NEW YORK, November 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
According to data compiled by Global Market Insights, the global blockchain market is expected to eclipse the USD 16 Billion mark by 2024. Driven by the increasing investments and interest from venture capitalists, blockchain technology has exploded in the market space. This has led to the accelerating development and adoption of the technology. In 2017, the industry had nearly USD 1 Billion invested in blockchain startups with more than 185 deals across the world, a significant upsurge from the USD 545 Million among 135 deals in 2016. Furthermore, the Asian-Pacific blockchain market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of more than 87% from 2018 to 2024. Squire Mining Ltd. (OTC: SQRMF), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX), Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK), Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN)
The onset of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), a growing trend in the market, has also been a driver in blockchain growth. In 2017, ICOs raised more than USD 2 Billion with over 250 ICOs across the globe, which can be traded on cryptocurrency exchanges. The smart contract, which corporations and individuals use to expedite transactions of property, money, and shares, is a prominent application of the blockchain market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of over 80% during the forecast period. Claus Jensen, Chief Technology Officer of Unit4, said in a Forbes article: "Money, regardless of whether it's physical or digital, needs credible backing. When there are no trusted parties handling the transactions, then a distributed ledger becomes key, like blockchain. However, if a cryptocurrency is an official currency, then there are already technologies in place to ensure transactional integrity and prohibit tampering with transactional data."
Squire Mining Ltd. (OTCQB: SQRMF) is also listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker (CSE: SQR). Earlier last month, the Company announced, "the appointments of two new Directors and the subsequent appointment of three accomplished executives to its leadership team. Given the recent successful milestones achieved by the Company, specifically related to progress with the development of Squire's next generation ASIC chip and mining rigs for Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin Core (BTC) and associated cryptocurrencies, the Board has undertaken to establish a market leading executive team to help evolve the Company from a research and development business to include an international sales and marketing group focused on launching our next generation Bitcoin mining rig to Squire's exclusive distribution partner, CoinGeek.com.
To undertake this next phase in corporate growth, both Taras Kulyk and Marco Strub have been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board").
Taras Kulyk has spent his career in venture capital, banking, and technology. Most recently, Mr. Kulyk led the CoinGeek Mining and Hardware team where he oversaw the development and growth of one of the largest crypto mining fleets globally. Before joining CoinGeek, Mr. Kulyk was part of Decentral's leadership team in Toronto, Canada. Prior to this, Mr. Kulyk spent three years in investment banking at CIBC World Markets and BMO Capital Markets in the resources sector, followed by two years with TD Securities with the Communications, Media and Technology team, where his coverage focus was on the Canadian tech and media sectors. He is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School at York University where he received a Juris Doctor with a focus in Banking, Corporate, Finance, and Securities Law, and earned his MBA, with distinction, with a specialization in Finance and Strategic Management from the Schulich School of Business.
Marco Strub has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and executive in the financial services and consulting sectors. Since March 2003, Mr. Strub has been the Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Sircon AG, a portfolio management company based in Zurich, Switzerland. Prior to this, Mr. Strub served as a Partner of Exulta AG from 1997 to 2003. He has been an Independent Director of numerous private and publicly listed companies, including Triumph Gold Corp and ZincX Resources Corp, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Mr. Strub received a Master of Arts degree from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland in 1982.
The foregoing appointments fill vacancies on the Board as David Rokoss and Garry Stock have each resigned as directors of the Company. In connection with such appointments, the Board has granted 200,000 options to Mr. Stock at an exercise price of CAD 0.4250, exercisable for a term of one year from the date of grant. The Board wishes to thank both Mr. Rokoss and Mr. Stock for their many contributions to the Company, and wishes them well for the future.
Following the above appointments, the Company is pleased to announce that the new Board has appointed Mr. Kulyk as Chief Executive Officer of Squire. Mr. Kulyk will lead the Company as it aims to become an international leader in the development, production and sales of leading cryptocurrency mining technology. Simon Moore, Squire's current CEO and Chairman has stepped down effective immediately to facilitate the transition. The Company sincerely appreciates the leadership and dedication Mr. Moore has provided, guiding the Company from its early conceptual stage to its current form.
Joining Mr. Kulyk at the executive level will be Yevgeniy Meshcherekov, who has been appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Company. Mr. Meshcherekov is a Chartered Professional Accountant with more than 15 years of management experience in industry and public practice. He has demonstrated financial and organizational leadership in the wealth management, blockchain technology and fintech sectors within operations spanning Canada, Europe and Asia. Prior to joining Squire, Mr. Meshcherekov was Director of Finance of the nChain Group, a global leading blockchain research and development company. Previous to that he was Director of Finance of nTrust Technology Solutions Corp., a regulated money transfer platform which evolved into a Bitcoin wallet and exchange. He started his career and gained extensive experience through a Canadian audit firm providing tax, reporting and accounting assurance services to private and publicly traded companies. Mr. Meshcherekov has board and committee level experience, having recently served a three year term on the board of a local not-for-profit organization. Mr. Meshcherekov replaces Rich Wheeless, the current CFO of Squire, who has resigned effective today.
Additionally, the Company is pleased to announce that Angela Holowaychuk has been appointed as its Chief Operations Officer. Over the last 15 years, Mrs. Holowaychuk has found herself at the forefront of emerging technologies, holding senior management positions leading day to day operations, technical development teams and global expansion projects within the fintech, regtech and most recently, blockchain and Bitcoin exchange sectors. Her expertise is building global operations and service channels from the ground up and working closely with legal and regulatory advisers, executives and technology specialists. Mrs. Holowaychuk attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology for Operations and Supply Chain Management.
Richard Underhill has also resigned as an executive officer of the Company."
"I am very excited to be joining the Company at this critical stage of growth," commented incoming CEO and Director Taras Kulyk. "The team is very excited by the vast potential of our new technology."
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD), for more than 45 years, has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics and visualization technologies - the building blocks for gaming, immersive platforms and the datacenter. AMD recently announced revenue for the third quarter of 2018 of USD 1.65 Billion, operating income of USD 150 Million, net income of USD 102 Million and diluted earnings per share of USD 0.09. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income was USD 186 Million, net income was USD 150 Million and diluted earnings per share was USD 0.13. Computing and Graphics segment revenue was USD 938 Million, up 12% year-over-year and down 14% quarter-over-quarter. Year-over-year revenue growth was primarily driven by strong sales of Ryzen desktop and mobile products, partially offset by lower graphics revenue. Blockchain-related GPU sales in the third quarter were negligible. In the third quarter of 2017, blockchain-related GPU sales were approximately high single digit percentage of total AMD revenue. The quarter-over-quarter decline was due to significantly lower graphics revenue driven by high channel inventory, partially offset by higher Ryzen processor revenue. "We delivered our fifth straight quarter of year-over-year revenue and net income growth driven largely by the accelerated adoption of our Ryzen, EPYC and datacenter graphics products," said Dr. Lisa Su, AMD President and Chief Executive Officer. "Client and server processor sales increased significantly although graphics channel sales were lower in the quarter. Looking forward, we believe we are well positioned for further market share gains as we continue making significant progress towards our long-term financial targets."
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX), since 1971, has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Intercontinental Exchange recently announced that it plans to form a new company, Bakkt, working with Starbucks, BCG, Microsoft, which intends to leverage Microsoft cloud solutions to create an open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets. The new company will create an integrated platform that enables consumers and institutions to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets on a seamless global network. "As the flagship retailer, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into U.S. dollars for use at Starbucks," said Maria Smith, Vice President, Partnerships and Payments for Starbucks. "As a leader in Mobile Pay to our more than 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, Starbucks is committed to innovation for expanding payment options for our customers."
Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK) is an online retailer based in Salt Lake City, Utah that sells a broad range of products at low prices, including furniture, décor, rugs, bedding, and home improvement. Leading remote identity verification and compliance provider Netki recently announced its partnership with the Medici Ventures-backed Bitsy cryptocurrency wallet. In its role as partner, Netki will provide machine learning and biometrics technology to facilitate regulatory compliance and application security. Specifically, Netki will power Bitsy's key recovery and face unlock security features, as well as the app's Know Your Customer (KYC) function. Medici Ventures is the blockchain investment subsidiary of Overstock.com. Medici portfolio companies include tZERO, Bitt, Medici Land Governance, and the newly announced Bitsy. "In early 2014, Netki and Overstock.com both embraced the blockchain revolution, and we've formed a strong bond over the intervening years. Many things have changed in that time, but the central promise of decentralized technologies has not. Netki has held true to those principles and has proven itself a worthy partner," said Overstock.com President, Chief Executive Officer and Founder Patrick Byrne. "Adding Netki's biometrics technology to the Bitsy wallet moves it closer to our goal of providing the world with the eminently user-friendly, compliant, and privacy-preserving cryptocurrency wallet we've designed it to be."
Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain. Recently, Banco Santander and the new digital platform we.trade announced in Spain the first real-time trade transactions among companies using blockchain. 10 companies have completed seven international trade transactions via various banks across five countries using we.trade. Santander is a founding partner of we.trade, a joint venture owned by nine leading European banks which has developed a new blockchain-based platform with the aim of simplifying financial transactions for companies by addressing the challenge of managing, tracking and protecting domestic and international trade transactions. Santander Spain is already carrying out international trade transactions with several companies. This first deployment of this technology within the Santander Group has been carried out at Santander Spain by the Innovation and International Business teams, who selected and accompanied the companies in the first transactions. Fernando Lardiés, Head of Networking Banking at Banco Santander and the bank's Representative on the Board of Directors of we.trade, said: "At Banco Santander, we want to help our clients grow and expand internationally by offering them the best services and technology. we.trade is a great example of how Santander innovates to meet its customers' needs".
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