cost quality education for their children. Private budget schools do not get funding from the Government, but are able to turn a profit, even with the low level of fees charged. Additionally, a few NBFCs have recognized the potential of this sector and have started advancing loans to budget schools to enable them to grow.

Another interesting point in the budget speech was that mobile data consumption has increased by 50 percent in the past five years. This is because India has among the lowest rates for mobile data in the world. The Government aims to create 1 lakh digital villages in the next five years, which will greatly increase mobile data penetration in these locations. This means that a huge number of people in small towns and villages will be able to easily access education content via their mobile phones and facilitate their own learning. Edtech entrepreneurs can then beam their online lessons into the budget schools around India, to enhance the teaching provided there. Vocational training providers can offer video lessons showing subscribers how to develop useful job skills.

Much of existing online education content is in English. However, as demand for online education increases across the country from lower income groups, there is a huge opportunity to provide this content in local languages to make it easier to understand. Additionally, English language training via apps or videos are also in high demand.

Even though the 2019 budget has not given any real sops to the education sector, the increase in access to mobile data among poorer Indians whose income is being supplemented by the Government can offer great growth opportunities for Indian education entrepreneurs.

Source: https://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2019/02/budget-2019-likely-to-boost-indias-education-sector/

North Bud Farms Inc. $NBUD.ca – A Wall Street bank just started covering 7 marijuana stocks. Here’s what it’s saying $WEED.ca $CGC $ACB $APH $CRON.ca $HEXO.ca $TRST.ca $OGI.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:45 PM on Tuesday, February 26th, 2019

SPONSOR: North Bud Farms Inc. (NBUD:CSE) Sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and procurement focusing on both bio-pharmaceutical development and Cannabinoid Infused Products. Click Here For More Information

NBUD: CSE

—————

A Wall Street bank just started covering 7 marijuana stocks. Here’s what it’s saying

  • Last year was a historic one for legal-marijuana proponents due to legalization in Canada and some US states.
  • Major marijuana producers such as Cronos Group, Canopy Growth, Tilray, and Aurora Cannabis were listed in the US last year.
  • Marijuana stocks are popular on Robinhood, a free-trading app popular among millennials.
  • On Monday, Jefferies became the second major Wall Street investment bank to write sell-side notes on popular weed companies.

A Wall Street bank has officially initiated coverage of cannabis stocks, as high-flying cannabis companies have caught the attention of both the Main Street and Wall Street following a wave of marijuana legalization.

Last year was a historic one for legal-marijuana proponents. Canada and the state of Michigan legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and the US Congress passed the Farm Bill, which legalized hemp, a key source of the ingredient cannabidiol.

Additionally, major marijuana producers such as Cronos Group, Canopy Growth, Tilray, and Aurora Cannabis were listed in the US last year, prompting investors, especially younger ones, to pour money into the industry. On Robinhood, a free-trading app popular among millennials, Aurora has outranked all other stocks including Apple in terms of the number of users who own shares.

As the demand for market insights into marijuana stocks grows, Jefferies analysts Owen Bennett and Ryan Tomkins have started to write sell-side notes on popular weed companies. Jefferies is the second major Wall Street investment bank to cover the industry, after Cowen.

Source: https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/weed-stocks-wall-street-bank-jefferies-starts-marijuana-companies-2019-2-1027980896#cronos-group1

ThreeD Capital Inc. $IDK.ca – $66 Million Building to Be Tokenized on Ethereum Blockchain in Record Deal $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:26 PM on Tuesday, February 26th, 2019

SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.

Idk large
——————-

$66 Million Building to Be Tokenized on Ethereum Blockchain in Record Deal

  • ICP is about to put this idea to the test. The company plans to tokenize some $260 million in four private real estate and debt transactions, starting with a WeWork-occupied building in downtown Miami, Florida.

For Patrick O’Meara, there is a world of difference between security tokens and tokenized securities.

A security token merely means an issuer is selling a crypto token in compliance with securities laws. But with a tokenized security, “it’s a whole different world,” where blockchain technology gives investors an unprecedented level of transparency, said O’Meara, chairman and chief executive officer of Inveniam Capital Partners (ICP).

ICP is about to put this idea to the test. The company plans to tokenize some $260 million in four private real estate and debt transactions, starting with a WeWork-occupied building in downtown Miami, Florida. Announced Tuesday, the firm intends to sell tokenized shares of the building, valued at $65.5 million, likely the largest piece of real estate to be financed this way to date.

The company placed a deposit on the building last month using an unspecified amount of bitcoin. Once the other three deals are finalized, ICP will be auctioning off shares in the assets, represented by ERC-20 tokens on the ethereum blockchain, in the coming weeks.

Shares in the four assets will be sold through what is known as a Dutch auction, meaning potential investors will place their own bids outlining how many shares they want, what price they would like to pay per share and which cryptocurrency they would like to pay with.

Inveniam will accept bids denominated in the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap at launch.

When the sale concludes, tokens will be distributed in order from the highest bids to the lowest, O’Meara told CoinDesk.

“The price that every bidder pays will be based on the lowest price of the last successful bid dependent upon the bidder’s fiat-to-crypto conversion rate limit,” a press release noted.

In order to participate, potential buyers must hold at least $10 million in crypto, with a minimum purchase of $500,000. The sale will be conducted in accordance with private placement rules issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Inveniam.

Tokenized transparency

Perhaps more ambitious than the auction, however, is what ICP intends to do with the tokens representing each share.

A Wall Street veteran, O’Meara explained that typically, shares come with large amounts of data, from how they are created, as well as data collected through its life and performance â€“ which could be 20 or 30 years in the case of some debt offerings. ICP will put all of this data onto its platform and associate it with a token, he said.

“We built our entire software, our stack, everything we do, the way we tokenize the instrument is so the enormous amount of data that’s associated with the financial instrument … can be aggregated and is attached to the token,” he explained.

One of the benefits to collecting all of this data into one system is that it is suddenly “uniquely searchable,” he said.

At present, legal documents are converted into PDFs or similar file types, which make them difficult to search through.

If, instead, a company stores the hash and a cipher that is associated with a legal document on a blockchain, it allows for these documents to be stored in their native form.

“We can store those documents in their native form, Word, Excel, because an Excel table in a PDF document is uniquely useless,” he said, adding:

“If we can store all this data in its native form, and the way that we have surety is because of the hash and the cypher … you can literally trace, as a regulator, every document associated with this transaction.”

This allows a large amount of data to be stored, which in turn can allow the investing world to make decisions based on quantitative data in a way that was not as accessible before, O’Meara said.

Other offerings

In addition to the WeWork building, Inveniam plans to tokenize shares for a student housing facility in North Dakota, which is being valued at approximately $90 million; a North Dakota water pipeline worth $50 million; and a multi-family housing facility in southwest Florida worth $75 million.

Like the WeWork auction, shares from each building will be sold as tokens and can only be purchased using cryptocurrency.

The proceeds will be converted into their fiat equivalents before being passed to the buildings’ sellers, O’Meara noted.

The company may launch other projects as part of this transaction as well prior to the auction’s starting date.

All told, the total value of the four properties will add up to $260 million.

Future of real estate?

Tokenized real estate has become an increasingly popular use case for blockchain in recent months. Templum Markets, a token trading platform and advisor, sold a security token representing shares in a Colorado ski resort last year, accepting U.S. dollars, bitcoin and ethereum.

Similarly, security token startup Harbor is selling 955 shares in a high-rise building in South Carolina, though each share is only worth $21,000.

Harbor CEO Josh Stein told CoinDesk last November that using tokenized shares allowed the company to more easily track shareholders and verify that they are compliant with relevant securities laws.

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/66-million-building-to-be-tokenized-on-ethereum-blockchain-in-record-deal

New Age Metals $NAM.ca Provides an Update on the Platinum Group Metals (PGM) and Lithium Divisions $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:00 PM on Tuesday, February 26th, 2019
  • The River Valley Project is the largest undeveloped primary PGM mineral resource in North America. The Project has excellent infrastructure and is within 100 kilometres of the Sudbury Metallurgical Complex. The Project is 100% owned by New Age Metals.
  • Palladium continues to reach new all-time highs and as of February 26, 2019 it was priced at over $1,500 USD/oz. This represents a 45% price increase in the last 12 months. (Source: https://www.kitco.com/charts/livepalladium.html)
  • The amended January 9, 2019 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate on the River Valley Project confirms that the River Valley Project has 2,867,000 Measured and Indicated Palladium Equivalent (PdEq) ounces, with 1,059,000 PdEq ounces in Inferred at a 0.35 g/t and 2.0 g/t PdEq cut-off for open pit and underground respectively. See the January 15, 2019 press release to read more on the newest resource estimate.
  • The Project’s first economic study a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) is slated to be completed on or before the end of Q2 2019.
  • The Company is actively seeking a strategic partner for our Genesis PGM Project in Alaska.

February 26th, 2019 / Rockport, Canada – New Age Metals Inc. (NAM) (TSX.V: NAM; OTCQB: NMTLF; FSE: P7J.F) Harry Barr, Chairman & CEO, stated; We are pleased to update our shareholders and interested parties as to our ongoing activities in both our PGM and Lithium divisions. Specifically, give a progress update on the River Valley Project Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). Exploration and development plans for both PGM and Lithium divisions in 2019, highlight the current PGM market and particularly Palladium price trends, and finally reviewing our corporate awareness program for 2019.”

River Valley PGM Project Goals & Objectives

During the next year the company’s exploration & development objectives are as follows:

  1. 1.Complete the re-stated resource calculation (Q1 2019);
  2. 2.Complete the Projects first economic study, PEA (Q2 2019);
  3. 3.Solicit a strategic partner to aid in further exploration and development of the Project;
  4. 4.Complete surface exploration on additional target areas based on recommendations of the updated 43-101 and the 2017/2018 geophysics (slated for Q3-Q4 2019);
  5. 5.Conduct 5000 metre drill program focusing in the northern portion of the Project;
  6. 6.Our corporate mandate is to build a series of open pits (bulk mining) over the 16 kilometers of mineralization. We will concentrate on site and ship concentrates to Sudbury.

River Valley PGM Project Goals & Objectives

NAM commissioned both P&E Mining Consultants (P&E) and DRA Americas (DRA) to complete the Project’s first economic study, a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in August 2018. The study is underway and expected to be released at the previously stated time of June 2019. Thus far we can report the following:

  • – Resource calculation updated for recent trailing average metal price increase by P&E. – Preliminary mining, processing and G&A costs determined by P&E and DRA. – Preliminary process plant recoveries determined by DRA. – Initial pit optimizations complete by P&E. – Recently commenced exploring open pit phasing sequence by P&E. – Commenced geotechnical pit slope review by MDEng.

The objective of the PEA would be to create a mine plan, mine schedule, a capital cost estimate, and operating cost estimate incorporated into a financial model to provide total cash flow, net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR).

Platinum Group Metal Prices & Performance

Palladium (Pd) has thus far, been a shining star in terms of commodities in 2019 and we expect the supporting fundamentals to contribute to escalating prices. Most recently the price of Pd, our primary metal at River Valley, has hit an all-time high price of over $1,500 USD per oz. There are various reasons why this price movement has occurred and more to suggest that Pd price may continue to rise. First, there are continued supply deficits forecasted for Pd and in 2019 alone it is expected to be an estimated 615,000 ounces. It is also worthwhile to note the possibility of supply disruptions in South Africa, which provides the majority of the Pd supply. Next, according to SFA Oxford, the allowable limits of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) from gasoline passenger vehicles in China will be reduced by 60% by 2025 (SFA Oxford, 2019). Pd is the metal which reduces both CO and HC and therefore we can expect increased Pd loadings in all gasoline passenger vehicles to successfully meet these limits. The Chinese emission standard story tends itself to the increase in Pd demand to grow by 500,000 ounces by 2021. To summarize, the Palladium fundamentals and forecasts align well with the timeline for development of our River Valley Project.

Recently the World Platinum Investment Council forecasted a deficit in Platinum production for the next 5 consecutive years. Palladium for the 10 years from 2008-2017, has averaged 21.5% per annum while Gold averaged only 5.8% per annum over that same period. Both Platinum and Palladium, (outside of their extensive uses in catalytic converters which convert harmful gasses from hydrocarbon emissions into less harmful substances in vehicles), are considered precious metals, like Gold and are seen as a store of value.

2019 Mineral Resource Update

On January 9, 2019 NAM filed its latest Mineral Resource Estimate on the River Valley Project. The May 2018 Resource Estimate presented a global mineral inventory. The January 2019 Resource presents a pit constrained mineral resource that shows reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The results of the updated Mineral Resource Estimate are tabulated in Table 1 below (0.35 g/t PdEq open pit and 2.0 g.t PdEq underground cut-off). This 43-101 Technical Report is available on SEDAR.

Table 1: Results from the amended NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate.


Click Image To View Full Size

Class PGM + Au (oz) PdEq (oz) PtEq (oz)
Measured 1,394,000 1,701,000 1,701,000
Indicated 983,000 1,166,000 1,166,000
Meas +Ind 2,377,000 2,867,000 2,867,000
Inferred 841,000 1,059,000 1,059,000

Notes

  1. 1.CIM definition standards were followed for the Mineral Resource Estimate.
  2. 2.The 2018 Mineral Resource models used Ordinary Kriging grade estimation within a three-dimensional block model with mineralized zones defined by wireframed solids.
  3. 3.A base cut-off grade of 0.35 g/t PdEq was used for reporting Mineral Resources in a constrained pit and 2.00 g/t PdEq was used for reporting the Mineral Resources under the pit.
  4. 4.Palladium Equivalent (PdEq) calculated using (US$): $950/oz Pd, $950/oz Pt, $1,275/oz Au, $1500/oz Rh, $2.75/lb Cu, $5.25/lb Ni, $36/lb Co.
  5. 5.Numbers may not add exactly due to rounding.
  6. 6.Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have economic viability

7. The Inferred Mineral Resource in this estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration.

This stated resource will closely relate to the resource that will be reported in the upcoming PEA slated to be completed in Q2 2019. See Figure 1 which shows the mineral resource reported in each area of the River Valley Project.


Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 1: The Yellow Band represents the footwall potential area of the River Valley Deposit based on the results of the Pine Zone where footwall mineralization was noted to extend 150 metres eastward from the Pine Zone/ T3 main deposit. At present the only area that has confirmed footwall mineralization is in the Pine Zone (defined from 2015 to 2017 drilling). Geophysics and exploration are in progress to test other areas of the Deposit. Management’s specific focus is to outline a sufficient potentially economic Mineral Resource in the northern portion of the Project, and subsequently develop a series of open pits (bulk mining), crush, and concentrate on site, and ship the concentrates to Sudbury for metallurgical extraction.

2019 Exploration Plan for River Valley PGM Project

To date an approximate 160,441 metres (481,323 feet) in 710 drill holes have been conducted by the company as operator on the River Valley Project. Several independent 43-101 compliant resource estimates have previously been generated for the deposit through the exploration and development phases. The River Valley Deposit’s present resource, with approximately 2.9M PdEq ounces in Measured Plus Indicated mineral resources and near-surface mineralization, covers a total of 16 kilometers of strike. The company continues to explore and enhance the River Valley PGM Deposit.

After the ground proofing and surface exploration program conducted in Summer 2018 which followed up on the most recent induced polarization survey by Abitibi, NAM management has designed a 5000 metre drill programs to test the new geophysical anomalies. See Figure 2 below which shows these new geophysical anomalies and potential targets for the next stage of drilling at River Valley superimposed over the upper 4 kilometres of the project map.


Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 2: Northern portion of the project with superimposed 2018 merged IP at -100 level. Retrieved from River Valley Geophysical review by Geoscience North (Alan King, P. Geo., M.Sc.)

2019 Exploration Plans for Lithium Division

The Company has eight pegmatite hosted Lithium Projects in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, located in SE Manitoba. In 2018 NAM conducted surface exploration programs on our Lithman East, Lithman North, Lithium One and Lithium Two projects. The programs consisted of reviewing, characterising and sampling all of the known surface pegmatites. Samples were taken from the Eagle and FD5 pegmatites on Lithium Two and returned results of up to 3.8% Li2O. On Lithium One, samples were taken from the known Silverleaf and Annie pegmatites and not only returned significant Li20 assays of up to 4.1% but heightened levels of Rubidium Oxide (Rb2O).

In 2019, the Company plans to drill on both Lithium One and Lithium Two. Drill permits have been applied for and the company is awaiting approval from the province.

Conferences This Quarter

In late January, our Chairman & CEO Harry Barr travelled to South Africa and attended two 1-2-1 style conferences with over 40 booked meetings with mine finance companies, major mine companies, institutions, stock brokers, and high net worth individuals. The trip was very successful and we are currently following up on several new opportunities that were generated from these meetings. In the meantime, the company is preparing for the upcoming PDAC 2019 (March 3 to 6). The company has secured a meeting place and is currently organizing meetings with parties interested in our PGM and Lithium divisions.

Opt-in List

If you have not done so already, we encourage you to sign up on our website (www.newagemetals.com) to receive our updated news.

QUALIFIED PERSON

The contents contained herein that relate to Exploration Results or Mineral Resources is based on information compiled, reviewed or prepared by Carey Galeschuk, a consulting geoscientist for New Age Metals. Mr. Galeschuk is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Harry Barr”

Harry G. Barr

Chairman and CEO

For further information on New Age Metals, please contact Anthony Ghitter, Business Development at 613-659-2773, or [email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results and are based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses words such as “continue”, “efforts”, “expect”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “confident”, “intend”, “strategy”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “project”, “goal”, “target”, “prospects”, “optimistic” or similar expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others, the Company’s ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make available adequate current public information, additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts’ expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Good Life Networks $GOOD.ca – #Programmatic Advertising Market is further estimated to reach nearly US$ 30,000 Mn by 2025-end $TTD $RUBI $AT.ca $TRMR $FUEL

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:26 AM on Tuesday, February 26th, 2019
SPONSOR: Good Life Networks (GOOD:TSX-V) Video advertising is the future! Company’s A.I. makes 80,000 calculations / second, targeting 750 million users to deliver higher prices and volume. Company announced combined trailing 12 month revenue at just over $40 Million, $7.9M EBITDA, $3 Million net income. Click here for more information.
GOOD: TSX-V

—————————

Programmatic Advertising Market is further estimated to reach nearly US$ 30,000 Mn by 2025-end.

  • Persistence Market Research (PMR), in its report, projects the global programmatic advertising platform market to register a staggering expansion at 33.3% CAGR during the forecast period 2017 to 2025.
  • In 2016, the market was evaluated at US$ 1,926.4 Mn, and is further estimated to reach nearly US$ 30,000 Mn by 2025-end.

Surging Utilization of Mobile Advertising to Propel Growth

With growing market for mobile phones, wide utilization of mobile advertising is witnessed, coupled with surging demand for more sophisticated technology. Emergence of tools to monitor & measure relevant data on mobile devices is influencing bright prospects for programmatic mobile video. There has been a wide adoption of digital technologies & devices for innovation in business processes and revenue producing opportunities. In addition, several government and international events have generated an incremental online advertising spending, which in turn has influenced adoption of programmatic advertisements. The aforementioned factors are expected to fuel growth of the market during the forecast period. In addition, social media marketers are running more effective campaigns through automated buying, reaching precise audiences with highly relevant messages. This is further estimated to propel market growth.

North America to be Largest Market for Programmatic Advertising Platform by 2025-End

North America is projected to be the largest market for programmatic advertising platform, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific (APAC). Market in this region will account for revenues worth US$ 1,683.30 Mn in 2017, and is further estimated to surpass US$ 13,000 Mn by 2025-end. However, Middle East & Africa (MEA) is anticipated to register fastest growth in the global programmatic advertising platform market, followed by Latin America.

Based on transaction mode, real-time bidding segment will remain preferred in the market during the forecast period. This transaction mode is expected to surpass US$ 16,000 Mn in revenues by 2025-end. In contrast, private marketplace transaction mode is projected to exhibit the fastest expansion at 46.7% CAGR through 2025. This segment is further estimated to create an incremental opportunity of US$ 5,787.71 Mn between 2017 and 2025.

Mobile Video Ad Format to Register Highest CAGR in the Market through 2025

By ad format, revenues generated by mobile video is expected to reach US$ 8.682.57 Mn by 2025, and is projected to register the highest CAGR in the market, followed by mobile display. In terms of revenues, desktop video will be the second largest ad format segment by 2025-end. On the basis of enterprise size, although large enterprises are expected to remain dominant over the market, SMBs are projected to register the fastest growth through 2025. PMR’s report estimates large enterprises to expand from US$ 2,190.55 Mn in 2017 to more than US$ 16,000 Mn by 2025-end. SMBS are estimated to exhibit a CAGR of over 40% during the forecast period.

Key market players identified in PMR’s report include AppNexus Inc., AOL Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.), Yahoo! Inc., DataXu Inc., Adroll.com, Google Inc. (Doubleclick), Adobe Systems Incorporated, Rubicon Project Inc., Rocket Fuel Inc., MediaMath Inc., IPONWEB Holding Limited (BidSwitch), Between Digital, Fluct, Adform, The Trade Desk, Turn Inc., Beeswax, Connexity, Inc., Centro, Inc., RadiumOne, Inc.

Source: https://honestbusinessman24.com/2019/02/programmatic-advertising-market-is-further-estimated-to-reach-nearly-us-30000-mn-by-2025-end/

Marijuana Company of America $MCOA Issued Patent for hempSMART Brain $AERO $CBDS $CGRW $APH.ca $GBLX $ACG $ACB $WEED.ca $HIP.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:49 AM on Tuesday, February 26th, 2019
  • Announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the Company a patent for the formulation of its flagship CBD product, hempSMART™ Brain.
  • hempSMART Brain is a wellness product formulated with a proprietary composition of natural ingredients and cannabidiol (CBD) for the enhancement of brain function.

Escondido, California–(February 26, 2019) – MARIJUANA COMPANY OF AMERICA INC. (OTCQB: MCOA) (“MCOA” or the “Company“), an innovative hemp and cannabis corporation, is proud to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the Company a patent for the formulation of its flagship CBD product, hempSMART™ Brain.

hempSMART Brain is a wellness product formulated with a proprietary composition of natural ingredients and cannabidiol (CBD) for the enhancement of brain function. The U.S. Patent Office issued patent number 10,201,553. To view the patent on hempSMART™ Brain visit the link here.

Dianna Steinberg, Head of Product Development, commented, “This patent represents the hard work of the whole team involved in this formulation. Their invaluable insight into the goal of using CBD with additional supplements in a synergistic fashion to produce a fabulous product is a tribute to their dedication.”

Donald Steinberg, CEO, commented, “This patent award signifies advances we achieved and are continuing to work toward as a company to produce products of the highest quality. As we continue to build the hempSMART brand on a global basis, our receipt of this patent will provide the Company with recognition of the advances being made at Marijuana Company of America.”

Trevor Muehlfelder, Legal Project Manager on the patent application for H Smart Inc., observed: “Having been involved with this application from the beginning, it is rewarding to see the U.S. Patent Office recognize the unique and innovative values of the Company’s personal wellness products utilizing cannabidiol and other synergistic ingredients. This is our first patent to date and corroborates the Company’s continuing commitment to developing natural wellness products utilizing CBD for everyone.”

About Marijuana Company of America, Inc.
MCOA is a corporation which participates in: (1) product research and development of legal hemp-based consumer products under the brand name “hempSMART™”, that targets general health and well-being; (2) an affiliate marketing program to promote and sell its legal hemp-based consumer products containing CBD; (3) leasing of real property to separate business entities engaged in the growth and sale of cannabis in those states and jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized and properly regulated for medicinal and recreations use; and, (4) the expansion of its business into ancillary areas of the legalized cannabis and hemp industry, as the legalized markets and opportunities in this segment mature and develop.

About Our hempSMART Products Containing CBD
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized CBD as a safe and effective drug for any indication. Our products containing CBD derived from industrial hemp are not marketed or sold based upon claims that their use is safe and effective treatment for any medical condition as drugs or dietary supplements subject to the FDA’s jurisdiction.

Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” which are not purely historical and may include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities and words such as “anticipate”, “seek”, intend”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, or similar phrases may be deemed “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company’s reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based products. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-12G, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.sec.gov.

For more information, please visit the Company’s websites at:

MarijuanaCompanyofAmerica.com
hempSMART.com
NetworkNewsWires/MCOA

Corporate Communications:
NetworkWire (NW)
New York, New York
www.NetworkNewsWire.com
212.418.1217 Office
[email protected]

#HPQ Latest Gen2 Progress Report Confirms PUREVAP, QRR Ability to Convert Low Purity Quartz Into 4N+ Silicon Metal, in One Step, at Commercial Scale

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:42 AM on Tuesday, February 26th, 2019
  • GEN2 PUREVAP™Â TESTS SUCCESSFULLY CONFIRMS THE SCALABILITY OF PUREVAP™Â QRR PROCESS
  • 99.83% TOTAL IMPURITY REMOVAL EFFICIENCY REACHED DURING GEN2 PUREVAP™TESTING
  • HPQ PUREVAP™ PATHWAYS TO PRODUCE SOLAR GRADE SILICON METAL PASSES MAJOR MILESTONE

MONTREAL, Feb. 26, 2019 – HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. (HPQ) (TSX VENTURE:HPQ) (FRANKFURT:UGE) (OTC PINK:URAGF) is pleased to announce the receipt of a progress report from PyroGenesis Canada Inc (“PyroGenesis”) (TSX Venture: PYR) describing the latest significant milestones reached during Gen2 testing of the PUREVAP™ Quartz Reduction Reactor (“QRR”).  Key takeaways from the report are summarized bellow.

GEN2 PUREVAP™ TESTS SUCCESSFULLY CONFIRMS THE SCALABILITY OF PUREVAP™ QRR PROCESS

2018 Gen2 PUREVAP™ Commercial Scalability Proof of Concept tests confirmed the PUREVAP™ QRR could operate under a semi-continuous mode (January 15, 2018 release).  Next, additional process improvements and design modifications to Gen 2 were tested, and demonstrated that semi-continuous operation improves the PUREVAP™ QRR Production Yield1.  Scaling up from Gen1 to Gen2 in semi-continuous mode, production yield increased from ~ 1% to 34% (February 15 and April 19, 2018 releases).

99.83% TOTAL IMPURITY REMOVAL EFFICIENCY REACHED DURING GEN2 PUREVAPTESTING

While mostly focussed on testing components and processes for the final design of Gen3 PUREVAP™, the Gen2 testing also demonstrated that production yield is crucial to the final purity of the Silicon Metal (Si) produced by the PUREVAP™.

A Gen2 PUREVAP™ test provided 17.9% production yield and 99.83% total impurity removal efficiency2 compared to a Gen1 test under similar operating conditions, that provided 3% production yield and 97.14 % total impurity removal efficiency.  PyroGenesis3 was able to validate that production yield does play an important role in the impurity removal efficiency of the process and final purity of Si.

Mr. Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO of HPQ Silicon Resources Inc stated: “The one step impurities removal capacity of the PUREVAP™ QRR and its direct impact on the final purity of the PUREVAP™ Si is the key milestone that will allow HPQ, working with PyroGenesis and Apollon Solar, to develop a low cost and green metallurgical process to produce Solar Grade Silicon Metal (SoG-Si).  The fact that, as expected, Gen2 testing replicated and improved Gen1 results is a major milestone that bodes well for the future as we get ready to start, mid-2019, the Gen3 commercial scalability testing phase, aimed at demonstrating the PUREVAP™ QRR commercial potential.”

HPQ PUREVAP™ PATHWAYS TO PRODUCE SOLAR GRADE SILICON METAL PASSES MAJOR MILESTONE

Using data from both Gen1 and Gen2 tests, PyroGenesis repeated the 2017 extrapolation exercise and concluded that, even using low purity feedstock (98.84% SiO2), the carbothermic part of the PUREVAP™ QRR process should allow HPQ to reach the 4N+ Si (99.99+% Si) purity threshold, assuming a production yield of +90% (or commercial scale production yield of traditional Metallurgical Grade Si (MG-Si) smelters (98.5% – 99.5% Si)).

These results exceed 2017 Gen1 base extrapolations that indicated then that the carbothermic part of the PUREVAP™ QRR process could only reach the 3N+ Si (99.9+% Si) threshold using low purity feedstock (98.84% SiO2)4, and furthermore this required a 100% production yield (November 1, 2017 release).

Mr. Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO of HPQ Silicon Resources Inc further stated: “Having a process capable of producing 4N+ Silicon Metal in one step is, according to Apollon Solar, one of the most unique and potentially the greatest advantage of the PUREVAP™ QRR process as we strive to develop a low cost and green metallurgical process to produce Solar Grade Silicon Metal (SoG-Si).”

Pierre Carabin, Eng., M. Eng., Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategist of PyroGenesis has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release.

This News Release is available on the company’s CEO Verified Discussion Forum, a moderated social media platform that enables civilized discussion and Q&A between Management and Shareholders. 

About HPQ Silicon

HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. is a TSX-V listed resource company focuses on becoming a vertically integrated and diversified High Purity, Solar Grade Silicon Metal (SoG Si) producer and a manufacturer of multi and monocrystalline solar cells of the P and N types, required for production of high performance photovoltaic conversion.

HPQ’s goal is to develop, in collaboration with industry leaders, PyroGenesis (TSX-V: PYR) and Apollon Solar, that are experts in their fields of interest, the innovative PUREVAPTM “Quartz Reduction Reactors (QRR)”, a truly 2.0 Carbothermic process (patent pending), which will permit the transformation and purification of quartz (SiO2) into high purity silicon metal (Si) in one step and reduce by a factor of at least two-thirds (2/3) the costs associated with the transformation of quartz (SiO2) into SoG Si. The pilot plant equipment that will validate the commercial potential of the process is on schedule to start mid-2019.

Disclaimers:

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “in the process” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company’s on-going filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, contact

Bernard J. Tourillon, Chairman, President and CEO Tel (514) 907-1011
Patrick Levasseur, Vice-President and COO Tel: (514) 262-9239
www.HPQSilicon.com

Shares outstanding: 222,284,053

1 Production Yield of the process is the conversion efficiency of Si element in the raw material (i.e. Quartz) into elemental Silicon Metal

2 Capacity of the process to volatize impurities from raw material (Quartz or SiO2 and Carbon) while making Si

3 Pyrogenesis Canada Inc. Technical Memo: “TM-2018-894 REV 00, – Final Report”

4 Pyrogenesis Canada Inc. Technical Memo: “TM-2017-830 REV 00, – Final Report-Silicon Metal Purity Enhancement”

Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca – In Focus: Women and eSports $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $WINR $TCEHF $ATVI $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:42 PM on Monday, February 25th, 2019

SPONSOR: Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: EGLX) Uniting gaming communities with 80 owned and affiliated websites, currently reaching over 75 million monthly visitors. The company partial 2018 reported revenue of $7.4 million representing a 625% increase over the same period in 2017.

Images
EGLX: TSX-V
———————————-

In Focus: Women and eSports


  • When modern eSports were introduced more than a decade ago, only a small number of people have realized that this specific form of competition and entertainment can break the boundaries of nationality, religion, and gender.
  • eSports is a trending activity which is practiced by thousands of people.
  • Also, millions of others are fans of eSports and they can’t wait to watch the most popular tournaments and single matches. With this specific form of competition, participants can improve team skills, learn more about leadership and have fun.

Wendy Stokes

Source: Tilt Report

eSports and Women: What can we expect?

In the past, many people viewed this activity as an exclusive all-male activity. But, the situation is not the same today when women have shown that they can be inspiring players and show that men and women are equal.

Young ladies are more visible in eSports today. While it’s true that only a small number of eSports pro players are female, their number is growing every year. What’s interesting is that we can see two trends related to eSports and women.

First of all, there are cases when women are part of eSports teams where most of the players are men. We have seen many women that were participating in teams like this which were part of popular tournaments. On the other hand, there are efforts to create special all-female leagues, competitions, and tournaments. This works similarly to women in regular sports. For instance, there’s NBA and there’s WNBA. Almost every sport has a female version and it looks like eSports is developing in this way too. As expected, the prize pools on these tournaments are significantly lower, but things are expected to change in the near future.

Source: Esports.net

Many things suggest that eSports fans would like to see more females involved in this activity. For example, more people want to place bets on female eSports professionals. They are using websites like Esportsbettingexperts.co.uk to find the best eSports betting websites where they can place bets related to female players. There’s something about multi-gender teams that make betting more interesting and fun. The same goes for the competition.

Furthermore, we should also mention that there are many TV channels and online streaming channels that are specialized in female players. They are following their performance which helps these players build stronger fan bases. Of course, many of these players have their own channels where they have thousands of followers.

What’s good to know is that female players are not focused on just one eSport. You can find female players in almost every eSport. For instance, Sasha Hostyn which is one of the most successful women in this area is playing StarCraft II. She has earned more than $200K in the last five years and she has an army of followers on Twitch (over 50,000). Also, Ricki Ortiz is another popular female eSports player who is focused on fighting games. Ricki has participated in more than 60 national and international tournaments.

Source: Business Insider

Even though most of the female players come from North America, there are successful women in the field of eSports from other countries too. Julia Kiran is a Swedish player who is playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and she’s good at it. She also has one of the most visited Twitch channels. China has a great female representative too and that’s Wang Xinyu aka BaiZe. She is playing many different games, but she is primarily focused on Hearthstone.

As you can see women are deeply involved in eSports activities and we can expect this trend to continue in the future.

Source: https://thefrisky.com/in-focus-women-and-esports/

Bougainville Ventures Inc $BOG.ca – Nearly 1 in 6 Canadians Have Used Marijuana Since Recreational Pot Was Legalized $CROP.ca $VP.ca NF.ca $MCOA

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:33 PM on Monday, February 25th, 2019
SPONSOR:  Bougainville Ventures Inc (CSE: BOG) Converting irrigated farmland to greenhouse-equipped farmland. Bougainville does not “touch the plant” and only provides agricultural infrastructure as a landlord for licensed marijuana growers. Click here for more info.
BOG:CSE
—————————————

Nearly 1 in 6 Canadians Have Used Marijuana Since Recreational Pot Was Legalized

New data from Statistics Canada offers an inside look at cannabis consumption rates based on province, gender, and age.

  • The sky seems to be the limit for the legal marijuana industry.
  • According to the most bullish forecast from Wall Street investment firm Cowen Group, the legal weed industry could surpass soda in global sales by 2030 and generate $75 billion in yearly revenue.
  • More immediately, a co-authored report from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics has called for 38% global sales growth in 2019 to $16.9 billion.

Sean Williams Feb 23, 2019 at 10:51AM

The sky seems to be the limit for the legal marijuana industry. According to the most bullish forecast from Wall Street investment firm Cowen Group, the legal weed industry could surpass soda in global sales by 2030 and generate $75 billion in yearly revenue. More immediately, a co-authored report from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics has called for 38% global sales growth in 2019 to $16.9 billion. No matter how you analyze the data, that’s a lot of green to go around; and it’s a big reason why pot stocks have been virtually unstoppable since the year began.

Although the United States would represent the largest cannabis market in the world by sales if it were legalized at the federal level, it’s our northerly neighbor Canada that’s leading the charge on marijuana reform. Having become the first industrialized country in the world, and only second overall behind Uruguay, to legalize adult-use pot in October, Canada looks to be on track for an estimated $5.9 billion in annual sales by 2022.

Image source: Getty Images.

An inside look at the average Canadian cannabis user

But just how quickly are Canadians adapting to this legalized environment? For that answer, I turn to Statistics Canada, the national statistics office that gathers information on Canada’s economy, environment, and society.

Recently (as of Feb. 21, 2019), Statistics Canada released self-reported data on consumers’ use of cannabis over the past three months. As a refresher, marijuana legalization occurred roughly four months ago, although the first month was a supply-side disaster. That means the past three months of use should give us a really good idea of what the typical Canadian consumer looks like.

According to the data, which Statistics Canada will continue to update, 15.4% of all citizens, or nearly 1 out of 6 Canadians, have used cannabis over the past three months. As you can imagine, usage statistics tend to vary by region, gender, and age. For instance, Quebec had the lowest percentage of people using marijuana over the past three months (13.6%), while the lesser-populated Nova Scotia had the highest percentage by far at 21.6%. Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick were also significantly above the national self-reported average in three-month use rates.

In terms of gender, men were significantly more likely than women (19.4% vs. 11.3%) to have consumed cannabis recently.

Finally, as you might expect, pot use over the past three months was considerably higher among younger people than older folks. Overall, 27.4% of Canadians aged 15 to 24 and 23.2% of those aged 25 to 34 used cannabis over the past three months. Meanwhile, just 5.2% of seniors aged 65 and up and 10.4% of Canadians aged 55 to 64 used weed recently. Even though the older generation has more disposable income, it’s these younger adults that are the future of the legal weed industry. 

Image source: Getty Images.

Cannabis consumption rates are likely to rise — here’s why

Although there were no major surprises here, there are some relatively interesting takeaways to be made.

For example, an average use rate of just 15.4% might seem rather low, but it’s not factoring in two pretty important catalysts. First, there’s the fact that marijuana growers are still in the early stages of ramping up their production. Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB), which is my selection to lead the country with 700,000 kilograms of peak annual production, is only producing at an annual run rate of 120,000 kilos right now. By the end of the current calendar quarter, Aurora Cannabis should be yielding more than 150,000 kilos annually, but it’s going to take perhaps 12 to 24 more months before Aurora is operating on all cylinders. When consumers have access to ample demand and the per-gram price for dried cannabis flower comes down a bit, we’re liable to see usage rates increase.

The second catalyst is the expected legalization of new consumption options by this fall. When the Cannabis Act was signed into law last June, and legal product sales commenced on Oct. 17, 2018, it only included dried flower, cannabis oil, and sprays. Alternative products such as edibles and cannabis-infused beverages aren’t yet legal. That, however, is expected to change by no later than Oct. 17, 2019, according to an outline presented by Health Canada. Edibles and infused beverages containing cannabidiol (CBD), the nonpsychoactive cannabinoid best known for its medical benefits, are expected to be especially important in luring in new users.

The provincial-use data is also interesting in that it highlights one potential under-the-radar grower: OrganiGram Holdings (NASDAQOTH:OGRMF). The New Brunswick-based OrganiGram is the only Atlantic grower expected to yield more than 100,000 kilograms per year when at full production capacity. Its geographic location gives it competitive advantages in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Sure, these are far less populated regions than, say, Ontario or Quebec, but it nevertheless allows OrganiGram a foothold in these potentially higher-use provinces and territories. OrganiGram was already a value stock among its peers, but it’s now that much more intriguing following the release of this data.

Image source: Getty Images.

I believe this data also demonstrates the scope of opportunity awaiting Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) and its e-commerce platform. A number of large growers and provinces, including Ontario, have chosen to utilize Shopify’s sales platform for online and brick-and-mortar sales. Aside from simply being the sales platform of choice, Shopify offers marijuana companies purchasing data on consumers for pretty much the first time ever. With this being a cash-dominated industry, it’s been virtually impossible for growers and retailers to understand their customer base. With Shopify, this is going to change, and both producers and retailers will be able to more directly target consumers.

Ultimately, the legal weed industry is still in its infancy in Canada. That means we’re liable to see this data shift as Health Canada adjusts the boundaries of what’s legal and growers and retailers come to better understand their customers.

Source: https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/02/23/nearly-1-in-6-canadians-have-used-marijuana-since.aspx