Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:47 AM on Tuesday, January 7th, 2020
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.
Bitcoin 2020: The Bottom is In and Prices are About to Surge, Several Analysts Claim
Bitcoin corrected by over 50% from the 2019 high of $13,880.
With the retracement in the last six months, some analysts believe that the bottom is in.
The number one crypto is flashing accumulation signals convincing
popular traders that the cryptocurrency has turned bullish in 2020.
Bitcoin may have started 2019 strong but ever since it posted a high
of $13,880 in June, the top cryptocurrency has been correcting. It
dropped to as low as $6,425 in December. At that point, bearish calls
for a revisit to $5,000 levels were strong.
One analyst expecting bitcoin to drop to $5,000. | Source: Twitter
Those who have been waiting to buy below $6,000 have been left out.
The digital gold is now trading above $7,000 and analysts are expecting
bitcoin to leave this price area soon. Many see a base being formed,
which can propel the number one cryptocurrency to greater heights early
this year.
Analysts Claim Bitcoin Has Bottomed Out
After a weak second half of 2019, it appears that the worst is behind
for the most dominant cryptocurrency. A number of widely-followed
analysts on Twitter say that bitcoin is carving a bottom.
For instance, Faisal Sohail believes that the cryptocurrency has
already tapped the bottom when it dropped to $6,475 in December. He
believes that the digital asset will trade between $7,000 and $12,000
before the halving.
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Bitcoin to start climbing before the May 2020 halving. | Source: Twitter
User Bitcoin Macro supports Faisal’s view. In an emphatic tweet,
Bitcoin Macro exclaims that the bottom is already in. He also tells his
followers not to get shaken out.
Majin, Crypto Twitter’s biggest bull, has also turned bullish after
months of uncertainty. The liquidity game theorist believes bitcoin will
take off and leave $7,000 behind.
Accumulation Pattern to Send Bitcoin Above $11,600
BTC has been range trading between $6,700 and $7,600 since November
20, 2019. That’s a $900 range over 45 days. To many analysts, this is a
sign that a new base is being built to prepare bitcoin for the next leg
up, hence, the call for a bottom.
Charles Edwards, head of digital investment firm Capriole, sees a
potential accumulation pattern forming. More importantly, he believes
that the bottom is already in. According to Edwards, his bias would be
confirmed once bitcoin trades above $8,000.
Charles Edwards sees a Wyckoff accumulation pattern developing in bitcoin. | Source: Twitter
Edwards is not alone in seeing a pattern indicating that whales and
other smart money investors are accumulating the largest cryptocurrency.
Trader CryptoWolf also sees an accumulation pattern
developing. His bias will be confirmed once the price goes above
$8,090. A move above that level would also trigger the breakout from a
large falling wedge.
CryptoWolf’s initial target is $9,550 and then $11,600.
Bitcoin needs to take out $8,090 to gain bullish momentum. | Source: Twitter
Traders Starting to Have a Rosy Outlook
With these signals, other traders are expressing their optimism on
the prospects of the top cryptocurrency. The popular trader The Crypto
Dog tweeted that he’s bullish on bitcoin.
It is not everyday that The Crypto Dog posts bullish tweets on bitcoin | Source: Twitter
The widely-followed Crypto Rand shares The Crypto Dog’s upbeat outlook on the dominant cryptocurrency.
The Crypto Rand is also bullish on bitcoin | Source: Twitter
Is it a coincidence that the top analysts are tweeting bullish
statements on bitcoin as the top cryptocurrency prints an accumulation
pattern? Probably not. It’s very likely that these analysts are also
seeing the bottom or base-building signals on the number one coin. If
they’re right, then strap in. Bitcoin’s 2020 price action might start off with fireworks.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:03 PM on Monday, January 6th, 2020
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc.
The company owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum
group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. Updated NI 43-101 Mineral
Resource Estimate 2,867,000 PdEq Measured and Indicated Ounces, with an
additional 1,059,000 PdEq Ounces Inferred. Learn More.
Palladium – The Prospects For A Repeat Performance
A fantastic year in 2019.
A rally for the ages since 2016.
A new decade poses threats to the rally.
Of the four precious metals that trade on the NYMEX and COMEX
divisions of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, palladium is the least
liquid. As of December 27, the total number of open long and short
positions in the gold futures market stood at 765,653 contracts, a
record high representing 76.65 million ounces of the yellow metal.
Silver’s open interest was at 225,753 contracts that contain a total of
over 1.128 billion ounces of silver. A gold future represents 100 ounces
of the metal, while a silver contract has 5,000 ounces.
In platinum, 98,042 contracts hold over 4.9 million ounces of
platinum metal, as each contract is for 50 ounces. A palladium contract
is for 100 ounces of the platinum group metal. As of December 27, 23,735
contracts represented 2,373,500 ounces. Markets with less liquidity
when it comes to volume and open interest tend to be more volatile than
those with higher degrees of liquidity. Palladium has lived up to that
tendency since early 2016 as the price has been explosive on the upside.
The Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF product (PALL)
replicates the price action in the palladium market. At the same time,
the Aberdeen Standard Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares ETF (GLTR) holds palladium as well as gold, silver, and platinum bullion.
A fantastic year in 2019
Palladium was, by far, the best-performing precious metal that trades
on the NYMEX or COMEX exchanges in 2019. Palladium’s price action was
impressive considering that as of December 27, gold, silver, and even
platinum have posted double-digit percentage gains compared to their
closing prices as of December 31, 2018.
Source: CQG
As the weekly chart highlights, palladium moved from $1197.50 on the
final day of 2018 to $1875.40 as of December 30, a gain of 56.6%.
Palladium climbed to its most recent continuous contract high of $1963
per ounce in December while the March futures contract peaked at
$1974.60.
Both price momentum and relative strength indicators were in
overbought territory on December 30, but the metrics came down from
recent highs given the correction on Friday, December 20. On the weekly
charts, palladium put in a bearish reversal during the week of December
16. On a year-on-year basis, the total number of open long and short
positions in the NYMEX palladium futures market edged lower in 2019,
falling from 26,773 to 23,735 contracts from the end of 2018. Meanwhile,
weekly historical volatility at 23.12% was just below the midpoint of
the year for the metric.
2019 was such a good year for palladium that it was the
best-performing commodity that trades on US exchanges of all during the
period.
A rally for the ages since 2016
The bull market in palladium kept going in 2019, but it dates back four years to the beginning of 2016.
Source: CQG
The monthly chart illustrates what has been a parabolic trend in the
precious metal since it found a bottom at $451.50 in January 2016. At
$1875.40, the price was over four times higher since the 2016 bottom.
Over four years, every price correction has been a buying opportunity in
the precious and industrial metal. The most recent decline from $1963
to $1808.80 during the week of December 16 was looking like another
opportunity to purchase palladium as the price recovered quickly to
around the midpoint as of December 30.
A new decade poses threats to the rally
Palladium has been nothing short of a bullish beast since early 2016.
The metal that cleanses toxins from the air in gasoline-powered
automobile catalytic converters has experienced significant demand
growth. With tighter pollution regulations around the world, and
specifically in China, the requirements for the metal continue to rise.
The vast majority of palladium output each year comes from South
Africa and Russia. According to Johnson Matthey, 2019 was the eighth
consecutive year of a deficit between supply and demand in the palladium
market, which continues to fuel price gains.
Source: Johnson Matthey
The chart shows that in May 2019, Johnson Matthey projected an
809,000-ounce deficit. The supply shortage was likely even higher as the
price of the metal rose from a low of $1256.50 in early May to over
$1875 per ounce at the end of 2019. The deficit remains significant as
the total annual global output of the metal is around seven million
ounces or 218 metric tons, and gross demand was 11.154 million ounces.
While recycled metal provided additional supplies of 3.349 million
ounces, it was not nearly enough to meet the growing demand.
While fundamentals could be telling us that the $2000 per ounce level
will give way in 2020, platinum is a denser metal with higher
resistance to heat than palladium.
Source: Johnson Matthey
The chart shows that Johnson Matthey projected that platinum would
also move into a deficit in 2019 after a surplus weighed on the price of
the precious metal in 2017 and 2018. Platinum rose from under $790 in
May to the $958 per ounce level on December 30.
Meanwhile, at an over $900 per ounce discount to palladium,
industrial consumers could begin to substitute platinum for palladium in
2020 as the deficit looks set to continue. Any improvement in global
economic conditions would likely increase demand for both platinum and
palladium in 2020.
The downside risk in the palladium market has increased dramatically,
given the four-fold price increase since January 2016. The bearish
price action and correction on December 20 could be a sign of things to
come as volatility is likely to continue to rise with the price of the
metal in 2020. Sudden price spikes to the downside could become the
norm, and if the deficit expands, price vacuums to the upside could
follow. Trading and investing in highly volatile commodities can be like
riding a psychotic horse through a burning barn. The parabolic price
action in the palladium market looks set to continue into the new
decade. However, the path to higher prices could be a wild ride.
PALL is the palladium ETF product
The most direct route for a risk position or investment in palladium
is via the physical market for bars and coins. The deficit and limited
supplies can make premiums to the market price very expensive for these
products. The NYMEX palladium futures have a delivery mechanism, which
guarantees smooth convergence between physical and futures prices during
delivery periods.
The Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF product provides
an alternative to physical or futures. The most recent holdings of PALL
include:
Source: Yahoo Finance
PALL has net assets of $280.49 million, trades an average of 31,912
shares each day, and charges holders a 0.60% expense ratio. As of
December 30, the price of palladium was 56.6% higher in 2019.
Source: Barchart
The chart shows that PALL moved from $119.05 on December 31, 2018, to
$179.82 on December 30, 2019, an increase of 51% as it marginally
underperformed the price action in the continuous palladium futures
contract.
GLTR has some exposure to palladium, but is diversified
For those looking for a more diversified approach to precious metals
in 2020, the Aberdeen Standard Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares
ETF holds physical palladium as well as gold, silver, and platinum. The
most recent top holdings of GLTR include:
Source: Yahoo Finance
GLTR has net assets of $463.08 million, trades an average of 24,328 shares each day, and charges holders a 0.60% expense ratio.
Source: Barchart
GLTR closed at $63.16 at the end of 2018. At $76.13 per share on
December 30, the ETF product was a bit over 20.54% higher on the year.
Palladium looks like higher prices could be on the horizon in 2020 as
the metal approaches the $2000 per ounce level. However, it could be a
very bumpy ride as parabolic markets can suffer brutal setbacks. A 50%
rise in 2020 would put palladium over $2800 per ounce. If the price of
the metal is heading there, gold, silver, and platinum are likely to
experience significant gains.
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Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I
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Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 3:53 PM on Monday, January 6th, 2020
SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)
Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14
million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has
interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro
Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information
Demand for nickel in PH to spike due to growing demand for electric vehicles
The nickel industry in the Philippines can expect a brighter prospect for 2020 as the global demand is expected to increase for the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs).
Cha Olea, Philippine Nickel Association (PNIA) executive director,
said in an interview on Friday that the association has seen an
increasing trend for electric vehicles worldwide, including the
Philippines, leading to a possible industry boom as a result of a shift
from fossil-run vehicles to more environment friendly electricity-run
vehicles to curb carbon emission.
“The primary component of EV battery is nickel because of the
batteries,†she said. Aside from nickel, Olea said the batteries also
need cobalt and magnesium, but 50 percent of the batteries for EVs are
made of nickel.
The executive added that manufacturing plants’ demand for stainless steel, which is also derived from nickel, would increase.
Members of the European Union targets to totally eradicate carbon
emission by 2030, while the United States has been slowly replacing
fossil-run vehicles with EVs, by offering incentives to owners of
electric vehicles.
“Nickel has a very good prospect in the future, especially that
Europe’s direction by 2030 is zero carbon emission. They are shifting to
electric vehicles,†Olea said.
She said the Philippines is one of the biggest producers of nickel in
the world, producing an estimated volume of 30 million metric tons last
year. Of which, around 90% had been exported to China while the
remaining 10% to Japan, Australia, and EU.
“Globally, they are looking for Philippines. Of course, we have to position ourselves strategically,†she said.
She noted that in the Philippines, some public utility vehicles had been replaced with e-tricycles and e-jeepneys.
Olea said at least 70% of the nickel ore extracted from the
Philippines would be used for stainless steel, 3% for other components,
6% for batteries of EVs, 2% for castings, 6% for plating, 9% non-ferrous
metals, and 4% for alloy steel.
She said the new opportunities in the global market would benefit the
domestic nickel industry. According to her, the mining industry in the
Philippines employs some 250,000 workers. (Antonio L. Colina IV /
MindaNews)
Tags: CSE, nickel, nickel demand, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in All Recent Posts | Comments Off on Tartisan #Nickel $TN.ca – Demand for nickel to spike due to growing demand for electric vehicles #EV $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 2:22 PM on Monday, January 6th, 2020
Patient Self-Monitoring Extends Physicians’ Reach for Proactive Monitoring of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence and any Arrhythmia.
Confirms market traction with orders being placed by physician groups for the newly launched HeartCheck™ CardiBeat Handheld ECG monitor and GEMS™ Mobile Smartphone app for prescribed in-home arrhythmia monitoring
Dr. Yaariv Khaykin, Physician Lead at PACE and Chief Medical Information Officer at Southlake Regional Health Centre, stated, “We are very excited at the opportunity to introduce the use of this home-based ECG/arrhythmia monitoring technology to our patients empowering them to take greater charge of their health.”
TORONTO, ONTARIO / January 6, 2020 / CardioComm Solutions, Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EKG) (“CardioComm” or the “Company“), a global provider of consumer heart monitoring and electrocardiogram (“ECG“) device and software solutions, confirms market traction with orders being placed by physician groups for the newly launched HeartCheck™ CardiBeat Handheld ECG monitor and GEMS™ Mobile Smartphone app for prescribed in-home arrhythmia monitoring.
Partners in Advanced Cardiac Evaluation (“PACE“),
the largest arrhythmia practice in Ontario (Canada) placed a first order
of the HeartCheck™ CardiBeat Handheld ECG monitors and is recommending
its patients to use the devices for one year of in-home, self-monitoring
with an emphasis on detecting a recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation (“AF“)
following cardiac ablation treatment for AF. The Company confirms that
additional hospital affiliated physician groups have also purchased the
HeartCheck™ CardiBeat ECG devices for evaluation in their respective
practices with additional orders expected in early 2020.
AF is a life-threatening arrhythmia that is difficult to treat.
Cardiac ablation is a procedure commonly used to correct AF; however, AF
recurrence after ablation is common and can be “silent”, occuring
without any symptoms, discomfort or warning to the patient (See Note 1).
PACE patients will use the GEMS™ Mobile Smartphone app to record ECGs
taken by the HeartCheck™ CardiBeat which will then be automatically
forwarded by CardioComm’s SMART Monitoring ECG service directly into the
patient’s cardiologist’s Electronic Medical Record (“EMR”). Should any
submitted ECG recordings show a recurrence of AF or a presence of other
cardiac arrhythmias, the patients are contacted by PACE and follow-up
visits scheduled. ECG reports generated through GEMS™ Mobile are
eligible for medical service reimbursement in both Canada and the US.
Dr. Yaariv Khaykin, Physician Lead at PACE and Chief Medical
Information Officer at Southlake Regional Health Centre, stated, “We are
very excited at the opportunity to introduce the use of this home-based
ECG/arrhythmia monitoring technology to our patients empowering them to
take greater charge of their health.”
The GEMS™ Mobile app is available in Android and Apple Smartphone
compatible versions as a free downloadable app and allows users to
generate unlimited ECG reports to show to their physician. The app also
allows users to request their ECG to be reviewed by CardioComm’s SMART
Monitoring ECG reading service where the user does not have direct
connectivity to their treating physician.
To learn more about CardioComm’s products and for further updates
regarding HeartCheck™ ECG device integrations, please visit the
Company’s websites at www.cardiocommsolutions.com and www.theheartcheck.com.
CardioComm Solutions’ patented and proprietary technology is used in
products for recording, viewing, analyzing and storing
electrocardiograms for diagnosis and management of cardiac patients.
Products are sold worldwide through a combination of an external
distribution network and a North American-based sales team. CardioComm
Solutions has earned the ISO 13485:2016 MDSAP certification, is HIPAA
compliant and holds clearances from the European Union (CE Mark), the
USA (FDA) and Canada (Health Canada).
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information with respect to the financial condition,
results of operations and business of CardioComm Solutions and certain
of the plans and objectives of CardioComm Solutions with respect to
these items. Such statements and information reflect management’s
current beliefs and are based on information currently available to
management. By their nature, forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information involve risk and uncertainty because they
relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the
future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and
developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements and forward-looking information.
In evaluating these statements, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information.
The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking
statements and forward-looking information contained in this release
other than as required by applicable laws, including without limitation,
Section 5.8(2) of National Instrument 51-102 (Continuous Disclosure Obligations).
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Tags: EKG, mhealth, small cap stocks, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in CardioComm Solutions | Comments Off on Physician Groups Order The Heartcheck(TM) Cardibeat For In-Home Arrhythmia And Atrial Fibrillation Monitoring – CardioComm Solutions $EKG.ca $ATE.ca $TLT.ca $OGI.ca $ACST.ca $IPA.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:34 AM on Monday, January 6th, 2020
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.
Hundreds of Institutions Are Already Investing in Crypto: Coinbase CEO
According to the CEO of one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges
globally, institutions are already actively investing in the emerging
asset class and the trend is likely to continue throughout 2020.
Will institutions further bolster the crypto market in 2020?
Prior to 2019, institutional investors only really had Bitcoin
Investment Trust (GBTC) by Grayscale and CME Group’s futures market to
invest in bitcoin.
“We’ve already started to see small institutions enter the
cryptocurrency space. Hundreds have joined Coinbase Custody in the past
18 months. I would expect this rapid growth to continue in 2020, with
larger and larger institutions coming on board. Eventually just about
every financial institution will have some sort of cryptocurrency
operation, and most funds will keep a portion of their assets in
cryptocurrencies, partially due to the uncorrelated returns.â€
“Bakkt will be likely first a trickle and then a flood. The reality
is that most regulated futures contracts get low adoption on day1 simply
b/c not all futures brokers are ready to clear it, many ppl want to
wait and see, the tickers are not even populated on risk systems, etc,â€
Three Arrows Capital CEO Su Zhu said.
Independent funds seeing more institutional inflow
Despite a noticeable decrease in deal value in the latter half of
2019, in October of last year, Anthony Pompliano of Morgan Creek Digital
said that the firm’s crypto fund secured $60 million from institutional
investors.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:21 AM on Monday, January 6th, 2020
SPONSOR: NORTHBUD (NBUD:CSE)
Sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and
procurement focusing on both bio-pharmaceutical development and
Cannabinoid Infused Products. Learn More.
Teas and edibles and vapes, oh my!
By: Kyle Mack
The latest in cannabis products will be available for legal sale in Ontario.
The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) is releasing 59 new products
including edibles, beverages, lotions, and concentrates in stores today
but online Jan 16.
Prices of edibles range from $7.50 to $16 per item while beverages
can cost between $4 to $10 and vapes falling between $25 – $125. Daniel
Safayeni, Director of Policy at The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has
previously released a statement on the THC limit per edible stating,
“The OCC supports a THC limit of 10-milligrams per discrete unit of
edibles, as well as the sale of multi-packs or multiple products—up to a
maximum of 100-milligrams of THC per package—within child-proof
packaging. As we outline in the report, single-packs are costly, while
multi-packs would allow licensed producers to create economies of scale.
The proposed regulations, however, limit the amount of THC per package
to only 10 milligrams, which is significantly lower than illegal
alternatives and lower in other U.S. jurisdictions where recreational
cannabis is legalâ€.
The THC cap may act as a barrier to shifting cannabis shoppers from
making illicit purchases, where higher THC contents can be found.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 2:38 PM on Friday, January 3rd, 2020
SPONSOR: NORTHBUD (NBUD:CSE)
Sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and
procurement focusing on both bio-pharmaceutical development and
Cannabinoid Infused Products. Learn More.
Edibles, vapes and tea coming to legal Ontario cannabis shops Monday
Ontario’s cannabis distributor says dozens of new marijuana products will be available in retail shops starting Monday but supplies will be limited.
Unveiled 59 new items today including a variety of vapes, edibles and a tea.
TORONTO – Ontario’s cannabis distributor says dozens of new marijuana products will be available in retail shops starting Monday but supplies will be limited.
The Ontario Cannabis Store unveiled 59 new items today including a variety of vapes, edibles and a tea.
The products will be available in the province’s legal cannabis
retail stores starting next week and Cannabis edibles to hit store
shelves in January.
The distributor estimates that products will be in short supply until March as manufacturers ramp up production to meet demand.
The number of products will grow to 100 in the coming months as they receive regulatory approval.
The OCS says the new selection will help it combat black market sales across the province.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 12:21 PM on Friday, January 3rd, 2020
SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)
Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14
million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has
interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro
Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information
THE nickel mining industry group is bracing for the possible increase in the global demand of nickel brought about by the boom of electric vehicles.
“The direction globally is really the EV (electric vehicle) industry and we have that global competitiveness because more than 50 percent of the component of the entire electric vehicle is really nickel. The batteries itself and the body need more nickel,†Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) Executive director Charmaine Capili said in a press conference, Friday. Capili explained battery companies are currently experimenting on putting more nickel mineral in batteries for electric vehicles.
“At present, the composition of the battery that is being used is six nickel, two cobalt, and two magnesium. [By] Late 2018, they already tried to use eight nickel, one cobalt, and one magnesium because they said it has lower production cost and higher efficiency, but they still have to test the durability and further its efficiency,†she said.
She said the growing demand for nickel is also foreseen in the goal of European countries to have zero-carbon emission by 2030 by shifting to electric vehicles.
She added that the demand is not only exclusive to other countries as it has been observed in the Philippine transportation.
“Daghang mga LGUs (local government units) karon nga naga-shift na especially sa Manila e-trike, e-jeep (A lot of LGUs right now are shifting into using electric-powered tricycle and electric-powered jeepneys),†Capili said.
Apart from batteries, she said the stainless steel used for the body of electric vehicles also has nickel in it.
Although the Philippines is one of the largest producers of the mineral’s ore along with Indonesia which is leading in the industry, she admitted there are still factor preventing the country to compete globally.
She said among the challenges are the limitations of exploring other areas because of the moratorium imposed by Executive Order (EO) 79.
“May limitations po sa explorations, no new permits. Kung ano lang yung na approved [areas] for existing operations, doon lang (We are only allowed to mine on those areas approved for operations),†she said.
“We have 9 million hectares available in the Philippines for minerals that is copper, gold, nickel. But the Philippines right now is only maximizing only 2 percent out of the 9 million [hectares], and out of the 2 percent, only 1 to 1.5 percent is operating. There is a very big potential,†she said citing data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Mines and Geoscience Bureau (DENR-MGB).
She shared other challenges confronting the industry is the amount of resources, the low grade of nickel, high cost of electricity to process the mineral, and the technologies of extracting ores or for processing it.
Capili bared that to address these issues, PNIA, an association of seven mining companies operating in Surigao, Palawan, and Agusan is working with the DENR and the Department of Trade and Industry to establish a Nickel Industry Roadmap.
She said the roadmap also aims to create stable policies for the nickel mining industry and other industries reliant on nickel as well as programs that promote the sustainability of nickel mining in the country.
She also hoped that the moratorium will be lifted soon for the country to be globally competitive.
“Hopefully, by middle of this year, we can already share and launch the roadmap but we are still creating the composition of the Technical Working Group because we want to get inputs from the government, business sectors, European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, the Electric Vehicles Association of the Philippines, other nongovernmental organizations and academe,†she said.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:36 AM on Friday, January 3rd, 2020
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.
Why 2020 will be a big year for crypto
2020 is going to be a big year for crypto.Â
The “Crypto Winter†of 2018/2019 flushed out much (but certainly not all) of the nonsense, and the market has significantly matured over the last few years.
In 2020, I expect accelerating crypto asset adoption, and key
building blocks will come into place for crypto to achieve its long-term
potential of revolutionizing how value is stored and transferred around
the world.
I think my 85 theses from ~7 months ago have aged pretty well. Here, I’ll focus on the 15 most impactful developments I expect to see in 2020.
Institutional Investing
The Global Macro Investors Come In
Ray Dalio clearly laid out the global macro thesis for crypto when he said:
“So, the big question worth pondering at this time is which
investments will perform well in a reflationary environment accompanied
by large liabilities coming due and with significant internal conflict
between capitalists and socialists, as well as external conflicts. It is
also a good time to ask what will be the next-best currency or
storehold of wealth to have when most reserve currency central bankers
want to devalue their currencies in a fiat currency system.â€
Ray’s conclusion was to buy gold. In 2020, I believe large global
macro hedge fund investors (potentially even Ray) will publicly take the
position that bitcoin is a logical asset to hold if you believe this
narrative.
Traditional Asset Managers Continue to Trickle In
I am very encouraged by the State Street survey indicating 94% of their clients hold digital assets or related products, and a survey of endowment funds in which 94% of them stated that they invested in crypto assets over the last year.
I expect these types of traditional asset managers to continue to
show strong interest in crypto in 2020, but do not expect massive
inflows from this segment.
The primary reason for this is that portfolio manager incentives are not conducive to encouraging large crypto allocations. Currently,
crypto is still a non-consensus investment. If a portfolio manager gets
behind investing in crypto, and it does well, they probably get a nice
bonus (but not the types of payouts available to those investing their
own money or 2/20 hedge funds); however, if it does poorly (or they lose
money in an operational issue like an exchange hack), they get fired
for losing client funds in “magical internet money.â€
The portfolio manager who sticks with the consensus position of not
taking a meaningful bet on crypto keeps their cushy job. Eventually, I
believe the consensus will shift to the position that crypto has a role
to play in a diversified portfolio, but not this year.
For active retail traders looking for quick gains, long-tail altcoin
trading was once the place to find the volatility and potential they
sought.
Now, with altcoins down 90%+ from highs, active traders are
increasingly moving to leveraged bitcoin derivatives trading, which
offers the volatility they seek, in an asset that is not on its way to
zero.
I expect volumes on U.S. regulated crypto derivatives exchanges
(e.g., CME, Bakkt) to grow strongly, but the center of activity this
space will continue to come from exchanges that cater to non-U.S. retail
traders (BitMEX and the like).
Stats Get Stacked (and Earn Interest)
While derivatives are great for active traders, the more important
developments for those accumulating crypto are those that enable them to
easily grow their holdings.
In 2020, this will happen in two ways: 1) The ability to earn crypto
for retail activity will accelerate as more ecommerce and payment
companies integrate this into their offerings, and 2) Crypto holdings
will increasingly migrate to places where they earn interest, such as
BlockFi, Celsius, and Voyager.
Automated Tax-Loss Harvesting Becomes Available
Crypto taxes are a disaster not only due to the horrendous reporting
from many exchanges but also because investors are missing out on the
ability to significantly reduce their taxes via automated tax-loss
harvesting.
Personal Capital and robo-advisors made tax-loss harvesting
mainstream for traditional assets, and in 2020, this will finally come
to crypto (along with better tax reporting).
Market Structure
Fewer Exchanges, More Brokerages
The number of crypto exchanges exploded over the last few years. In
2020, I expect this to rationalize. Exchanges are inherently network
effect businesses (liquidity begets liquidity), and smaller players will
fall behind, and either be acquired, fold, or pivot their business
models.
I expect those that excel at acquiring and servicing customers will
become brokerages and source their liquidity from other exchanges or
large liquidity providers.
Use of Third-Party Custodians Increases
Exchanges and brokerages will increasingly use third-party custodians
as they focus on their core competencies. This will make the market
safer (as assets are custodied with best-in-class providers) and will
eventually increase capital efficiency, as assets held at major
custodians will provide buying power across multiple exchanges.
The emergence of instant crypto settlement solutions (think
Silvergate Exchange Network for crypto) from large crypto custodians
will also be a major development in 2020, and further increase the
utility of market participants holding their assets with these
custodians.
Crypto Friendly Banks Scale
Obtaining fiat banking accounts and payment services has been, and
will continue to be, one of the biggest issues for crypto companies.
Around the world, large risk adverse banks will continue to shy away
from banking the crypto industry, providing an opening for new entrants
and smaller players to fill the gap as technology-driven intermediaries,
or full-stack de novo banks. In 2020, I expect some new entrants to run
into significant issues with regulators, while those that are able to
navigate regulatory pressures will scale impressively.
Lending Market Grows
The crypto lending/borrowing market flourished in 2019, let by companies such as Genesis, BlockFi, and Celsius.
I expect volumes will continue to significantly expand in 2020 across
several vectors: 1) Traders borrowing crypto to short and overcome
capital inefficiencies, 2) Investors borrowing dollars using their
crypto as collateral (much more tax efficient then selling), and 3)
Crypto companies becoming de facto banks by taking stablecoin deposits
and making stablecoin loans.
Counterparty Risk Flares Up
The counterparty risks from holding assets with exchanges (e.g.,
hacks) and payment processors (e.g., Bitfinex / Crypto Capital debacle)
have been the most notable to date.
This year, counterparty risk from defaults by uncollateralized crypto
borrowers and from direct counterparties failing to deliver on trades
(i.e., Herstatt Risk) could also come to light if we see significant
downside volatility.
These are likely to be smaller flare-ups vs. systematic blow-ups and
will help the market mature as market participants become more
discerning in selecting counterparties and using solutions to minimize
these risks.
Stablecoins
USD Stablecoin Market Cap and Volumes Accelerate
Tether’s remarkable resilience has demonstrated insatiable demand by
market participants not directly served by U.S. banks to have USD
denominated accounts to settle trades and store value. Despite
significant regulatory uncertainty, I expect Tether’s market cap to
continue to continue to grow in 2020.
The regulated fiat-backed USD stablecoin market (USDC, TUSD, PAX)
will experience huge growth rates (off a relatively small base) as they
become the money transfer rail for use cases the need a solution that 1)
is regulated and 2) runs on a open network (anyone with a crypto wallet
can send/receive).
This will be a compelling position that sits between the Silvergate
Exchange Network (regulated + closed network) and Tether (unregulated +
open network).
International Stablecoins Grow
I expect stablecoins for many other major currencies will also start
to gain traction as a regulated, open money movement rail for those
currencies.
Longer term, things get really interesting as liquid markets develop
between stablecoins of various currencies and provide a 24/7, global,
highly efficient FX market that is accessible to everyone (and sidesteps
the correspondent banking system). Eventually, I expect the market cap
of stablecoins will surpass that of bitcoin.
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) Remain Mostly Conceptual
Most contemplated CBDCs are significantly different than stablecoins
such as USDC. With CBDCs, the recordkeeping of the value owned by
individuals and businesses is centralized with a central bank. There are
only a few situations where a central bank / government is likely to
take over this recordkeeping function (e.g., China).
I do not expect any major CBDCs to be launched in 2020 (other than
small scale PoCs) but do expect significant developments in 2021 and
beyond.
Emerging Markets Usage
Emerging Market Adoption Continues to Grow
The adoption of crypto assets in markets with hyperinflation has
grown significantly and will continue to do so. The interesting question
will be if bitcoin or stablecoins emerge as the primary winner in these
regions.
My heart hopes that it’s bitcoin, but my head says it will be stablecoins.
DeFi
Impressive Innovation, Little Adoption
The most innovative developments in crypto continue to be in DeFi
(decentralized lending, derivatives, exchange, prediction markets,
etc.), but 2020 breakout growth in this area is highly unlikely.
Currently, these solutions simply do not solve problems better than
centralized options, and each of the smart contract platforms have
issues that will complicate adoption (with ETH it is the complexity of
their development roadmap).
It was exactly a year ago that the Farm Bill legalized CBD and hemp,
the latter a cousin to cannabis as it comes from the same plant. Of
course, there were specified guidelines, such as hemp can be sold as
long as the maximum THC (the psychoactive compound in cannabis that
gives users their high) count is .3 percent; anything that contains more
will be federally classified as illegal marijuana.
The legalization has spawned a booming cottage industry. But just
like with the federally illegal cannabis market, problems proliferate
for CBD and hemp entrepreneurs. For one thing, many vendors, retailers,
advertisers, manufacturers and banks are still not fully apprised that
hemp, for instance, is legal. Because of this misunderstanding, these
prospective partners balk at working with hemp entrepreneurs, thinking
they’ll be subject to the same penalties they would working with
cannabis businesses.
CBD has not been immune to these setbacks, either. Despite its
legality, the FDA has clamped down on businesses that sell CBD as food
additives or label it as a dietary supplement. According to the food
watchdog, CBD’s safety for use in human or animal food is inconclusive,
requiring more data until proven otherwise.
In a press release, Patrick McCarthy, CEO and co-founder of ValidCare,
a provider of market intelligence and research for the hemp-derived
product industry, offered a few intriguing predictions for the space in
2020. Do you agree? Please let me know.
Safety Product Assurance
“Today’s consumer cares about where the products they put in, and on,
their bodies come from. From big breweries to boutique ice creams,
mainstream brands showcase their farmers in their advertising and market
organic, cruelty-free and hyper-local manufacturing practices on their
packaging to assure consumers their products are natural, safe and worth
a premium price. This trend will hit the hemp industry next, as
consumers demand information on plant origin, farming practices, product
composition and sustainability.â€
Baby Boomer Consumption Escalates
“The AARP crowd is one of the largest demographics using hemp-derived
CBD for chronic joint pain and sleep. Expect this trend to increase as
Boomers seek to replace prescription and OTC pharmaceuticals with
hemp-derived products — and to lobby for coverage and/or reimbursement
through FSAs, HSAs and supplemental MediCare policies.â€
Hemp As Mental Health Aid
“Today, one in five Americans report they use hemp-derived CBD for
‘mental health reasons’ such as anxiety. In 2020, we’ll see even more
people ditch Prozac prescriptions for non-impairing hemp-derived CBD to
support their mental health goals. Expect brands targeting this audience
to commission research on hemp-derived CBD’s functional benefits for
mental health.â€
Paving The Way For Minor Supplements
“CBD was this decade’s craze, but as the market for cannabidiol
becomes oversaturated, product companies will introduce other
interesting minor cannabinoids like CBN and CBG, already touted as
having functional benefits tied to sleep and appetite. Expect the FDA to
voice concerns about these ‘cannabis derived compounds’ and mirror its
communication to industry and the public about the need for these
products to be properly vetted for safety and use – and for product
companies to market them nonetheless.â€
Invasion of the Great White North
“Last year we witnessed a number of marijuana companies diversifying
products and risks by introducing hemp-based wellness lines. In 2020,
expect our Northern neighbors to take advantage of the depressed
financial market and invest or buy U.S.-based hemp companies as a way to
enter the U.S. market.â€
