Agoracom Blog

$CKR.ca CKR Carbon Announces over Subscription of Non-Brokered Private Placement

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:05 AM on Thursday, November 23rd, 2017

  • Raising $2,793,700 in working capital
  • 39,910,000 shares issued at .07
  • Closes on November 24, 2017, all securities issued are subject to a statutory four month hold period.

 

CKR Carbon Corporation (TSXV: CKR) (FSE: CB81) (WKN: A143MR) (“CKR” or the “Company”) an integrated graphite to hybrid graphenes advanced nano material development company is pleased to announce that the offering of a non-brokered private placement announced on October 30, 2017 has been over-subscribed by $343,700 and the Company will be offering up to 39,910,000 working capital units (the “WC Unit“) for up to $2,793,700 (the “Offering“).

Each WC Unit is priced at $0.07 and consists of one (1) common share and one (1) common share purchase warrant (“WC Warrant“). Each WC Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one (1) common share (a “WC Warrant Share“) at a price of $0.10 per WC Warrant Share until the earlier of: (i) three (3) years following the Closing of the Offering; and (ii) in the event that the closing price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is at least $0.30 for twenty (20) consecutive trading days, and the 20th trading day (the “Final Trading Day“) is at least four (4) months from the Closing Date, the date which is thirty (30) days from the Final Trading Day.

Eligible Finders may receive up to 7% of the value of proceeds of the sale of WC Units in cash and up to 7% of the number of WC Units sold in the form of broker warrants. Each broker warrant issued in respect of the sale of WC Units entitles the holder to acquire one (1) common share of CKR at $0.07 for a period of three (3) years from the Closing of the Offering.

The Offering is expected to close on November 24, 2017. All securities issued under the Offering are subject to a statutory four month hold period.

Insiders of the Company are subscribing for 2,400,000 WC Units for $168,000. The insider private placements are exempt from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 (“MI 61-101“) by virtue of the exemptions contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1) (a) of MI 61-101 in that the fair market value of the consideration for the securities of the Company which may be issued to the insiders does not exceed 25% of its market capitalization.

About CKR Carbon Corporation

CKR Carbon Corporation is an advanced materials company focused on mine to market commercialization of graphite products most notably high value graphene based components for a range of mass market products. We are collaborating with a leading European manufacturer of graphenes to use Aukam graphite to manufacture graphene products for commercialization on an industrial scale. The company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol CKR.

For more information: visit the website at www.ckr-carbon.com or contact:

Arno Brand, Co-CEO +1 416-561-4095 [email protected]

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Tetra Bio-Pharma’s $TBP.ca Business Model and Commercialization Strategy In Line with the Canadian Government’s Proposed Approach to the Regulation of Cannabis $AERO $CBDS $CGRW $APH.ca $GBLX

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:08 PM on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017

Logo tetrabiopharma rgb web

  • Canadian Government’s Proposed Approach to the Regulation of Cannabis further confirms the strategic direction of its business model,
  • Company is in an excellent position to commercialize natural health products and drugs post-legalization for both the pet and human markets

OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Nov. 22, 2017) – Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. (“Tetra” or the “Company“) (TSX VENTURE:TBP)(OTCQB:TBPMF), a global leader in cannabinoid-based drug development and discovery, today announced that the Canadian Government’s Proposed Approach to the Regulation of Cannabis further confirms the strategic direction of its business model, and that the company is in an excellent position to commercialize natural health products and drugs post-legalization for both the pet and human markets.

In the Proposed Approach to the Regulation of Cannabis, Health Canada stated that “[the] Cannabis Act…will maintain a scientific, evidence-based approach for health products with cannabis that are approved with health claims. These products will be subject to the requirements of the FDA and applicable regulations, including requirements for safety, efficacy and quality“. The evidence-based approach applied by Health Canada is consistent with that of Tetra’s business model, and given that the primary goal of regulatory agencies is to protect the health and welfare of consumers, there were no surprises within the recently proposed act. The proposed approach to regulation recommends that cannabis-based health products are still subject to scientific review and must show significant efficacy, meet strict safety requirements and be of sufficient quality in order to gain market approval as a drug or as a natural health product. The burden of evidence and subsequent scientific review process prior to market approval is not required to sell products or medical cannabis through the proposed Cannabis Act, and currently through the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). However, products made and sold under the current ACMPR/ future Cannabis Act are subject to distinct limitations, such as limits on the allowable cannabinoid concentration, the available dosage and restrictions on health claims, that are not applied to health products which have undergone and received approval by Health Canada.

These regulatory distinctions make Tetra unique from many other businesses within the legalized cannabis industry. Tetra places patients and consumers first in its business model, where providing safe, high quality products that are proven to work is central to the company mission; this will continue to be the company’s vision going forward. Accordingly, the company has initiated multiple clinical research programs aimed at obtaining critical data to address the anticipated pre-marketing requirements for safety and efficacy of their products under development. In parallel, Tetra has also developed the necessary analytical tools to assess and demonstrate the quality of both raw cannabis materials and that of the finished products. Both of these core activities will remain essential parts of the business, as Tetra focuses on becoming a leader in the commercialization of cannabinoid-based health products for humans and pets.

Over the coming months, Tetra will be preparing the implementation of its product launch strategies and preparing for commercialization in accordance with the regulatory framework described in the proposed Cannabis Act.

About Tetra Bio-Pharma:

Tetra Bio-Pharma (TSX VENTURE:TBP)(OTCQB:TBPMF) is a biopharmaceutical leader in cannabinoid-based drug discovery and clinical development. Tetra is focusing on three core business pillars: clinical research, pharmaceutical promotion and retail commercialization of cannabinoid-based products.

More information at: www.tetrabiopharma.com

Source: Tetra Bio-Pharma

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.

Forward-looking statements

Some statements in this release may contain forward-looking information. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding potential acquisitions and financings) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words “may”, “will”, “should”, “continue”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “believe”, “intend”, “plan” or “project” or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, the inability of the Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, GrowPros MMP Inc., to obtain a licence for the production of medical marijuana; failure to obtain sufficient financing to execute the Company’s business plan; the success of the Rx Princeps™ product offering and inhalation device; guidance on expected sales volumes associated with the Rx Princeps™ product offering and inhalation device; competition; regulation and anticipated and unanticipated costs and delays, and other risks disclosed in the Company’s public disclosure record on file with the relevant securities regulatory authorities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results or events not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.

Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc.
Dr. Anne-Sophie Courtois, DVM
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
(514) 360-8040 Ext. 210
[email protected]
www.tetrabiopharma.com

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AUGUSTA INDUSTRIES $AAO.ca Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB) A Winning Move After Lock-Up Agreement $PHO.ca $DYA.ca $OPS.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 12:57 PM on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017

Following the November 9th announcement of a Lock-Up Agreement for 32% of the company’s shares, Augusta has surprised the market announcing a NCIB whereas up to 17,340,061 common shares representing up to 10% of the Company’s public float will be purchased through an Agent and subsequently cancelled. Once again AAO is demonstrating its commitment to create shareholder value through the process of reducing the available shares on the open market.

Allen Lone, President and CEO of Augusta stated:

“The Company believes that the purchase of the Shares will increase the proportionate interest of, and be advantageous to, all remaining security holders.”

Not only is this excellent news for existing shareholders, it could potentially lead a surge in price if recent examples of NCIB’s in the market are any indicator; especially considering the following are peers of AAO.v:

Spartan Energy (TSX SPE)

Announced NCIB buy back August 22nd when price was $5.11. It went as high as $7.37.                                         Spartan’s NCIB buy back was based on 5% of 175m outstanding or 8.7 million shares

 

 

Genworth MI Canada Inc  (TSX MIC)

Announced their NCIB buy back May 2nd when price was $34.45. Genworth went as high
as $44.81. Their NCIB buy back was based on 5% of 90.9m outstanding, equivalent to 4.59 million shares

 

 

Augusta Announces Normal Course Issuer Bid

Augusta Industries November 14th NCIB announcement for up to 17,340,061 common shares separates itself from its peers.  Not only is Augusta consuming for closure another 10% of the Company’s public float, it is sending a clear message to its current and prospective shareholders; the company is preparing itself for the market to take notice.  Augusta is removing more shares on a percentage basis at 10% than the 5% & 5% that  Spartan & Genworth each removed through their respective NCIB.

The AGM is December 29th

For more information about Augusta and the proposed Spin-Off, watch this interview with Allen Lone on AGORACOM.

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5 Essential #Blockchain Predictions That Will Define 2018 $IDK.ca #Blockstation $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:42 AM on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017
  • Potential for blockchain technology to bring about widespread change has been predicted since 2011 and the emergence of Bitcoin
  • But it was this year when the concept really started to capture people’s attention
  • Blockchain-focused financial services startups raised $240 million in venture funding during the first half of the year
Bernard Mar , Contributor

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

The potential for blockchain technology to bring about widespread change has been predicted since 2011 and the emergence of Bitcoin. But it was this year when the concept really started to capture people’s attention.

Perhaps spurred on by the meteoric rise in price of Bitcoin – the first tangible example of a blockchain technology – hype grew around encrypted, distributed ledgers in the financial sector.

Shutterstock

Blockchain-focused financial services startups raised $240 million in venture funding during the first half of the year. However, its potential was beginning to be recognized across other sectors and industries.

2018 is likely to see a continuation of this trend of innovation and disruption. Here are the five key ways this is likely to happen.

  1. More use outside of finance

While it’s implications for the financial sector might seem most apparent, any industry or organization in which recording and oversight of transactions is necessary could benefit. In healthcare, IDC Health Insights predicts that 20% of organizations will have moved beyond pilot projects and will have operationalized blockchain by 2020, so 2018 should see significant progress in that direction.

In recruitment and HR, blockchain CVs have been developed which will streamline the selection process by verifying candidates’ qualifications and relevant experience.

Legal work which involves tracking transfer of ownership – for example intellectual property law, or rea estate deeds – will also be made more efficient through implementation of distributed ledgers. Next year we should expect to see inroads by innovators in the legal field making this a reality.

Meanwhile in manufacturing and industry, the Blockchain Research Institute, the founders of which include IBM, Pepsi Co and FedEx, say it expects blockchain to become the “second generation” of the digital revolution following the development of the internet. It has highlighted work by electronics manufacturer Foxconn to use blockchain to track transactions in its supply chain.

  1. Blockchain meets the Internet of Things

Though this sounds like a clash of the buzzwords, serious thinking is going into how these technologies could be made to work together to improve business processes, and day-to-day life.

Security is one reason they are a good fit – blockchain’s encrypted and trustless nature makes it a viable option when it comes to keeping the ever-growing number of connected devices in our homes and offices safe. Research envisages that blockchain compute power that is used to “mine” Bitcoin could be put to use safeguarding our smart homes from a new generation of cyber-burglars looking to break in and steal our data.

Another proposed use is that the cryptocurrencies built on blockchains would prove ideal for automated micro-transactions made between machines. As well as recording machine activity on the ledger for record-keeping and analytical purposes, machines could effectively “pay” each other when smart machines operated by one organization interact and transact with those owned by others. This is likely to be further down the road, but it is likely we will see research and breakthroughs in this area in 2018.

READ MORE: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/11/22/5-essential-blockchain-predictions-that-will-define-2018/#17b415a37c93

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ThreeD Capital $IDK.ca Appoints #Cryptocurrency Evangelist and Trader to Advisory Board #Bitcoin #Ethereum $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:27 AM on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017

Threed capital

  • Mr. David Schirmer is a cryptocurrency enthusiast who spends most of his free time researching various topics in the blockchain/cryptocurrency space
  • Sheldon Inwentash, CEO of ThreeD comments, “David brings a vast knowledge of the blockchain/cryptocurrrency space through his research and enthusiasm for the sector.”

TORONTO, Nov. 22, 2017 — ThreeD Capital Inc. (“ThreeD” or the “Company”) (CSE:IDK) is pleased to announce the appointment of David Schirmer to its Advisory Board.

Mr. David Schirmer is a cryptocurrency enthusiast who spends most of his free time researching various topics in the blockchain/cryptocurrency space. He started his career in Tax Consulting at Deloitte before moving into the manufacturing industry with Saint Gobain (SGC) as a financial analyst and financial services manager. While at Saint Gobain, Mr. Schirmer was introduced to lean methodology. These principles help to methodically determine the value of various processes and outputs.

After a decade at SGC and lean manufacturing, Mr. Schirmer founded Nabu Consulting to apply those principles to startups using the lean methodology.  He began working with a blockchain-related project, which led him to analyzing every cryptocurrency that launched over the past two years. When it comes to analyzing the various cryptocurrency options available, Mr. Schirmer focuses on the fundamentals of the currency, rather than putting greater weight in the technical analysis. As such, Mr. Schirmer brings a detailed and analytical mindset to ThreeD’s blockchain/cryptocurrency advisory board.

Sheldon Inwentash, CEO of ThreeD comments, “David brings a vast knowledge of the blockchain/cryptocurrrency space through his research and enthusiasm for the sector.”

“It is a pleasure to join ThreeD Capital as an Advisor. I look forward in working with Sheldon and his Advisory Board in the amazing projects we can accomplish together,” stated David Schirmer.

About ThreeD Capital Inc.

ThreeD is a publicly-traded Canadian-based venture capital firm focused on opportunistic investments in companies in the junior resources, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain sectors.

ThreeD seeks to invest in early stage, promising companies where it may be the lead investor and can additionally provide investees with advisory services, mentoring and access to the Company’s network in order to earn increases to the Company’s equity stake.

For further information:
Gerry Feldman, CPA, CA
Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary
[email protected]
Phone: 416-606-7655

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Tartisan Resources $TTC.ca Announces Closing of Private Placement of 2 Million Units at 15 Cents per Unit $LPK.ca $GOLD.ca $ORO.ca $LRA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:34 PM on Tuesday, November 21st, 2017

Tartisan logo copy

  • Tartisan Resources Corp. is raising $CDN 300,000 via a non-brokered private-placement of 2,000,000 units at CDN $0.15 cents per unit with a full warrant at CDN $0.25 cents, expiring eighteen months from date of closing of this offering.
  • The placement closed today

Tartisan Resources Corp. Announces Closing of Private Placement of 2 Million Units at 15 Cents per Unit

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the U.S.

Toronto, Ontario (FSCwire) – Tartisan Resources Corp. (CSE: TTC) (“Tartisan”, or the “Company”) is pleased to announce a Private Placement of two million units at 15 cents per unit.

Private Placement

Tartisan Resources Corp. is raising $CDN 300,000 via a non-brokered private-placement of 2,000,000 units at CDN $0.15 cents per unit with a full warrant at CDN $0.25 cents, expiring eighteen months from date of closing of this offering. The placement closed today.

The net proceeds from this offering will be used for general working capital purposes.

Tartisan Resources Corp. common shares are listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE:TTC). Currently, there are 74,892,443 shares outstanding (90,145,827 fully diluted).

For further information, please contact Mr. D. Mark Appleby, President & CEO and a Director of the Company, at 416-804-0280 ([email protected]). Additional information about Tartisan can be found at the Company’s website at www.tartisanresources.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (operated by CNSX Markets Inc.) has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release)
To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:
public://news_release_pdf/Tartisan11212017_0.pdf

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#Goldenstate Warriors unveil Hunter Leigh as head of #Esports $GMBL $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:19 AM on Tuesday, November 21st, 2017

  • Golden State Warriors esports arm has named Hunter Leigh as its head of esports.
  • Comes after the NBA Championship team were confirmed as an partner in Riot Games’ new North American League of Legends Championship Series franchise system.

In the role, Leigh will oversee esports activity related to the Warriors itself, who are set to compete in the NBA 2K League as well as the newly named “Golden State Guardians”, the brand that will enter the NA LCS for the new season.

Hunter Leigh is a man with an array of experience in esports. Prior to this role, he was head of esports operations for Yahoo Esports which shut back in June following Verizon’s acquisition of the Yahoo brand. He has also set up several esports events in the growing University and College space in the United States, including in League of Legends and FGC titles.

Leigh commented in a release: “The Warriors are such a well-respected sports franchise and organization, and I am fortunate that they selected me to help steward their entrance into esports. I’m eager to hit the ground running as it relates to player acquisitions and building competitive teams for both League of Legends and the NBA 2K League. The Warriors have a proven model for championship success, and I am looking to bring their player development and analytical approach to the esports space.”

Esports Insider says: The Warriors have in Leigh a man with a great understanding of the esports scene. With regards to folk that can oversee a successful entrance into esports and truly understand the demographic, there’s likely few candidates better suited to the role. We look forward to seeing who the Golden Guardians sign as they look to be competitive in what should be an intriguing first season of the new LCS.

Source: http://www.esportsinsider.com/2017/11/golden-state-warriors-unveil-hunter-leigh-head-esports/

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‘New normal’ of geopolitical risk likely to boost #gold prices in coming years, Citi $C forecasts $AMK.ca $EXS.ca $GGX.ca $GR.ca $MQR.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:09 PM on Monday, November 20th, 2017
  • The geopolitical case for gold investment has been emboldened in recent months and it seems as strong today than at any point over the last four decades, Citi analysts said
  • Investors tend to move into safe-haven assets such as gold, the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen in times of geopolitical turmoil
  • Elections and political votes, military attacks and macroeconomic crises were recognized by Citi as some of the key geopolitical events likely to influence investment into gold

Jeffrey Coolidge | Getty Images

Gold prices are likely to be buoyed by the “new normal” of elevated geopolitical tensions over the coming years, Citi analysts said Monday.

The geopolitical case for gold investment has been emboldened in recent months and it seems as strong today than at any point over the last four decades, Citi analysts said. As a result, gold prices were forecast to “push north of $1,400 per ounce for sustained periods” through to 2020.

Elections and political votes, military attacks and macroeconomic crises were recognized by Citi as some of the key geopolitical events likely to influence investment into gold. And while analysts said there was not a consistent pattern for gold price performance amid such times of global uncertainty, prices were seen to have rallied more frequently during these periods.

Investors tend to move into safe-haven assets such as gold, the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen in times of geopolitical turmoil as traditional assets such as stocks and bonds are often perceived as a more volatile investment.

‘Huge downside risk’

“Event-driven bids for gold seem to be occurring more frequently and may be the new normal… In short, even as the rates and forex channel dominate the outlook for gold pricing, the yellow metal is increasingly being used by investors as a policy and tail risk hedge,” Citi said.

Citi projected gold prices are on track to notch levels of $1,270 per ounce by the end of 2018, before climbing to around $1,350 per ounce and $1,370 per ounce over the next two calendar years.

“Philosophically everyone wants gold, it should always be safe but there is huge downside risk,” Nandini Ramakrishnan, global markets strategist at JPMorgan, told CNBC Monday.

Ramakrishnan said gold prices had witnessed “massive moves akin to the equity market,” before adding that investors should treat the commodity with caution.

Gold is highly sensitive to U.S. interest rate hikes, as such moves increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, while supporting the dollar — in which the commodity is priced.

Spot gold edged 0.2 percent lower to $1,290 per ounce on Monday morning. The yellow metal is up 12 percent since the start of the year.

Sam MeredithDigital Reporter, CNBC.com
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/20/new-normal-of-geopolitical-risk-likely-to-boost-gold-prices-in-coming-years-citi-forecasts.html

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#Blockchain Gets a Wall Street Win: ‘We Know the Thing Works Now’ $IDK.ca #Blockstation $HIVE.ca $CODE.ca $BLOC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:27 AM on Monday, November 20th, 2017

By: Matthew Leising

November 20, 2017, 5:00 AM EST
  • Test of tracking equity swaps with blockchain deemed a success
  • Firms including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan did a six-month trial

The program, managed by blockchain startup Axoni, kept track of the swaps contracts after they were executed, recording things like amendments or termination of the deals, stock splits and dividends, and achieved a “100 percent success rate,” Axoni said in a statement Monday. Other participants include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Citigroup Inc., BNP Paribas SA and Credit Suisse Group AG.

“We’re on a path to take this forward,” Axoni Chief Executive Officer Greg Schvey said in an interview. “We know the thing works now.”

Blockchain software has captivated Wall Street because it could vastly reduce the cost of back-office operations and speed up trade clearing and settlement times. Banks have to set aside capital while they wait for transactions to be settled, so billions of dollars could be freed up for other uses if trade times go down to minutes from days or even weeks.

Axoni is far from alone in offering banks the ability to experiment with blockchain. Its competitors include Digital Asset Holdings, Symbiont, R3 and Chain.

Read More: All About Bitcoin, Blockchain and Their Crypto World

A blockchain system for equity swaps works to speed transaction times because the banks and asset managers all become members of a network that shares a so-called distributed ledger. Each member has an up-to-date copy of the ledger, so when payments need to go from one participant to another they can be processed almost in real time.

“Fewer valuation disputes, less reconciliation and real-time access to data would benefit all of the industry,” Adam Herrmann, global head of prime finance at Citigroup, said in the statement.

Smart Contracts

The program was all done in a test environment with no real trades being processed by Axoni’s AxCore blockchain software. No money changed hands either; the plan is that current systems like Fedwire or Swift will be used if the program goes live, Schvey said. He declined to say when blockchain for the equity swaps market will be done for real.

A similar test to move parts of the credit-default swap market onto a blockchain for post-trade processing uses the same system as in the equity-swaps model, Schvey said. AxCore uses smart contracts, the heart of the ethereum blockchain network, with a few tweaks.

“It looks and feels a lot like ethereum, but with a lot of differences,” such as changes to enhance scalability, privacy and security, Schvey said.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-20/blockchain-gets-a-wall-street-win-we-know-the-thing-works-now

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What I learned visiting my first live #Esports tournament $GMBL $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:36 AM on Monday, November 20th, 2017

  • The appeal of the live experience for most sports is obvious
  • For all the convenience of a televised game, it can’t compare to the sense of scale and 3D perspective you get actually seeing professional sports in person;
  • Watching plays develop and players perform nearly superhuman feats right in front of you.

Just watching on Twitch isn’t the same as being immersed in the crowd.

Kyle Orland – 11/19/2017, 10:00 AM

At this point, I don’t have much patience for the argument that eSports fans should stop watching other people play video games and just play those games themselves.

For one, it’s an argument that few people make about spectator sports like basketball and football, where the skill difference between a pro and a novice is roughly the same as in eSports. For another, the thrill of watching a competitor at the top of his or her game is entirely distinct (and better in some ways) from competing yourself.

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Ars Live Episode 18: Gary Whitta explores geeky Hollywood

What I’ve never quite understood, though, is the concept of paying money for a ticket to watch a live eSports competition in-person.

The appeal of the live experience for most sports is obvious. For all the convenience of a televised game, it can’t compare to the sense of scale and 3D perspective you get actually seeing professional sports in person, watching plays develop and players perform nearly superhuman feats right in front of you.

None of that really applies in eSports, where you’re basically going to a large room to watch a big screen that has the exact same game content you could see at home on Twitch, down to the pixel. Watching the eSports competitors themselves as they sit like statues and become part of the machine during a match hardly seems worth the price of admission, either.

Yet plenty of people pay that admission. The League of Legends World Finals alone filled 80 to 90,000 seats in the Beijing National Stadium this year. What were these people seeing that I wasn’t?

To find out, I decided to check out the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) Season 4 world finals in nearby MGM National Harbor last weekend. What I quickly found out is that the point of being in a live eSports crowd is, to a large extent, just being part of the crowd.

Take a seat

Rocket League is by far my favorite eSport to watch as a spectator. While I can follow a high-level game of Hearthstone or Smash Bros. with the best of them, Rocket League‘s simple two-teams, two-goals format makes it incredibly simple for even a novice player to keep track of the action.

Watching a high-level Rocket League match, you get a real sense of the strategy and coordination necessary for the three-person teams to balance an offensive threat with the ability to rush back and knock a ball away on defense. And while pros make it look exceedingly simple to make precision passes and shots while rocketing at high speeds through the air, regular players know how hard it is to just make contact with a ball high above the arena.

I’ve only been a casual fan of the RLCS, checking out a few stray matches when my weekend schedule allows. Going into the finals weekend, I was at least peripherally aware of the stories surrounding competing teams like the robotically efficient Cloud 9 and the crowd-pleasing G2 eSports. I also knew that these hometown favorite North American teams were extreme underdogs to the European powerhouses like Method and Gale Force.

But it was something else to see a crowd of 3,000 react to those teams right in front of me, rather than just hearing their cheers through an ambient microphone via Twitch. In that National Harbor ballroom, the crowd itself practically became a participant in the competition, going crazy for the North American teams and icily silent for the European competition.

The competitors themselves almost faded into the background in this environment. Ghost Gaming player Zanejackey tried to get the crowd riled up at one point, standing and raising his arms above his head to get the noise pumping louder, but he received little to no notice for his efforts. While the crowd was treated to live webcam close-ups of the players at many points in the matches, the stony-faced videos may as well have been photographs.

What the crowd did react to was the action on those big projection screens. In tense overtime situations, the entire room swooned in crescendo with each shot and cried out in pain or glee with every close miss or solid goal. In quiet moments between matches, audience members might pick up a cheer of “Let’s go G2!” or try to get a wave going through the stands.

If I had been watching from my living room, I wouldn’t have heard the guy sitting behind me exclaim “it’s getting lit now, man!” after a big overtime goal. I wouldn’t have witnessed a neighbor literally jump up and slap his knee after a close crossbar miss.

I’m still not sure these kinds of moments are in and of themselves worth the significant money it costs to attend one of these events live. That said, I can now say I at least understand the potential appeal of sharing a dramatic eSports competition with a few thousands strangers.

Listing image by Kyle Orland

Source: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/11/the-odd-appeal-of-watching-esports-live-and-in-person/

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