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ThreeD Capital Inc. $IDK.ca â€“ #Nasdaq Leads $20 Million Investment in Enterprise #Blockchain Startup #Symbiont $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:51 PM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 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 Canadaâ€™s biggest small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.

Nasdaq Leads $20 Million Investment in Enterprise Blockchain Startup Symbiont

Nasdaq today made its largest investment in enterprise blockchain, leading a $20 million Series B in Symbiont,
a startup working to bring new kinds of assets that are custodied by blockchain to mainstream adoption.

The investment, which also includes Citi Ventures, Galaxy Digital, and Raptor Group, marks the latest escalation in an arms race among traditional exchanges looking to capitalize on the technology that was once thought of as an existential threat.

Instead of being disintermediated by blockchain technology, which like bitcoin offers the potential for counterparties to move value without a trusted third party, exchanges like Nasdaq and others are partnering with those companies to study the technology and, increasingly, to use it.

As part of todayâ€™s investment, Nasdaq is also announcing a commercial integration that could see the company, which runs 26 exchanges for equities, options, bonds, derivatives and commodities in the United States, Scandinavia, the Baltic region, Armenia, and others, expand into new areas.

â€œWe see this huge opportunity to be able to go all over the globe with Nasdaq,â€ said Symbiont cofounder and CEO Mark Smith. â€œAnd use this marketplace solution from origination to finality, including ways you can buy and transact new types of instruments backed by our smart-contract technology.â€

The Series B investment brings the total amount raised by Symbiont to $36 million, with previous investors including Fenbushi Capital and Medici Ventures, Overstock.comâ€™s blockchain investment arm. This is the first time investing in Symbiont for each of the Series B investors. The terms of the investment are not being disclosed.

The investment comes at a time when leading cryptocurrency startups are cutting back on staff after last yearâ€™s catastrophic drop in prices. Smith says most of the money will be spent to move out of the WeWork offices in front of the famous Wall Street bull statue that have served as the company’s home for the past five years, and to hire new blockchain engineers. Symbiont has grown quickly recently, doubling its staff to 30 employees in 2017 and doubling aging in 2018. While Smith doesnâ€™t expect that rate of growth to continue, he says most of the recent investment will be spent on new hires.

â€œThe overwhelming place weâ€™ll be spending that money is continuing to grow our team,” he added.

Unlike public blockchains such as bitcoin and ethereum that anyone can build on, and permissioned blockchains developed by IBM, R3 and others and given away to the open source community, Symbiontâ€™s blockchain and smart-contract solution, Assembly, was built for permissioned use from the beginning.

Assembly lets users originate and issue traditional securities, what Smith calls â€œsmart instruments,â€ and acts as the sole custodian of the assets. By integrating with the Nasdaq Financial Framework (NFF) for building financial applications, Smith says, Assembly will help the exchange streamline the process for finding, executing and settling liquidity.

Startups and larger clients of Nasdaqâ€”and Symbiont’s other partnersâ€”can then use Assembly to build solutions for a wide range of marketplaces, including tokenized ownership of real-estate and artwork, both of which would be new lines of business for Nasdaq. Importantly, the commercial integration between Symbiontâ€™s Assembly and NFF is not exclusive. Both companies are free to work with competitors.

Symbiontâ€™s existing customers include investing management giant Vanguard, financial data provider Ipreo, purchased by IHS Markit in 2018, and Lewis Ranieri, an early proponent of mortgage-backed securities. Symbiont also played a pivotal role in helping the state of Delaware pass a number of new measures designed to give companies confidence that shares they issue on a blockchain will be legally recognized.

While Delaware’s new administration has largely pivoted from its original plan and is now working with IBM on an alternative, Smith revealed today that former Delaware governor Jack Markell now serves on Symbiont’s board of directors. “The new administration took a wait-and-see approach,” said Smith, alluding to the potential impact blockchain could have on Delaware’s existing business model. “They wanted to see how it would affect their constituents.”

Nasdaq and Citi had already invested in blockchain startup Chain, a potential Symbiont competitor that was acquired by the Stellar Development Foundation, the organization behind the Lumen (XLM) cryptocurrency, currently valued at $2 billion. In turn, Chain helped Nasdaq and Citi build Linq, an early end-to-end solution for instantly settling private securities, first tested in 2015. Other Nasdaq blockchain investments include Paris-based Stratumn, which builds enterprise blockchain applications, and CFTC-regulation cryptocurrency trading platform, ErisX, which recently added ethereum cofounder Joe Lubin to its board of directors.

Showing a possible path forward for Nasdaq, which has 3,400 companies listed on its exchanges, one of its biggest competitors, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), recently announced it was opening its own cryptocurrency exchange, Bakkt, later this month, after making its own batch of exploratory blockchain investments.

â€œWe are committed to discovering and investing in innovative technologies to help build our future market infrastructure,â€ said Gary Offner, head of Nasdaq Ventures, in a statement. â€œWe are pleased to support this important, growing area for creating unique institutional applications of blockchain technology.â€

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2019/01/23/exclusive-nasdaq-leads-20-million-investment-in-enterprise-blockchain-startup-symbiont/#5651bfc346d1

Tags: Bitcoin, blockchain, CSE, nasdaq, symbiont, tsx-v
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BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca â€“ Hereâ€™s what 2019 has in store for the digital learning sector in India $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:24 AM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 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.

Hereâ€™s what 2019 has in store for the digital learning sector in India

Ishan Gupta

Technology has transformed the learning landscape. What can we look forward to this year? Video-based learning, microlearning, and AI-driven chatbots that function as teachers’ assistants.

Change is the only constant! And when I look around, I can see the pace. Thanks to smartphones and internet penetration, sometimes the change is so rapid that we donâ€™t even realise it. For instance, Netflix/ Amazon Prime has so quickly become a part of our everyday lives that they have replaced the cable television for a lot of us.

Similarly, in the past few years, the learning landscape across the globe has also undergone significant disruption on the back of technological advancements. The growth and proliferation of communication technology, bolstered by deeper penetration of internet connectivity and smart devices, made digital learning a household name in 2018.

And, as we work our way through January 2019, it makes sense to look back at what worked in 2018 and what would be the guiding principles for 2019. One thing is for sure; online learning is here to stay and grow!

The year that was: digital learning trends in 2018

In 2018, educational institutions and organisations truly embraced virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR) to boost learning outcomes among students. While the technology is still in its nascent stage in India, several leading AR/VR startups are creating inventive educational products for schools, colleges, and corporations.

AR/VR has resulted in the development of collaborative online learning. Virtual collaborative learning environments have enabled learners to work together as a group in technology-based learning systems and benefit from shared knowledge.

Gamification, or game-based learning, is another trend that gained momentum in the past year. Through the immersive learning technique of gamification, learning new skills has become an engaging and a fun activity. Gamification, powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, has witnessed stellar developments, with its global market set to grow from $1.65 billion in 2015 to $11.1 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 46.3 percent.

Adaptive learning was another big advancement in 2018, with learning platforms realizing the potential of programmes that are customised as per the needs and capabilities of specific learners. As digital learning continues to gain traction and attract learners who wish to upskill themselves independently, leading digital learning platforms have uniquely personalised the process.

Looking ahead: what 2019 has in store for digital learning

Video-based learning has emerged as the most scalable learning method since it truly democratises education by making it accessible to everyone. And itâ€™s not only the reach; video-based learning has proven to be more effective with our changing cognitive abilities. According to an article published by Psychology Today, the human brain processes videos 60,000 times faster than text. The method of explaining and demonstrating a topic through videos boosts retention as it appeals to more than just the sense of sight. In fact, a study on millennials concluded that over 75 percent millennials turned to YouTube and other channels for â€œHow toâ€ and explainer videos on various concepts. Leading online learning platforms are eyeing this opportunity and investing more in the video-based learning segment.

The rise in video-based learning is leading to a newer concept called microlearning wherein bite-sized videos with succinct information are shown to learners. When learners are exposed to information in short bursts repeatedly, they grasp concepts quicker, leading to amazing learning outcomes. Microlearning, also conceivable in the form of short quizzes, info-graphics, or audio clips, has huge potential and could possibly transform the education sector in 2019 and beyond.

The learning landscape in 2019 is also set to be revolutionised by AI-driven chatbots, who can perform tasks from guiding to motivating learners, while they move forward on their upskilling journey. In fact, this method of aiding learners through chatbots was successfully implemented when the Georgia Institute of Technology used IBMâ€™s Watson AI to facilitate student support. For online learning platforms, chatbots can become teachersâ€™ assistants and answer routine queries put up by learners.

According to a study by KPMG, the Indian online education industry will touch $1.96 billion by 2021, with an increasing number of learners finding online learning more convenient and in tune with their learning pace. Extrapolating for the current scenario and future projections, it is evident that the online learning industry is going ahead full throttle, fueled by innovative technologies and eager learners.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)

Source: https://yourstory.com/2019/01/digital-learning-sector-india-2019/

Tags: edtech, edtech india, india, online education, tsx-v
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New Age Metals Inc. $NAM.ca â€“ #Toyota and #Panasonic Form Joint Venture to Make #EV Batteries $LIC.ca $LIX.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:43 AM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc. (TSX-V: NAM) The companyâ€™s new Lithium Division has already made significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns one of North Americaâ€™s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.

Toyota Motor Corporation and Panasonic Corporation announced Tuesday that the two companies will establish a joint venture next year to produce prismatic lithium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, and next-generation batteries for electric vehicles.

Julia Pyper

Toyota Motor Corporation and Panasonic Corporation announced Tuesday that the two companies will establish a joint venture next year to produce prismatic lithium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, and next-generation batteries for electric vehicles.

Contracts concluded today confirm earlier reports of a formal partnership between the two companies, and build on an agreement that the pair announced in late 2017 to explore developing batteries with higher energy density in a prismatic cell arrangement.

The new joint venture aims to provide a stable supply of competitive batteries to multiple automakers â€” sold principally through Panasonic â€” as the EV market grows to meet evolving consumer needs and to address societal issues related to energy and climate change.

“As vehicle electrification accelerates toward the solving of such environmental issues, batteries are a most important element,â€ Toyota and Panasonic said in a joint statement.

â€œHowever, numerous battery-related challenges must be tackled, including not only having advanced technological capabilities to address issues of cost, energy density, charging time and safety,â€ the statement continued, â€œbut also being able to ensure stable supply capacity and having effective recycling structures.â€

The joint venture seeks to address these issues by drawing on both companiesâ€™ resources and expertise. Toyota will bring to the table its EV market data, manufacturing experience and advanced technologies related to solid-state batteries, while Panasonic will contribute its ability to make safe, high-capacity and high-output batteries at scale, as well as a customer base in Japan and abroad.

Equity participation in the joint venture will be split 51 percent for Toyota and 49 percent for Panasonic. Pending approval from competition law authorities, the partnership will officially launch by the end of 2020.

Toyota, which has been slower than other automakers to embrace EVs , announced in 2017 that it aims to sell more than 10 battery-electric models by the mid-2020s, contributing to sales of 5.5 million electrified vehicles by 2030. The new joint venture will help to support that effort.

Todayâ€™s announcement also reflects the growing competition among battery manufacturers, according to Mitalee Gupta, energy storage analyst at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. While Panasonic has been a Tier 1 lithium-ion battery cell supplier for several years, she noted that Chinese vendors such as CATL and BYD have been ramping up their battery cell production and gaining market share.

â€œThis strategic partnership shows that Panasonic is now looking beyond Tesla to keep its place in the race to capture the global EV market, by leveraging Toyotaâ€™s position as one of the biggest automakers,â€ said Gupta.

Tesla, one of Panasonicâ€™s highest-profile customers, announced recently that it is looking at other cell suppliers for its Shanghai Gigafactory, including local Chinese companies. Reports this week show that Tesla has been in talks with Chinaâ€™s Tianjin Lishen, but that no deal has been reached to date.

Around 60 percent of global cell manufacturing currently takes place in China, according to Gupta. South Korean vendors such as LG Chem and Samsung SDI are in the process of setting up manufacturing bases in the country to ensure that they arenâ€™t losing out on this global competition, she said. Toyotaâ€™s joint venture with Panasonic will also include factories in China, as well as Japan.

Through the joint venture, Toyota and Panasonic have also committed to researching and developing solid-state batteries, a technology that according to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables will start becoming commercially viable after 2025. Last year WoodMac tracked more than half a billion dollars worth of investments in solid-state technologies from automakers and cell suppliers.

â€œWith the EV industry collectively trying to focus on improving energy density of todayâ€™s battery cells and overcoming current challenges with cobalt cathodes and graphite anodes, these investments are going to grow rapidly in the coming years,â€ said Gupta.

Source: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/toyota-panasonic-joint-venture-make-electric-vehicle-batteries

Tags: New Age, Panasonic, stocks, Toyota
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Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL Joins #Esports Integrity Coalition, Commits To Highest Level of Esports Integrity Monitoring $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $TCEHF

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:49 AM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

Announced it has joined the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC), an independent global body that aims to protect the integrity of esports, including working with the worldâ€™s largest betting operators and esports organizations to safeguard players, combat cheating and educate audiences.
This association is another milestone for VIE.gg, the worldâ€™s first and most transparent esports betting exchange.

BIRKIRKARA, Malta, Jan. 23, 2019 — Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (GMBL:OTCQB) (or the “Company”), a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, is pleased to announce it has joined the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC), an independent global body that aims to protect the integrity of esports, including working with the worldâ€™s largest betting operators and esports organizations to safeguard players, combat cheating and educate audiences. This association is another milestone for VIE.gg, the worldâ€™s first and most transparent esports betting exchange.

A GLOBAL ESPORTS COALITION TO MONITOR, PROTECT AND ENFORCE

Established in 2016, the Esports Integrity Coalition is a not-for-profit association taking responsibility for disruption, protection, investigation and prosecution of all forms of cheating in esports including the threat of match fixing and betting fraud, as well as, other integrity challenges posed to the esports industry. Current partners include ESL, DreamHack, Intel, UK Gambling Commission, Esports Insider and many other important esports entities.

Since the coalition has formed it has led efforts to uphold standards of vital principles applied to esports such as leading a 2017 investigation that culminated in two Dota 2 players getting banned from UCC tournaments for two years for betting fraud. Most recently, Counter-Strike:Global Offensive player Nikhil â€forsakenâ€ Kumawat received a five-year ban by ESIC from all esports related activities for or with any ESIC member organizations, after being proven guilty of using hacks on two CS:GO tournaments.

VIE.gg and its members will benefit from its membership in ESIC as follows:

a) The ESIC suspicious bet alert system is a global network of operators and regulators that identifies and eradicates corrupt betting;

b) Contributing to the anti-corruption education of players and helping make the esports ecosystem safer;

c) Tapping into the accumulated best practices developed by ESIC and its members;

d) Greater viability in the esports space by association with ESIC and its coalition of members.

Ian Smith, Commissioner of the Esports Integrity Coalition stated â€œWe are impressed by the early commitment Grant Johnson and Esports Entertainment Group to have competitive integrity embedded in their product, contacting us at the earliest opportunity and keeping us updated throughout the development process. Itâ€™s always interesting when someone moves into the esports betting space with a new offering, especially one that allows players to pit themselves against other players. Naturally, competitive integrity is as important in that arena as it is in any other part of the esports ecosystem. Consequently, we are very pleased that VIE.gg has chosen to work with us to protect their product and esports from attempted corrupt influences. We are really looking forward to working with Grant and his team in the interface between esports and betting on esports.â€

Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports at Esports Entertainment Group, stated, â€œOur ESIC membership is a symbol of our commitment to protecting our players and partners from cheating and fraud in esports. VIE.gg is the worldâ€™s most transparent esports bet exchange and we will continue to incorporate systems that protect our players. As a result of our participation in this great coalition, we are extending our transparency and protections to even greater levels.â€

ABOUT VIE.GG

VIE.gg offers bet exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secured platform to the global esports audience, excluding jurisdictions that prohibit online gambling. VIE.gg features wagering on the following esports games:

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)
League of Legends
Dota 2
Call of Duty
Overwatch
PUBG
Hearthstone
StarCraft II

VIE.gg has announced affiliate marketing partnerships with 190 esports teams and 3 leagues from around the world and expects that number to increase in 2019.

This press release is available on our Online Investor Relations Community for shareholders and potential shareholders to ask questions, receive answers and collaborate with management in a fully moderated forum at https://agoracom.com/ir/EsportsEntertainmentGroup

Redchip investor relations Esports Entertainment Group Investor Page:
http://www.gmblinfo.com

About Esports Entertainment Group

Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. is a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming. Esports Entertainment offers bet exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secure platform to the global esports audience at vie.gg.Â In addition, Esports Entertainment intends to offer users from around the world the ability to participate in multi-player mobile and PC video game tournaments for cash prizes. Esports Entertainment is led by a team of industry professionals and technical experts from the online gambling and the video game industries, and esports. The Company holds licenses to conduct online gambling and 18+ gaming on a global basis in Curacao, Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Company maintains offices in Malta, Curacao and Warsaw, Poland. Esports Entertainment common stock is listed on the OTCQB under the symbol GMBL.Â For more information visit www.esportsentertainmentgroup.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. The safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 protects companies from liability for their forward-looking statements if they comply with the requirements of the Act.

Contact:

Corporate Finance
1-268-562-9111
[email protected]

Media & Investor Relations Inquiries
AGORACOM
[email protected]
http://agoracom.com/ir/eSportsEntertainmentGroup

U.S. Investor Relations
RedChip
Dave Gentry
407-491-4498
[email protected]

Tags: egaming, LOL
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Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca Announces Exclusive Partnership With Omnia Media And Its 900 Channel Youtube Network And 50+ Million Monthly Visitors $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $TCEHF

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:26 AM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

Entered into two agreements, one with Omnia Media Inc. to exclusively represent all of Omniaâ€™s online gaming traffic in the United States, and another with Blue Ant Media
Omnia is a leading global gaming YouTube platform which creates, manages and operates a multi-channel YouTube network that distributes premium, original content.
With over 50 million monthly visitors 1, 400 million subscribers across 900 channels, Omniaâ€™s network is one of the most highly visited destinations on YouTube for video game related content

TORONTO, Jan. 23, 2019 – Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSXV: EGLX) (OTCQB: EGHIF) Â (â€œEnthusiastâ€ or the â€œCompanyâ€), a digital media company building the largest community of authentic gamers, is excited to announce that it has entered into two agreements, one with Omnia Media Inc. (â€œOmniaâ€) to exclusively represent all of Omniaâ€™s online gaming traffic in the United States, and another with Blue Ant Media (â€œBlue Antâ€) pursuant to which Blue Ant will act as an exclusive advertising sales agent of Enthusiast in Canada. Omnia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Ant.

Omnia is a leading global gaming YouTube platform which creates, manages and operates a multi-channel YouTube network that distributes premium, original content. With over 50 million monthly visitors1, 400 million subscribers across 900 channels, Omniaâ€™s network is one of the most highly visited destinations on YouTube for video game related content. Under the representation agreement with Omnia, Enthusiast will act as Omniaâ€™s exclusive United States sales agent for the sale of the advertising inventory across Omniaâ€™s gaming media platform.

Omniaâ€™s content platform that includes recently launched ‘Sidemen Show’ on YouTube Premium and animated series ‘The Squad’ a highly viewed Fortnite-inspired cartoon series on YouTube/Snapchat. Omnia’s portfolio of content can also be found across Facebook, Amazon, Twitch, Roku, and a number of linear channels worldwide.

Enthusiast anticipates that the arrangement will grow its community, while diversifying the platform to include a large library of video content. The partnership is also an important step in Enthusiastâ€™s long-term expansion strategy across North America and allows the company to focus on monetizing its growing US traffic base.

Menashe Kestenbaum, CEO of Enthusiast, commented, â€œWe are excited to partner with Blue Ant Media, a recognized international digital media platform to represent its US advertising inventory. The beneficial partnership adds Omnia Media, a leading YouTube video gaming community to our platform and significantly increases our networkâ€™s reach. We are committed to expanding our US presence and are focused on developing our sales force to capitalize on our rapidly growing network.â€

Austin Long, VP, Gaming Partnerships & Strategy of Omnia, added, â€œWe will greatly benefit from Enthusiastâ€™s sales experience in the media space, which will have a positive impact against our global inventory. We are hopeful that further synergies will come from our partnership between Omniaâ€™s talent and content generation and Enthusiastâ€™s website portfolio and live expo, EGLX. We look forward to partnering with the Enthusiast team.â€

Enthusiast has entered into a second representation agreement to engage Blue Ant as the Companyâ€™s exclusive sales agent for the sale of Enthusiastâ€™s Canadian consumer marketing opportunities, including digital inventory, consumer show sponsorships, content creation and experiential activations.

Kestenbaum continued, â€œBeing backed by Blue Antâ€™s strong Canadian presence and talented sales force will help us drive advertising revenue across our Canadian digital inventory. Engaging Blue Ant is one part of our strategy to build out a strong, multileveled sales force in North America. We look forward to working with Blue Ant and the Omnia team moving forward.â€

1 (Source: Google Ad manager, January 2019)

About Omnia

With over 400 million subscribers across 900 channels, Omnia has an impressive content slate including the recently launched ‘Sidemen Show’ on YouTube Premium and animated series ‘The Squad’ which is a highly viewed Fortnite-inspired cartoon series on YouTube/Snapchat. Omnia’s portfolio of content can also be found across Facebook, Amazon, Twitch, Roku, and a number of linear channels globally. Visit www.omniamedia.com for more information.

About Blue Ant

Blue Ant Media is a privately held, international media company that creates and distributes content worldwide across streaming video, linear television, digital, magazines and live events. The companyâ€™s broadcasting business offers a robust portfolio of Canadian and New Zealand-based media brands. Content distribution, lead Blue Ant International, offers a catalogue of 2,200+ hours of premium, unscripted content worldwide, which includes the largest 4K natural history library on the market. Blue Ant Media is headquartered in Toronto (Canada), with offices located in Los Angeles (US), London (UK), and Auckland (NZ). blueantmedia.ca

About Enthusiast

Founded in 2014, Enthusiast is the fastest-growing online community of video gamers. Through the Companyâ€™s unique acquisition strategy, it has a platform of over 80 owned and affiliated websites and currently reaches over 75 million monthly visitors with its unique and curated content. Enthusiast also owns and operates Canadaâ€™s largest gaming expo, Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo, EGLX, (www.eglx.ca) with 55,000 attendees in 2018. For more information on the Company, visit www.enthusiastgaming.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Investor Relations:
Julia Becker, Head of Investor Relations & Marketing
[email protected]
(604) 785.0850

This news release contains certain statements that may constitute forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. All statements, other than those of historical fact, which address activities, events, outcomes, results, developments, performance or achievements that Enthusiast anticipates or expects may or will occur in the future (in whole or in part) should be considered forward-looking information. Such information may involve, but is not limited to, comments with respect to strategies, expectations, planned operations and future actions of the Company. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements formed in the future tense or indicating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” (or other variations of the forgoing) be taken, occur, be achieved, or come to pass. Forward-looking information is based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and operating plans, strategies or beliefs as of the date of this news release, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Enthusiast to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors may be based on information currently available to Enthusiast, including information obtained from third-party industry analysts and other third-party sources, and are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs regarding future growth, results of operations, future capital (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof) and expenditures. Any and all forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.

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.

The securities of the Corporation have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirement. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Tags: esports, Fortnite, LOL
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Monarques Gold $MQR.ca Produces 4,417 Ounces of #Gold and Generates $11.4 million in Revenue in its Second Quarter $GDX.ca $ECR.ca $MZZ.ca $QMX.ca $IMG.ca $IAG $MUX

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:18 AM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

Production activities at the Beaufor Mine extended until April 2019, taking place in known stopes with a smaller workforce
Sustained positive contribution of custom milling at the Camflo mill
During the quarter, successfully completed a positive feasibility study on its Wasamac deposit (see feasibility study), which can be summarized as follows:
- Projected annual average gold production of 142,000 ounces over 11 years
- Pre-tax NPV of $522 million
- Pre-tax IRR of 23.6%
- Production cash costs of US$550 per ounce

MONTREAL, Jan. 23, 2019 –Â MONARQUES GOLD CORPORATION (“Monarques” or theÂ “Corporation”) (TSX:Â MQR) (OTCMKTS:Â MRQRF) (FRANKFURT:Â MR7) is pleased to report its production results and corporate highlights for the second quarter ended December 31, 2018. Amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Production highlights

Monarques produced 4,417 ounces of gold in the second quarter, up 23% from the first quarter but down 19% from 5,444 ounces last year.
The Corporation recorded revenues of $11.4 million in the second quarter from the sale of 5,169 ounces of gold at an average price of $1,656 per ounce (US $1,254), combined with revenues from custom milling operations, which were up 2% from the first quarter and more than 71% year over year.

“These positive results for Monarques in the second quarter reflect a number of factors, including better grades from known stopes at the Beaufor Mine, higher gold prices and the sustained contribution of custom milling activities at Camflo,” said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer of Monarques. “We will continue mining the ore remaining in the known stopes at Beaufor over the next few months, which should allow us to continue producing until April 2019. To reduce costs and in anticipation of the upcoming suspension of production activities at Beaufor, we stopped doing exploration and development work a few months ago and currently have 51 employees at the Beaufor Mine, compared to approximately 130 employees prior to the announcement of the suspension. I would also like to thank our employees for their outstanding performance during the quarter.”

Production statistics

Three months ended December 31, 2018	Three months ended December 31, 2017	Six months ended December 31, 2018	Six months ended December 31, 2017
Beaufor Mine
Ore processed (tonnes)	26,079	35,005	55,454	35,005
Gold recovery (%)	98.50	98.68	98.26	98.68
Ounces produced	4,417	5,444	8,325	5,444
Ounces sold	5,169	5,444	8,441	5,444

Corporate highlights

On October 23, 2018, the Corporation provided new results from the Probe Metals Inc. 2018 drilling program on the Monique property, located near Val-d’Or, Quebec (see press release).
On December 3, 2018, the Corporation reported positive results from the feasibility study prepared by BBA Inc. for the Wasamac Gold project (see press release).
On December 13, 2018, Monarques announced that it had closed a nonâ€brokered private placement of an aggregate of 3,029,606 flowâ€through shares at a price of $0.33 per flow-through share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $999,769.98 (see press release).
On December 18, 2018, the Corporation reported that it had consolidated its position around its Wasamac property through an exchange of mineral claims with Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. (see press release).
On January 15, 2019, the Corporation reported additional positive assay results from the 2018 diamond drilling program at its wholly owned Croinor Gold project 50 kilometres east of Val-d’Or, QuÃ©bec (see press release).

The technical and scientific content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Marc-AndrÃ© Lavergne, P.Eng., the Corporation’s qualified person under National Instrument 43â€‘101.

ABOUT MONARQUES GOLD CORPORATION

Monarques Gold Corporation (TSX: MQR) is an emerging gold mining company focused on pursuing growth through its large portfolio of high-quality projects in the Abitibi mining camp in Quebec, Canada. The Corporation currently owns close to 300 kmÂ² of gold properties (see map), including the Wasamac deposit (measured and indicated resource of 2.6 million ounces of gold), the Beaufor Mine, the Croinor Gold (see video), McKenzie Break and Swanson advanced projects and the Camflo and Beacon mills, as well as other promising exploration projects. It also offers custom milling services out of its 1,600 tonne-per-day Camflo mill.

Forward-Looking Statements

The forward-looking statements in this press release involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Monarques’ actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/monarques-gold-produces-4-417-ounces-of-gold-and-generates-11-4-million-in-revenue-in-its-second-quarter-300782556.html

Tags: gold, gold demand, monarques, tsx-v
Posted in Monarques Gold | Comments Off on Monarques Gold $MQR.ca Produces 4,417 Ounces of #Gold and Generates $11.4 million in Revenue in its Second Quarter $GDX.ca $ECR.ca $MZZ.ca $QMX.ca $IMG.ca $IAG $MUX

Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca Starts Trading on the OTCQB as Part of North American Expansion Plan $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $TCEHF

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 7:10 AM on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

Companyâ€™s common shares will commence trading today on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol “EGHIFâ€.
The Law Firm of Burns Figa & Will PC acted as the Companyâ€™s sponsor.Â Enthusiastâ€™s common shares continue to trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “EGLX”.

TORONTO, Jan. 23, 2019 – Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (â€œEnthusiastâ€ or the â€œCompanyâ€) (TSXV: EGLX) (OTCQB: EGHIF), a digital media company building the largest community of authentic gamers, is pleased to announce that the Companyâ€™s common shares will commence trading today on the OTCQB Venture Market (â€œOTCQBâ€), under the symbol “EGHIFâ€. The Law Firm of Burns Figa & Will PC acted as the Companyâ€™s sponsor.Â Enthusiastâ€™s common shares continue to trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “EGLX”.

“Listing on the OTCQB Venture will enhance our liquidity by giving us access to the US investor capital pool.â€ Commented Menashe Kestenbaum, CEO of Enthusiast. â€œCurrently, over half of our network traffic is generated from the US and many of our key partners and affiliates are US based, therefore, listing on the OTCQB is an exciting next step in our long-term expansion strategy.â€

The OTCQB is a well-established American financial marketplace for international entrepreneurial and development stage companies. The market offers listed companies the opportunity to diversify their shareholder base with increased liquidity and brand visibility, while maintaining a high level of transparent trading, annual verification and continuous regulation for US investors.

Real-time quotes and market information on the Enthusiast are available at www.otcmarkets.com/stock/EGHIF/overview

About Enthusiast

Founded in 2014, Enthusiast is the fastest-growing online community of video gamers. Through the Companyâ€™s unique acquisition strategy, it has a platform of over 80 owned and affiliated websites and currently reaches over 75 million monthly visitors with its unique and curated content. Enthusiast also owns and operates Canadaâ€™s largest gaming expo, Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo, EGLX, (https://eglx.ca/), with over 55,000 people attending in 2018. For more information on the Company, visit www.enthusiastgaming.com.

CONTACT:

Julia Becker
Head, Investor Relations & Marketing
(604) 785-0850
[email protected]

Tags: LOL, otcqb, tsx
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New Age Metals Inc. $NAM.ca â€“ Here’s Why The Price Of #Palladium Just Zoomed Past #Gold

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:23 PM on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019

Here’s Why The Price Of Palladium Just Zoomed Past Gold

Palladium might not fill headlines the way gold does, but itâ€™s been on fire lately.
Not only has the precious metal been theÂ best performing commodityÂ for two years straight, but its price also just shot past gold for the first time since 2001.

Palladium Strengthens On Increased Demand From Automobile Manufacturers

Palladium might not fill headlines the way gold does, but itâ€™s been on fire lately. Not only has the precious metal been the best performing commodity for two years straight, but its price also just shot past gold for the first time since 2001. For the first time ever, it broke through $1,400 an ounce last week before pulling back somewhat. From its 52-week low set in August, palladium has climbed almost 70 percent. Itâ€™s added about 16 percent in the past 30 trading days alone.

Trading Places: Palladium Overtook Gold AgainU.S. Global Investors

Supply is tight, but like many other things, we largely have government policy to thank for the palladium rally. In this case, Iâ€™m talking specifically about governments in Europe, which have recently strengthened their vehicle emission standards. The â€œEuro standard,â€ as itâ€™s called, classifies vehicles on a scale from one to six, with one being the most polluting and six being the least polluting.

Some European cities have already banned the dirtiest â€œEuro 1â€ vehicles from their streets. Old diesel cars and trucks were outlawed in Brussels effective January 2018. In May 2018, Hamburg became the first German city to do the same.

Diesel Engines in the Crosshairs

But now that itâ€™s a new year, some city governments are escalating the ban to include Euro 2 automobiles that run on diesel. Next month, Frankfurtâ€”Germanyâ€™s financial hubâ€”will go so far as to ban all Euro 4-and-worse diesel vehicles, and all Euro 1 and 2 gasoline-burning vehicles.

I believe this escalation was prompted in part by a comment made by Elzbieta Bienkowska, a European commissioner whose responsibilities include oversight of industry and entrepreneurship. Speaking to Bloomberg in May, she said that â€œdiesel cars are finished.â€

Diesel Vehicle Sales Continue to Plunge in EuropeU.S. Global Investors

And then, as if to hasten Bienkowskaâ€™s prediction, a damning study on diesel engines was issued in June by the very same group that blew the whistle on Volkswagenâ€™s emissions scandal back in 2015. According to the study, conducted by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), even the newest, cleanest diesel vehicles failed to meet Europeâ€™s strict emission standards in â€œreal worldâ€ driving conditions. Peter Mock, the ICCTâ€™s managing director, defended the report, saying that â€œpretty much all Euro 6 diesels on the market are not clean.â€

European sentiment of diesel was already in freefall, but momentum is increasing. In the first half of 2018, sales of diesel vehicles within the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) fell more than 16 percent compared to the same period in 2017. For all of 2018, British sales of diesels were down nearly 30 percent, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Between 2016 to 2018, dieselâ€™s share of new vehicle sales in the EU plunged dramatically, from nearly half of all sales to just under a third.

Palladium Has Been the Beneficiary

So what does all of this have to do with palladium? The metal, as you probably know, is used in the production of catalytic converters, which â€œscrubâ€ pollutants from the exhaust of internal combustion engines. And because of Europeâ€™s enforcement of strict new standards, demand for these devices is surging, along with palladium itself.

Demand is so high, in fact, that there are now reports, in the U.K. and U.S., of thieves stealing catalytic converters, sometimes in broad daylight, to extract the precious metal. On Thursday, it traded as high as $1,434.50, according to CNBC.

Supply Worries Have Remained High

Thereâ€™s more to the story of palladiumâ€™s bull run. For the past several years, supply has been in deficit. Thatâ€™s mostly because around 80 percent of all palladium (and platinum) production is concentrated in two countriesâ€”South Africa and Russia. The geopolitical risks are high. When South African laborers went on strike in 2014, all production of the platinum metals, including palladium, grinded to a halt.

Where is Palladium Mined?U.S. Global Investors

Besides supply issues, the biggest risk facing palladium right now is substitution risk. With palladium trading above $1,400 an ounce, how long will it be before auto manufacturers switch to its sister metal, platinum, which is currently trading at around $800 an ounce?

In the meantime, there could be money to be made.

A Palladium Miner With Incredible 87 Percent Income Growth

One of our favorite ways to play the rally is North American Palladium. The company, headquartered in Toronto, mines both palladium and gold (and other metals as a byproduct), and has seen quite a rally itself on higher metal prices. For the 24-month period, its shares are up a remarkable 120 percent.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/22/heres-why-the-price-of-palladium-just-zoomed-past-gold/#40aae8ca5eec

https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/22/heres-why-the-price-of-palladium-just-zoomed-past-gold/#40aae8ca5eec

Tags: palladium, tsx
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Betteru Education Corp. $BTRU.ca â€“ Top 5 #edtech trends you will see in 2019 $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:52 PM on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019

BTRU: TSX-V

â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”â€”

We all are aware that EdTech market is expected to touch $1.96 billion by 2021 with nearly 9.6 million users.

India Today Web Desk January 22, 2019 Ed-tech or education technology is on the rise with more learning trends about to show up in 2019.

Ed-tech or education technology has arrived in India. With BYJUs already getting into the unicorn club, the time has come for other startups who have been doing some good work consistently to pace up the growth and make 2019 the year of Ed Tech in India, in addition to the obvious Fin Tech.

We all are aware that EdTech market is expected to touch $1.96 billion by 2021 with nearly 9.6 million users.

However based on my experience of over 7 years in Education Technology space, let me try to share the Top 5 Ed Tech Trends which will decide how the sector shapes up in India in 2019.

1. Tryst with vernacular learning content

Regional and vernacular content is thriving in all respects, be it entertainment, communication or the digital space. Like any other sector, in 2019, edtech companies cannot afford to miss out at the language content internet consumers.

After all, the next 500 million to 1 billion internet users in India are going to be language users, across age groups.

Regional language users will grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18 per cent to reach 536 million in 2021, while English users are expected to grow at a CAGR of three per cent.

And hence, this will be the defining trend of ed-tech companies too for expansion to leverage a good chunk of overall pie of internet consumers in India.

CareerAnna, the largest platform to learn in Indian Languages, already offers indepth vernacular learning content in 3 languages — Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, in addition to English, and is witnessing a month on month growth of over 200% in non-English categories.

Like Nelson Mandela said, If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart, and education technology companies need to appreciate this emerging trend.

2. Bite-sized learning is the future of learning

As a new education trend, bite sized learning content can help students learn quickly.

Time constraints and the rapid proliferation of mobile phones have given birth to the bite-sized learning modules.

Bite-sized learning was, till now, restricted to only news, with news aggregators like NewsBytes and Inshorts making good use of the opportunity. This trend has now penetrated the e-learning space as well.

CareerAnna has also come up with bite-sized videos containing mocks, study plans, exam strategies etc.

As per an EdTechReview report, Indiaâ€™s mobile download would rise to 22.7 billion in 2021, and since bite-sized learning is both affordable and convenient in nature, the revenue generated by the ed-tech industry is bound to grow manifold.

3. Curated content over open learning

The preference of curated content over open learning content is a rising ed-tech trend.

Though schools and colleges are archaic institutions, the world of education is undergoing a digital transformation one day at a time. Content curation is the process of collecting relevant information and presenting it in a meaningful way.

Learning in India cannot be ever seen as a primary source of education unless the curriculum is well defined by educators having relevant experience.

Education technology platforms need to perform appropriate curation to bring in the best educators and not just let anyone teach the aspiring students.

Platforms like Coursera, Career Anna, Great Learning which have embraced this as the part of the culture are perceived to be much effective and outcome-oriented primary learning sources by consumers.

However, open learning platforms like Unacademy, which let inexperienced college students with almost no credentials to form more than 95% of educators, are seen as a mere backup source by consumers much like youtube channels.

Such platforms hail only when content is free and struggle to monetise because of the lack of credibility of educators.

Thus, curated platforms shall lead in 2019 and open platforms may have to go back to the war room.

4. Personalised mentorship by certified educators, not university students

Not anyone and everyone should be allowed to teach students.

CareerAnna, Brainnr, and Vedantu are some names which employ certified and trained individuals to come onboard and impart quality knowledge to their users.

Aspiring online tutors then make a demo video for screening and eventually start uploading tutorials on their website.

Live online tutoring presently constitutes of 1% of the supplementary education market, but its future looks extremely promising.

5. Nail your dream job through up-skilling

Skilling up, combined with the right aptitude and attitude is the stairway to any lucrative job.

Sectors like Data Science, Digital Marketing, Google Analytics, Machine Learning, Growth Hacking and Marketing are witnessing high demand presently.

As many as 58 million jobs would be created in Artificial Intelligence by the year 2022 and the IT sector would see the creation of 2.5 lakh fresher jobs in 2019.

CareerAnnaâ€™s skill-up courses have helped over 9000 professionals in India to secure placements with giants like Cognizant, Dell, Samsung, Wipro, Infosys, to name a few.

To conclude, I must say that 2019 shall be an exciting year for ed-tech companies with a vast opportunity to tap next billion internet users, but challenging as well as lot of experiments, failures, learnings would be taken to have the next ed-tech unicorn of India, riding on the wave of new internet consumers.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/top-5-ed-tech-trends-you-will-see-in-2019-1436509-2019-01-22

Tags: edtech, india, indian education system, tsx, tsx-v
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