NetworkNewsWire Editorial Coverage: Though typically associated solely with bitcoin and cryptocurrency, blockchain technology is becoming increasingly important for a wide range of industries – from oil & gas to security and sports betting. As one of the foremost companies on the development front, Victory Square Technologies, Inc. (CSE:VST) (OTC:VSQTF) (FWB:6F6) (VSQTF Profile) invests in and incubates entrepreneurial ventures to take advantage of existing and emerging market opportunities, including the development of blockchain technology in various industry sectors. Other companies involved in blockchain technology development include Marathon Patent Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA), BTCS, Inc. (OTC: BTCS), 360 Blockchain, Inc. (CSE: CODE) and LongFin Corp. (NASDAQ: LFIN).
Blockchain technology was initially developed to facilitate the exchange of cryptocurrencies without the need of a middleman, like a bank, to make a transaction. In this system, every transaction is represented online as a block, which is distributed to a network of computers for approval before being added to the chain to complete the transaction. Blockchain uses cryptography to secure exchanges and provides a digital ledger of transactions that are transparent, reducing the risk of fraud and preventing transactional duplication (http://nnw.fm/oH4Hr).
Victory Square Technologies, Inc.’s (CSE:VST) (OTC:VSQTF) (FWB:6F6) core mission is to fund and empower entrepreneurs who display promise in a variety of fields, including the burgeoning blockchain technology, as part of its goal to promote innovation on a global scale. The company helps entrepreneurs grow internationally by making distribution partners, mentorship networks, creative workspaces and other resources available to them.
Victory Square sees blockchain as the next major platform for innovation, standing out as a technology that has the potential to change the way businesses and a wide array of societies connect with each other. Pivoting from this early-recognized potential, Victory Square began its ascent in blockchain based on management’s ability to recognize key investment opportunities with plenty of room to grow.
BTL Group (TSXV: BTL) (OTC: BTLLF), a blockchain solutions driver for multiple industries, became one of Victory Square’s initial noteworthy investment successes when it launched as the first public blockchain tech company into what is now a $250 million enterprise. Adding depth to this investment is the fact that BTL Group co-founder Guy Halford-Thompson sits on Victory Square’s advisory board.
Victory Square is looking to take advantage of another market opportunity in software defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) through its recently announced intent to invest in SD-WAN blockchain company Multapplied Networks, Inc. (“MNI”). Focused on utilizing its proprietary software to establish a global blockchain-enabled networking economy, MNI delivers its technology through a portfolio of global channel partners in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, and is on pace to top revenues of $1.2 million in 2017. Revenues for 2018 are projected to exceed CAD$3 million.
Per the LOI (http://nnw.fm/EQ0Ww), Victory Square will acquire a 20-percent stake in MNI, a move representative of the company’s strategic investment model.
“This acquisition exemplifies Victory Square’s mandate to continue investing in companies with game-changing potential that are redefining the industries in which they operate,” Victory Square CEO Shafin Diamond stated in the press release. “We believe in MNI’s vision of a global decentralized Internet and look forward to continuing to find synergies between their networking capabilities and all of our portfolio companies. We are confident that a strategic implementation of blockchain technology into MNI’s platform will allow MNI to build upon its impressive global network of service provider clients.”
MNI is designed exclusively for service providers, and is the only white-label platform enabling them to seamlessly integrate SD-WAN technology into their existing service offerings. The result is lower costs, increased quality of service and enhanced customizability and performance monitoring.
Victory Square sees SD-WAN as a disruptive technology with high potential in enterprise networking, and points to other industry acquisitions, such as Cisco Systems’ $610 million acquisition of Viptela (http://nnw.fm/Fu03F), as evidence of mounting interest in the technology.
Aside from these two key initiatives, Victory Square continues to diversify its portfolio, in terms of blockchain application, and has distinguished itself in the sports betting industry through an investment in wholly owned subsidiary FansUnite Media, Inc., which developed a new social sports betting platform that integrates blockchain technology to help individuals discuss, collaborate and predict the winners of sporting events using free virtual currency.
Building on these strategic investments, Victory Square gaining traction as a market innovator identifying the potential of blockchain to disrupt verticals in which its portfolio of companies operate, including film and gaming, health, FINTECH, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
“Blockchain is reliable and available, transparent, immutable, irrevocable and digital. It’s a disruptive technology because of the ability to digitize, decentralize, secure and incentivize the validation of transactions,” the company states on its website. “We are using our expertise at company building to identify, incubate, advise and invest in the best blockchain entrepreneurs, launching the new technology market leaders of the future.”
Another company expanding its reach into the world of blockchain is Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA), an IP licensing and commercialization company, which acquires and manages IP rights from diverse sources including large and small corporations and universities. The company covers the full life cycle of commercialization from discovering opportunities to performing due diligence, providing capital, managing development, protecting IP, assisting in business plan execution and realizing shareholder value. On Nov. 2, 2017, Marathon announced that it had entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire 100 percent ownership of Global Bit Ventures Inc., a digital asset technology company using blockchain protocols to mine cryptocurrencies.
BTCS (OTC: BTCS) is the first pure play publicly traded company focusing on blockchain technologies in the United States. In August 2017, it signed a letter of intent to merge with an Australian company, Blockchain Global Limited, which would give BTCS access to Blockchain Global’s Bitcoin exchange, transaction verification services and its accelerator program that provides fledgling businesses access to blockchain technologies and applications. With the phenomenal surge in bitcoin over the course of 2017, BTCS plans to expand its digital asset portfolio by participating in strategic market purchases, to make initial coin offerings, and to resume transaction verification services.
360 Blockchain (CSE: CODE), a Canadian-based company, invests exclusively in blockchain-based technology by looking for early-stage opportunities in the blockchain and cryptocurrency fields. It accelerates the development and application of both public and private blockchain technologies, including cryptocurrency, smart contracts, decentralized data management and cryptographic security. The company is currently focused on developments in the e-sports, human resources, IoT and consumer loyalty program sectors. On Nov. 8, 2017, 360 Blockchain announced a $100,000 investment in a joint venture with NOS Blockchain Inc. to accelerate the development and implementation of NOS’s existing, advanced blockchain technologies. NOS is a subsidiary of Nerds on Site Inc., which provides cost-effective, leading edge IT solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises.
LongFin (NASDAQ: LFIN) is an alternative finance and technology services company that provides non-banking structured commodity trade Fintech solutions for global markets seeking liquidity. It has a goal of connecting 70 FX and spot exchanges as well as 300 banks through its electronic market-making trade platform. In addition to the structured commodity trade finance market, the company is focused on alternative risk transfer, asset liability funding and carry trade financing and hedging markets.
With the predicted expansion of blockchain technology beyond the financial sector into many other industries, these companies are focused on developing their expertise and are uniquely positioned to form partnerships and joint ventures to maximize their growth potential.
For more information on Victory Square, visit Victory Square Technologies, Inc. (CSE:VST) (OTC:VSQTF) (FWB:6F6)
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