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Las Vegas Bookmakers Welcoming #Esports Betting – SPONSOR Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:49 PM on Thursday, April 23rd, 2020

SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group (GMBL:NASDAQ) – Millions of people from around the world tune in to watch teams of video game players compete with each other. In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. Wagering on Esports is projected to hit $23 BILLION this year although that number will likely be eclipsed due to the recent pandemic. Esports Entertainment Group is the next generation online gambling company designed for the purpose of facilitating as much of this wagering as possible.  LEARN MORE.

Las Vegas Bookmakers Welcoming Esports Betting

  • Regulators have approved wagering on seven further esports events, plus the eNASCAR series that involves real-life pro drivers racing on virtual racetracks
  • Other events approved recently include two League of Legends tournaments and the 2020 Overwatch League

Apr 23, 2020 by Chris Sieroty

Before the coronavirus pandemic, race and sports books in Las Vegas dismissed the notion of posting lines and taking wagers on esports.

Why bet on video game competitions, when you could wager on the Vegas Golden Knights or a long list of NBA games.

But now, searching for an alternative to mainstream sports, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has approved bets on different esports series.

Within the past month, however, regulators have approved wagering on seven further esports events, plus the eNASCAR series that involves real-life pro drivers racing on virtual racetracks.

Other events approved recently include two League of Legends tournaments and the 2020 Overwatch League.

Prior to March 25, the control board had authorized sportsbooks to offer bets on only three major esports tournaments that were held in 2016 and 2017.

It is a regulatory decision William Hill and other bookmakers welcomed, but the new betting opportunities have yet to prove their financial worth compared to betting on the NFL or NBA. 

“Like most new markets, a lot of people don’t know that we have them up,” said Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill U.S. â€œIt’s very possible that at some point this stuff will take off, you just never know when.”

Support comes from

Bogdanovich said the tickets have been slow for the esports market, except for the eNASCAR events, but he pointed out that people know the drivers in that event. 

The other events like League of Legends and Overwatch haven’t taken off as much and Bogdanovich admits he doesn’t know much about the video games.

“It’s more for people’s entertainment to get them through this gloom and doom time,” he said, “If it ever gets to where we’re writing serious dollars to it, I might have to sharpen up my acumen.”

Despite Bogdanovich’s skepticism, Blaine Grayboyes, CEO of GameCo, believes esports will be a draw for casinos. 

GameGo creates skill-based games for casinos and has partnered with another company to create an esports data platform. Graboyes said more people watch esports than play them.

“Therefore, the opportunity for more people to bet on esports is there as well,” he said, “What we’re doing is looking to offer the optimal solution in the marketplace for sports books like William Hill and others in Nevada and across North America.”

The new platform will deliver data about esports for sports books.

Graboyes said there is a generational shift going on and the kids who grew up playing video games are now the new customer for casinos.

“This is a great demographic for casinos to engage with now, especially if they want to grow their businesses over time,” he said.

GameCo has created skilled-based games for the casino floor that have the interactivity of video games with the thrill of winning money as the slot machine.

Graboyes said 80 percent of spending on his company’s games come from Gen-X and Millennials, but that same audience only spends about 20 percent on slot machines.

“So, it’s an opportunity to attract and monetize a completely different audience than the traditional slot machine player,” he said.

While Tom Brady and LeBron James are household names, Graboyes said the top gamers are absolutely celebrities to their fans.

Source: https://knpr.org/knpr/2020-04/las-vegas-bookmakers-cautious-welcome-esports-betting

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#Esports Is Filling The Programming Void – SPONSOR Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 6:31 PM on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020

SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group (GMBL:NASDAQ) – Millions of people from around the world tune in to watch teams of video game players compete with each other. In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. Wagering on Esports is projected to hit $23 BILLION this year although that number will likely be eclipsed due to the recent pandemic. Esports Entertainment Group is the next generation online gambling company designed for the purpose of facilitating as much of this wagering as possible.  LEARN MORE.


Esports Is Filling The Programming Void

By: Brad Adgate

  • In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019.
  • YouTube also reported a record high 500,000 concurrent viewers during the quarter.
  • Facebook Gaming also had a strong quarter, reaching 554 million hours.
  • This growth in gaming was validated by Verizon, which reported that, since the quarantine, video game usage in the U.S during peak hours grew by 75%.

The coronavirus has wreaked havoc with live sports programming and sports fans everywhere. Television networks are scrambling to fill the programming void without basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and other live sports. To fill the void, ESPN, Fox Sports and other networks have been airing replays, sports-themed movies, documentaries and esports. Esports is competitive video gaming, usually played by professional gamers and watched by spectators.

Esports on TV: Although esports is primarily available for viewing online, televising live esports is not new. Over the past five years, a number of cable and broadcast networks have televised esports, including ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, DisneyXD. The NFL Network, TBS, CW and even CBS. In July 2017, CBS televised Candy Crush Saga in prime time and averaged four million viewers.

In recent weeks, more esports contests have been appearing on television. ESPN created a branded ESPN Esports Day which included 12 hours of programming on April 5. Included in the programming were televised virtual games from Madden NFL20, Formula 1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix, Rocket League (which combines soccer with rocket-powered cars) and the opening round of a 16-team NBA 2K20 tournament event. For the NBA 2K20 tournament, players included NBA stars (and video game aficionados) Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell (both recovering from the coronavirus), Trae Young and the tournament winner, Devin Booker. Booker won $100,000 to be donated to coronavirus relief efforts.

Fox Sports has also been televising esports on their networks, including a Madden 20 tournament featuring former quarterback Michael Vick and other NFL players. Derwin James, a safety on the Los Angeles Chargers, won the eight-player tournament, defeating Vick in the championship game. FS1 also televised an eNASCAR pro Invitational iRacing Series that averaged an impressive 903,000 viewers. Up next on Fox Sports is the inaugural eMLS Tournament.

Esports Online: With the coronavirus and persons quarantined, esports has been flourishing online. As reported by StreamLabs and Stream Hatchet, Twitch, YouTube and Facebook all reported significant increases with online viewing in first quarter 2020. As an example, Amazon’s Twitch reached a record high 3.1 billion hours watched, up 17% from the previous quarter. Twitch also reported a 33% growth in unique channels and record high in average concurrent viewing with 1.4 million.

In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. YouTube also reported a record high 500,000 concurrent viewers during the quarter. Facebook Gaming also had a strong quarter, reaching 554 million hours. This growth in gaming was validated by Verizon, which reported that, since the quarantine, video game usage in the U.S during peak hours grew by 75%. By comparison, overall web traffic was up by 20%, video streaming usage increased by 12% and social media usage was flat. Twitter said conversations about esports grew by 71% during the second half of March (when the coronavirus pandemic impacted live TV sports), compared to the first two weeks of the month.

Revenue: Esports’ popularity has been on the upswing for years. According to NewZoo’s latest Global esports Market Report from February 2020, global revenue will reach $1.1 billion in 2020 with China the largest market ($385 million). This is an increase of 15.7% from 2019 and more than double the revenue of 2016. NewZoo projects revenue to surpass $1.5 billion in 2023. Sponsorship is the largest revenue source, contributing 58% to the total, followed by media rights at 17% and merchandise/ticket sales at 11%.

Audience: Globally, the awareness of esports has also grown substantially. In 2020, 1.955 billion people were aware of esports, compare to 1.1 billion in 2016. The esports audience will reach 495 million worldwide in 2020, with 223 million defined as frequent viewers/enthusiasts and 272 million occasional viewers. This is a sizeable increase from 2016, when there were 121 million frequent viewers/enthusiasts and 160 million occasional viewers. Its projected by 2022 there will be close to 300 million frequent viewers/enthusiasts to esports.  

A McKinsey report said in the U.S., there are over 20 million esports fans, 83% are male and 84% are younger than 35. Among U.S. men under age 25, 38% are esports fans and on average watch nearly one hour of esports each day. Furthermore, 10% of esports fans report watching over 20 hours per week, although only 13% responded that esports is the only sport they watch. Among 18-34 viewers, the League of Legends is now the third most popular professional sports league after the NBA and NFL.

Video gamers between the ages of 18-25 spend 77% more time watching other players online than watching broadcast sports. A Nielsen analysis found over 60% of esports fans on Twitch do not watch linear TV on a weekly basis at all and half don’t have a paid TV subscription. The people in this age group are among the lightest viewers of television, are heavy users of streaming content, grew up playing video games and are a popular demographic to target among advertisers.

Advertisers: Since esports has a desirable viewing demographic and is growing in popularity, more “blue-chip” advertisers are sponsoring events. There are many opportunities and strategies for esports sponsorships. Nielsen reports sponsorships can range from on-air signage and branded content to digital overlays and apparel. Esports has evolved from experiential marketing for numerous advertisers. Many product categories targeting young males sponsor esports. The list includes soft drinks, quick service restaurants, consumer electronics, automotive, apparel, financial services, telecom and insurance companies. eMarketer projects ad revenue for eSports will reach $214 million in 2020, a 20% increase from $178 million in 2019.

Gambling: With live sports on hold, casinos, which would have booked hundreds of millions of dollars with live sporting events are looking at esports to recapture some of the lost revenue. In April,  Nevada Gaming Control permitted wagering on multiple esports events. This could popularize esports even more. Sports gambling has now been legalized in 17 states.

The coronavirus is expected to quicken trends already happening in the entertainment and sports industry. For example, consumers could subscribe to more streaming video content bolstered by several new launches. Cash-strapped consumers could accelerate cord-cutting. Studios could release movies in theaters and for at-home viewing simultaneously. Some newspapers may entirely forego printed editions and produce only online content. To this list you can also add broadcasters, who may add more esports to their programming lineups in order to reach a coveted younger audience.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2020/04/21/esports-is-filling-the-programming-void/#4e6db323533b

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#Esports gambling revenue set to double this year, research finds SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:43 PM on Friday, April 17th, 2020

OUR FEATURED SPONSOR:

GMBL: NASDAQ

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

  • Uplisted to NASDAQ
  • Closed $8.4M public offering
  • Partnered with 190 esports teams
  • Partnered with 250+ esports streamers
  • Launched VIE.gg P2P esports betting platform
  • P2P means an esports fan always wins
  • Superior to “House” model where fans VS. casino
  • Traditional sports teams owners are investing
  • Athletes and celebrities are investing
  • Wall Street is investing
  • Biggest paradigm shift ever seen on the internet

Hub On AGORACOM

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Esports gambling revenue set to double this year, research finds

30% of current esports gamblers have started within the last month

  • Research from global consumer research agency 2CV and market researcher ProdegeMR has revealed that esports gambling revenue is set to double from $7 billion in 2019 to $14 billion worldwide in 2020 as gamblers seek new alternatives for betting during the sporting events shutdown due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The firms’ survey of 1,028 gamblers aged 18-64 looked at how the pandemic has impacted the gambling climate and the role esports can play in driving revenues for the industry, as reported by SportBusiness.

59% of gamblers have reduced spend on gambling, with 32% having actively looked for new things to bet on and 24% having shifted their focus to other forms of gambling. Also, 69% of respondents said that they had reduced spending on sports gambling, with over half (54%) having stopped spending on sports gambling altogether.

The survey found that 36% of gamblers have bet on esports in the last three months, with 30% of consumers who are betting on esports having only started doing so within the last month. The research also found that 22% of gamblers who have not previously tried betting on esports will consider betting on esports within the next three months, with football, motorsports and tennis proving to be the most popular choices.

62% of respondents said that they needed more information on the sector before gambling on esports. 45% said that esports did not have enough sports-based games, while the same percentage also cited the “assumption that they were more inclined to being fixed” as a reason for avoiding esports betting. Other reasons given for not betting on esports included the assumption that they are less regulated than other sports, that they are two complicated and that it is “too geeky.”

Martin Bradley, research director in technology and entertainment at 2CV, said: “By 2022, the number of esports viewers is estimated to rise to 644 million worldwide, this is up from 454 million viewers in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to many forms of sports associated with gambling being cancelled or postponed but is also a big opportunity for esports to get in front of this audience.”

“Short-term growth is likely to come from sport-based games, but there are huge opportunities to make this more long-term, as long as consumers are educated properly on esports and what it can offer, as well as considering which kinds of events are best suited to a particular audience,” Bradley concluded.

Source: https://www.yogonet.com/international/noticias/2020/04/17/52967-esports-gambling-revenue-set-to-double-this-year-research-finds

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Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL Announces Closing of Above Market $8.4 Million Public Offering and Uplisting to Nasdaq $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:06 PM on Thursday, April 16th, 2020
  • Common stock and Unit A Warrants began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on April 14, 2020, under the symbols “GMBL” and “GMBLW,” respectively
  • Company received gross proceeds of approximately $8.4 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses

BIRKIRKARA, Malta, April 16, 2020 — Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (NasdaqCM: GMBL, GMBLW) (or the “Company”) a licensed online gambling company with a focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, today announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 1,980,000 units at a price to the public of $4.25 per unit. Each unit issued in the offering consists of one share of common stock, one Unit A Warrant to purchase one share of common stock and one Unit B Warrant to purchase one share of common stock. The common stock, Unit A Warrants and Unit B Warrants were immediately separable from the units and were issued separately. The common stock and Unit A Warrants began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on April 14, 2020, under the symbols “GMBL” and “GMBLW,” respectively. Esports Entertainment Group received gross proceeds of approximately $8.4 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses.

Each Unit A Warrant is immediately exercisable for one share of common stock at an exercise price of $4.25 per share and will expire 5 years from issuance, and each Unit B Warrant is immediately exercisable at an exercise price of $4.25 per share and will expire one year from issuance. 

Esports Entertainment Group has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 297,000 additional shares of common stock, and/or 297,000 Unit A Warrants, and/or 297,000 Unit B Warrants, or any combination thereof, to cover over-allotments, if any. On April 16, 2020, the Company issued additional Unit A Warrants to purchase 209,400 shares of the Company’s common stock and additional Unit B Warrants to purchase 209,400 shares of the Company’s common stock pursuant to the partial exercise  of the underwriters’ over-allotment option in connection with the offering.

Maxim Group LLC acted as the lead book-running manager for the offering. Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC acted as co-book-running-manager for the offering.

The offering was conducted pursuant to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-231167) previously filed with and subsequently declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  A prospectus relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.  Electronic copies of the prospectus relating to this offering, when available, may be obtained from Maxim Group LLC, 405 Lexington Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10174, at (212) 895-3745.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

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 fantasy, pools, fixed odds and exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secure platform to the global esports audience at vie.gg.  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 a license to conduct online gambling and 18+ gaming on a global basis in Curacao, Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Company maintains offices in Malta. 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:

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

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

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Esports Entertainment Group’s $GMBL CEO Participates in “The Convergence of Gambling and #Esports” Panel $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:40 PM on Wednesday, April 15th, 2020
  • CEO, Grant Johnson, is participating as an industry panel expert in Eventus International’s “The Convergence of Gambling and eSports” webinar on Thursday, April 16, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. ET (12:00 p.m. GMT).
  • The connection between gambling and eSports has always been a pertinent one, but never has it been more relevant as the present time wherein traditional sports and events have been brought to a standstill in an effort to maintain social distancing

BIRKIRKARA, Malta, April 15, 2020 — Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (NasdaqCM: GMBL, GMBLW) (or the “Company”), a licensed online gambling company with a focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, today announced its CEO, Grant Johnson, is participating as an industry panel expert in Eventus International’s “The Convergence of Gambling and eSports” webinar on Thursday, April 16, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. ET (12:00 p.m. GMT).

The connection between gambling and eSports has always been a pertinent one, but never has it been more relevant as the present time wherein traditional sports and events have been brought to a standstill in an effort to maintain social distancing. With the global sports calendar on pause, eSports have practically become the only game to play in town.

“The Convergence of Gambling and eSports” webinar is expected to be a lively debate exploring the ultimate merger of two powerhouse industries: gambling and eSports.

Johnson will be joined in the insightful discussion by moderator Keith McDonnell, CEO of KMigaming, as well as James Coxon, Business Development Director at SBTech, and Marek Suchar, Head of Partnerships at Oddin.

To register for the “The Convergence of Gambling and eSports” webinar, click here https://www.eventus-international.com/ei-online

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 fantasy, pools, fixed odds and exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secure platform to the global esports audience at vie.gg.  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 a license to conduct online gambling and 18+ gaming on a global basis in Curacao, Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Company maintains offices in Malta. 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:

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

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

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ThreeD Capital Inc. $IDK.ca – #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 Canada’s biggest small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.

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Nasdaq Leads $20 Million Investment in Enterprise Blockchain Startup Symbiont

NASDAQ FMC TOWER© 2017 Bloomberg Finance LP

  • 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 today’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.

“We see this huge opportunity to be able to go all over the globe with Nasdaq,” said Symbiont cofounder and CEO Mark Smith. “And 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.”

The Series B investment brings the total amount raised by Symbiont to $36 million, with previous investors including Fenbushi Capital and Medici Ventures, Overstock.com’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 year’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 doesn’t expect that rate of growth to continue, he says most of the recent investment will be spent on new hires.

“The overwhelming place we’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, Symbiont’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 “smart instruments,” 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 Nasdaq—and Symbiont’s other partners—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 Symbiont’s Assembly and NFF is not exclusive. Both companies are free to work with competitors.

Symbiont’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.

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

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

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