New Opportunity In The Cards For Blockchain Stocks?

You might not believe it but while you were looking for the next big marijuana stocks, the cryptocurrency mining market saw its value hit $610.91 million in 2016 according to Coherent Market Insights. On top of this, it is expected to reach $ 38.38 billion by 2025.

But cryptocurrency mining is just one small slice of a much bigger pie that has attracted the likes of companies such as FedEx (FDX), IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT) and even WalMart (WMT). With such great opportunities ahead, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that investors have their eyes peeled for the next company to take on a leading role for blockchain technology and its further development. Let’s also not forget that, similarly to the marijuana stock boom, many early investors have managed to realize immense gain opportunities during the “development” phase of the industry boom.

Blockchain/cryptocurrency industry segments could be offering a similar opportunity now. The main question is centered around which companies are in line with this growth.

Block One Capital (BKPPF) (BLOK.V)

3 Month Trade Range $0.4631-$0.6839

This company has been added to the list for several reasons that could be attracting new attention in the market. For one, the company’s recent conference call gave current and prospective investors a direct view of what the company is working on. Specifically, the second quarter could be poised for big developments. Block One CEO Sothi Thillairajah said that based on developments with Finzat (a company that BKPPF invested in) the company will be in a position to raise capital for their growth at a valuation “significantly higher than Block One’s entry point”.

Block One has also received a $750,000 allocation in the oversubscribed presale of Shopin, one of the bigger ICO’s out there right now. To date, it has generated roughly $42.5 million in allocation value. Based on the amount invested, the company also receives a 66% bonus in tokens. Mr. Thillairajah also stated that there will be another round for the Shopin token which will have a price that is somewhere between 2.5 and 3.5 times HIGHER than the value that Block One received in its early allocation

Block One Capital has more going on with it based on the recent conference call and interested parties can access the playback here.

Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. (SSC)

3 Month Trade Range: $1.66-$3.41

New attention has circled this company during the week of May 15th. Seven Stars released its Q1 2018 operating results for the period ended March 31, 2018. Revenue for Q1 2018 was $185.9 million as compared to $33.2 million for the same period in 2017, an increase of approximately $152.8 million, or 461%. The increase was primarily due to the company expanding business in crude oil trading which began in October 2017.

Bob Benya, President, Director & Chief Revenue Officer, stated, “Q1 2018 was a quarter defined by explosive performance”, as Seven Stars Cloud’s $186 million in quarterly revenue constituted the best quarter in the company’s history with 461% revenue growth compared to the same Q1 period in 2017. Even more impressive, is that Q1 2018 revenue alone, is already, approximately $42 million higher than ALL OF 2017 revenue combined.”

The company will be hosting its own conference call shortly after the market close on May 15.

Bank of America Corp. (BAC)

3 Month Trade Range: $28.43-$33.05

It’s obvious that Wall Street is interested in blockchain technology based on how it can streamline certain back-office operations, especially for financial institutions. Bank of America could be positioned to benefit greatly from this integration The bank not only holds more blockchain-related patents than any other bank at this point in time but it holds the most blockchain-related patents among all U.S. companies with 43 patents. This includes Mastercard Inc. (MA) and IBM Corp. (IBM) who are tied for second, with 27 patents respectively.

Historically less active in pursuing patents, banks in the past two years have become more aggressive, working with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to educate examiners about financial services. Blockchain technology could reshape the global financial system as banks look to use it to speed trading, improve record-keeping and simplify back-end functions.

What “They’re” Saying

“Blockchain holds the promise to fundamentally transform how business is done, making business-to-business interactions more secure, transparent, and efficient,” Amit Zavery, senior vice president of Oracle Inc.’s (ORCL) cloud platform, said in a statement.

“Blockchain is one of the bright sectors in technology,” Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates Inc., told Bloomberg. “Since blockchain infrastructure is fairly beefy, there will be a large pool of revenue associated with sales of equipment, software, and related services for blockchain installations.”

Other companies getting into the game right now:

Blockchain tech is already seeping into multiple sectors. For instance, BP Plc. (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (RDS.A) announced the formation of a consortium last November that will use blockchain tech to track oil trading.

And earlier this month, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) and Humana Inc. (HUM) launched a pilot program to use blockchain tech to share data across healthcare organizations, with the goal of improving data accuracy and access to care.

Further, as it pertains to IBM mentioned above, the company is just starting to realize significant revenue from its blockchain initiatives. But according to some analysts, that could ramp up dramatically over the next few years, adding between $10 billion to $18 billion to the top line.

Disclaimer: JSG Communications expects to be compensated up to $500,000.00 by Block One Capital Inc. for a period beginning March 3, 2018 and ending September 5, 2018, to publicly disseminate information about (BKPPF) / (BLOK.V). We may buy or sell additional shares of (BKPPF) / (BLOK.V) in the open market at any time, including before, during or after the Website and Information, provide public dissemination of favorable Information. JSG own zero shares.