• LTMCF’s subsidiary, Kairos Metals, will assume ownership of the company’s copper/gold/silver portfolio
• Lithium Chile owns properties in 14 salars and one laguna complex, covering 152,900 hectares
• Salar de Atacama is the source of 35 percent of global lithium production
• Global demand for lithium-ion batteries is forecast to surpass $53 billion by 2024

Lithium Chile Inc. (TSX.V: LITH) (OTC: LTMCF), a Canada-based company focused primarily on advancing its lithium property portfolio, announced on May 9, 2018, that it had completed the “spin out” transaction of its subsidiary, Kairos Metals Corporation. Kairos Metals will operate as a stand-alone company with ownership of the copper/gold/silver property portfolio previously held within Lithium Chile (http://ibn.fm/aeSpn).

In terms of the transaction arrangement, each Lithium Chile shareholder will receive one common share of Kairos Metals for every four common shares of Lithium Chile held on May 7, 2018. This arrangement remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Resulting from this arrangement, Kairos Metals is now a reporting issuer pursuant to applicable securities laws, and it will be focused on advancing a copper/gold/silver portfolio of 28,184 hectares over six projects in Chile.

Shareholders whose Lithium Chile shares are held by a broker or any other intermediary should contact their intermediaries to process application for their Kairos Metals shares pursuant to the arrangement. Registered Lithium Chile shareholders will receive confirmation of a book-entry deposit of their Kairos Metals shares directly from the Kairos Metals transfer agent.

Following the announcement, Steve Cochrane, president and CEO of Lithium Chile, said, “We are pleased with the closing of this transaction. It creates two distinct resource companies that can now focus their energies and resources on developing their respective assets for the benefit of Lithium Chile shareholders.”

Lithium Chile is advancing one of the largest lithium-rich exploration portfolios in Chile, consisting of over 152,900 hectares covering 14 salars, or mineral salt flats, and one laguna complex. These wholly owned properties include 66 square kilometers on the Salar de Atacama. The largest of Chile’s mineral salt flats, it hosts the world’s highest concentration of lithium brine production and is currently the source of around 35 percent of the world’s lithium production.

The company’s portfolio includes properties in other lithium-rich Chilean salars, including Salar de Coipasa, Salar de Helados, Salar de Turi, Salar de Ollague and Salar de Talar. Exploratory surface and near-surface salt and brine sampling programs have been completed on all of Lithium Chile’s properties. These show excellent chemistry of lithium to potassium and lithium to magnesium ratios, which is important for the reduction of overall production cost.

Lithium Chile has identified multiple high-priority brine target areas at its Atacama and Ollague lithium project areas. Salar de Atacama is home to the world’s largest and highest-grade lithium brine producers. It spans an area of 1,200 square miles and is the world’s third largest salt flat after Salinas Grandes, Argentina and El Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. The company is planning exploration drilling and resource definition drilling programs for 2018.

There has been a surge in global demand for lithium-ion batteries, a market that’s projected to surpass $53 billion by 2024 as governments around the world aggressively seek to ban fossil fuel-powered vehicles (http://ibn.fm/GYGok). This has impelled major automotive manufacturers to invest billions in new technology and electric vehicles powered by these batteries. Chile’s mining-friendly jurisdiction offers Lithium Chile a streamlined permitting process and highly cost-effective lithium production of about $1,800 per ton, as compared to $5,000 per ton in Australia.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/LTMCF

• The company was formed to be an intermediary between U.S. equity markets and foremost enterprises in Switzerland and Northern Europe
• American-Swiss Capital has identified several distressed properties in Montenegro

American-Swiss Capital, Inc. looks for premier quality yet undervalued real estate investment opportunities designed to produce a high rate of return. A private development-stage company, it formed with the vision of becoming an intermediary between U.S. equity markets and foremost enterprises in Switzerland and Northern Europe. Established in 2015, American-Swiss Capital has its corporate office in Miami, Florida.

American-Swiss Capital has identified several distressed properties in Montenegro in southeastern Europe. Montenegro has a population of less than one million people, with a seaside location that shows considerable economic potential, especially from its tourism industry (http://ibn.fm/U5BJY).

Real estate prices have increased appreciably in Montenegro in the last decade. In the last few years, the nation’s real estate market has experienced robust growth. This growth has been significantly stronger than in bordering Adriatic countries (http://ibn.fm/vTf9Z).

In Montenegro, American-Swiss Capital is concentrating on real estate development with properties that include an 18-unit beachfront apartment development. The company is now in negotiations to buy this property. This development is in the Boka Bay community of Tivat, which is a very popular tourist destination. The property features a private beach with a fixed pontoon boat berth near the full-service marina of Porto Montenegro.

The port and marina offer substantial upside to American-Swiss Capital as a selling point for its apartment development close by. In 2016, Porto Montenegro was acquired by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD). ICD is the main investment division of the Government of Dubai. It has investments covering financial services, transportation, energy and industries, real estate and leisure and retail (http://ibn.fm/4PoEQ).

Another project of American-Swiss Capital is the Kovac Gated Community in Tivat, Montenegro. Kovac is situated right on Tivat Bay and features views of the renowned St. Marko Island. The company’s plan is to construct a 30-villa gated community. This project offers an opportunity to purchase high quality villas ranging from 250 square meters to 400 square meters in size.

Regarding its promising business opportunities in Europe, the company is looking to raise $5 million through the sale of five million new, fully tradable shares, or through a Convertible Note with a 10 percent per annum yield with an option to convert to equity at a pre-determined strike price. American-Swiss Capital has filed an S1 Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This fund is fully audited every three months in accordance with SEC Regulations.

Montenegro has beautiful beaches and attractive coastal communities, and these are increasingly beckoning tourists. Along with growing tourism, American-Swiss Capital sees promise in Montenegro as the country is on a path to join the European Union (EU). American-Swiss Capital is an early mover in this nation, which is ready to thrust itself more boldly onto the world stage.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.AS-Capital.com

• New restrictive tax regime in DRC makes North American cobalt more attractive
• Efforts to secure supplies turns attention to cobalt juniors
• First Cobalt is now the world’s largest pure play cobalt explorer

With production of electric vehicles (EVs) set to increase, “at least 90,000 tonnes of additional cobalt will be needed by 2025 to meet demand”, according to a May research note from the Swiss bank, UBS (http://ibn.fm/Zc7XA). The bank’s brokerage arm expects global market penetration of EVs to rise to 16 percent by then, from its current one percent, sparking fears of a cobalt shortage as early as 2022. Naturally, this has created a degree of anxiety in the battery manufacturing community, which was very evident at the recent Cobalt Institute Conference in Las Vegas. This dynamic is driving “lots of discussion,” says Peter Campbell, vice president of business development at First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF). The pure play cobalt explorer is currently expanding its portfolio of properties with an ongoing series of mergers that includes CobalTech Mining Inc., Cobalt One and, most recently, US Cobalt Inc. The final entity will carry the name First Cobalt and should have a market cap of around C$400 million ($311 million) (http://ibn.fm/nxKbL).

At present, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the world’s top producer of cobalt. The central African country produces about 60 percent of global cobalt supply, a leading position that it may retain for at least a decade. However, challenges to that dominance are emerging, as concerns about human rights and related issues multiply. The industry has been accused of widespread abuse, in particular, the employment of child labor. Moreover, about 20 percent of DRC cobalt output is mined by artisanal miners, or creuseurs, under conditions that pose great risk to their health and safety.

The Congolese government has moved to address some of these issues. In March 2018, it revised the country’s 2002 mining code in an attempt to improve the working environment and increase benefits for employees. It also implemented measures to gain greater control of the industry and take a larger slice of the pie. Henceforth, the state’s “free share” in mining projects will increase to 10 percent, up from five percent, and the period after which future contracts can be renegotiated will fall from 10 years to five years. In addition, a “super profits” tax of 50 percent has been introduced, and royalties are to rise to 3.5 percent from two percent; they may reach five percent, if the DRC decides to name cobalt a “strategic substance” (http://ibn.fm/hXoUf).

These developments are causing battery manufacturers and automakers to break out in a cold sweat. Cobalt has become a highly prized commodity, used alongside lithium in a growing number of rechargeable battery technologies. A shortage of the metal has been apparent since 2016, when prices were $22,000 a tonne. Now, spot cobalt is trading at around $90,000 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

First Cobalt is focused on North America. As a result of a merger with Cobalt One in December 2017, First Cobalt is now the largest landowner in Canada’s Cobalt Camp, a region that includes the historically significant Kerr Lake, Drummond and Bellellen mines. The company now controls over 10,000 hectares of prospective land and 50 historic mines, as well as a mill and the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing battery materials. Around the same time, First Cobalt completed its merger with CobalTech Mining.

Most recently, First Cobalt has completed the acquisition of US Cobalt to add the Iron Creek Project in the prolific Idaho Cobalt Belt to its portfolio of assets. The Iron Creek Project boasts a historic estimate (non-compliant with NI 43-101 standards) of 1.3 million tons of 0.59 percent cobalt, which the company is now in the process of confirming with a mineral resource estimate that’s expected in September. First Cobalt’s recent M&A activity reflects its new tactical direction and dynamism, noted by one analyst who remarked that the company has ‘been moving very fast under CEO Tent Mell.’

First Cobalt recently announced the results of drilling that has extended the strike length of the mineralized zone in the Kerr area to over 350 meters. Results to date from this recently-identified mineralized zone located south of Kerr Lake in the Cobalt North area of the Canadian Cobalt Camp confirm that the area hosts a near-surface network of cobalt veins and disseminated mineralization associated with silver and nickel, as well as copper, zinc and lead (http://ibn.fm/dwL76). Results like those are getting First Cobalt some attention. According to Campbell, “Companies looking to secure supplies, in a sign of their need, were talking to junior miners as much as six years away from production”.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/FTSSF

• Pierre Brondeau, CEO, chairman and president of FMC, predicts that global lithium demand will rise fivefold by 2025
• Bloomberg sees IPO as first major lithium pure play in the U.S.
• FMC plans IPO for up to 20 percent of its lithium assets, would then provide remaining shares to company investors

FMC Corporation’s (NYSE: FMC) planned 2H2018 IPO for its lithium business is being closely watched as a pure play that will help value the metal on the market (http://ibn.fm/orSh9). FMC has announced the IPO for a percentage of up to 20 percent of its lithium assets, with Pierre Brondeau, CEO, chairman and president of FMC, also serving as chairman of the new publicly listed company (http://ibn.fm/MzWXN).

Philadelphia-based FMC is a global agricultural, industrial and consumer company operating its business in two parts: FMC Agricultural Solutions and FMC Lithium. Its lithium products are used in specialty polymers, energy storage and pharmaceutical synthesis. The company’s lithium segment recorded EBITDA of $50 million in 1Q2018, a 95 percent increase from its comparable number in 1Q2017 (http://ibn.fm/iRxsB).

Bloomberg reported that the scheduled IPO would be the first U.S. IPO of a lithium pure play, making it closely watched for its valuation of the metal. Earlier this year on an earnings call, Brondeau predicted that demand for lithium will rise fivefold by 2025 (http://ibn.fm/Ue3vt). The important factor today is that the metal is used in rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles. Bloomberg added that FMC’s IPO could trigger other lithium pure play offerings by competitors.

Lithium represented about 12 percent of FMC’s total sales in 2017, totaling $347 million in revenue in 2017, a 32 percent increase from the prior year’s segment sales (http://ibn.fm/JQHVO). An article by The Motley Fool notes, “FMC’s lithium business could be a potentially attractive pure play on the ‘white oil’ that’s powering the electric vehicle revolution, but we’ll have to wait and see how shares are priced.” (http://ibn.fm/g6dIY).

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.FMC.com

• Mastering the art of sound through groundbreaking digital audio technology
• Now available in consumer hardware products and in streaming media applications
• Company announces the engagement of NetworkNewsWire to raise brand awareness

Aftermaster, Inc. (OTCQB: AFTM) is an award winning, leading edge audio technology company specializing in the development of proprietary and groundbreaking technologies and products. The company is dedicated to “Mastering the Art of Sound” through the expertise of a group of world-class audio engineers and music industry veterans.

After thousands of hours, the experts at Aftermaster Audio Labs, a subsidiary of AFTM, developed Aftermaster® – a technology with the potential to transform the music and consumer electronics industries. This technology has given the company bragging rights to more hit records than any other audio technology company in the world. The highly sophisticated process was developed by challenging listening standards for digital audio and demanding more. Platinum records, numerous strategic partnerships and overwhelming industry support speaks to the effectiveness of this groundbreaking, revolutionary audio tech, which boasts implications beyond the music and audio industries.

AFTM is designing cutting-edge products that can be deployed in both consumer hardware products and streaming media applications. Headphones, televisions, stereos and computers can now benefit from Aftermaster audio. Through a partnership with ON Semiconductor, AFTM now has DSP microchips available to consumers. This product offers highly customized tuning for specific devices and can overcome many of the limits of small or even rear/downward facing speakers common in flat screen televisions. In addition to DSP microchips, this proprietary Aftermaster algorithm is available as a software-only product. This software can be injected into existing microprocessors or into computer-based applications. By challenging the norm of audio technology and demanding better, AFTM is making audio sound substantially better for the consumer electronics industry.

In a strategic move to generate brand awareness for its groundbreaking technology, AFTM recently announced that it has engaged the services of NetworkNewsWire (NNW). NNW will leverage its distribution network of over 5,000 key syndication outlets, various newsletters, social media channels, blogs and other outreach tools to support the company’s vision while keeping the investment community up-to-date on AFTM’s operations and technology.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Aftermaster.com

• EVIO Biosciences Division will research and develop new medical cannabis therapies
• New division will be headed by the company’s chief science officer, Dr. Anthony Smith
• EVIO CEO and co-founder to present at key microcap investor conference

As an established leader in cannabis testing in the United States and Canada, EVIO Inc. (OTCQB: EVIO) is more familiar than most with the knowns and unknowns of medical cannabis. The company is now maximizing its technical know-how and experience by expanding into the research and development of cannabis-based medicines.

In a press release issued on May 24, EVIO unveiled the launch of its Biosciences Division. This new division will focus its efforts on exploring medical therapies of cannabis, including developing new formulations and researching more effective ways to deliver cannabis into the body (http://ibn.fm/BE7gZ).

Marijuana deregulation is snowballing around the world, and, as cannabis becomes more accessible, there is an increasing demand, need and opportunity for solid scientific research into its potential uses and benefits, as well as its interactions with various medications. A key focus of EVIO’s Bioscience Division will be researching how cannabis can be used in combination with other medicines.

EVIO Chief Science Officer Dr. Anthony Smith will head the new division. He holds a PhD from Oregon State University in molecular and cellular biology, with biochemistry, metabolism and nutrition as his areas of specialty, and he brings more than 15 years of experience to EVIO Biosciences.

In a news release, Smith said, “We are expanding the life sciences part of the company to focus on the need for bioscience applications in cannabis, in addition to analytical testing services. We are focusing on scientific research to support biotechnology and IP development for advanced formulation, manufacturing and delivery processes. One exciting project is developing cannabinoid receptor (CB1 & CB2) biochemistry models aimed at discovering the future of cannabis medicine. The real benefit will be leveraging our R&D in partnership with medical and healthcare providers to bring solutions to real world health problems.”

With the company poised to branch out into this largely untapped field, EVIO co-founder and CEO William Waldrop will be meeting investors and presenting at the LD Micro Invitational conference in California on June 5. The conference, which will take place in Bel Air, will give prospective investors the opportunity to learn more about the company (http://ibn.fm/VYMl2).

“The cannabis testing market is projected to reach $1.4 billion by 2021 and EVIO is well-positioned to capitalize on this tremendous growth in North America as Canada legalizes recreational use and states mandate testing of products from accredited laboratories,” Waldrop noted in a news release. “We look forward to educating LD Micro attendees on our services and the opportunities we offer to both businesses and investors.”

Several states require that cannabis for medical consumption is tested, and EVIO is already an accredited and established leader in providing testing services for the regulated cannabis industry. Its areas of work include screening and analysis, quality assurance and consulting services in a variety of areas, including formula and dose standardization and research and development. The company currently operates 11 testing labs in California, Florida, Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado and Canada, and it is on track to have 18 such facilities by the end of the year.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EVIOLabs.com

• LXRP, a drug delivery platform innovator, has been awarded two new patent grants in the U.S. and expects three more from Australia
• Company already has more than 40 patent awards or applications from 40 countries globally; it is preparing new patent application filings and predicts more patent awards this year
• LXRP received $63,000 from the exercise of 450,000 warrants previously granted to third parties

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP) is growing its patent portfolio with two more patent grants in the U.S., predicting three more from Australia, and it is currently preparing new patent application filings as it projects more patent awards this year. It already has more than 40 patent applications or awards from more than 40 countries worldwide (http://ibn.fm/ChQVD).

The total, once granted, would be four patents in the U.S. and four in Australia. All eight are for the family of “Food and Beverage Compositions Infused With Lipophilic Active Agents and Methods of Use Thereof.” The development represents the first time that LXRP has expanded its patent protection outside of the U.S. for the delivery of molecules other than cannabinoids.

The goals are to commercialize its proprietary technology while guarding its IP, LXRP said. It anticipates receiving three additional Australian patents on or before August 17. It also predicts that it will receive more patent awards this year, and it is currently preparing new patent filings for new families as a result of its R&D programs.

LXRP is a British Columbia-based bioscience company that is a drug delivery platform innovator. It out-licenses its disruptive delivery technology that promotes healthier ingestion methods and lower overall dosing. It has developed the patented DehydraTECH™ delivery technology platform.

LXRP also received $63,000 from the exercise of 450,000 previously granted warrants (http://ibn.fm/7sF9R). The exercise price was $0.14, and it was executed by third parties who are neither officers nor directors of the company. Funds will be used for general corporate purposes, and no commissions or placement fees have been paid.

LXRP also entered a three-year consulting contract for services, including customer relations and introductions, involvement at industry events and presentation of the company’s proprietary technology to prospective clients. The contract calls for a one-time payment of $500 and the granting of 250,000 warrants with an exercise price of $1.55. No shares are being issued at this time, and the warrants expire three years after issuance.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LexariaEnergy.com

• Overcoming limitations of other mobile applications
• Meeting the demands of e-commerce for clients and their customers
• Entering into the mobile gaming industry through mobile predictive sports analysis

Consorteum Holdings, Inc. (OTC: CSRH) offers a unique Universal Mobile Interface™ (UMI) solution that allows the company to deliver and manage complex, digitally secure transactions servicing a broad range of vertical markets in the fintech space. There is a growing need to protect data from uninvited guests while simultaneously creating access to data for clients worldwide, seamlessly on multiple devices. 359 Mobile Inc., the research and developmental subsidiary of CSRH, has met this demand within a flexible platform, strategically positioning the company to help clients bridge the mobile and online divide.

The UMI is a state-of-the-art platform overcoming the limitations of other mobile applications. Through the delivery of secure content and device functionality to any past, current or future mobile device, this technology allows the company to partner with different markets that are in the business of providing mobile connectivity, secure transactional processing and social connectivity. CSRH’s cutting edge technology enables companies to facilitate compliance with the European Union’s first cybersecurity law and the ongoing discussion regarding cybersecurity. The UMI solution is a natural fit for the challenges facing compliance in the mobile fintech environment.

As little as five years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine the many ways in which mobile content is being used today. Through a mix of strategic partnerships, license agreements and joint ventures, CSRH is creating longer-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with clients. With e-commerce on the rise and 80 percent of all internet users on mobile (http://ibn.fm/lroCL), the company has created a full-service approach, utilizing UMI and the 359 development team to redefine how brands develop mobile strategies and strengthen their connection to customers.

CSRH is developing its software and mobile publishing resources for a variety of mobile offerings, including the mobile gaming industry. The company’s presence in this industry is an example of the flexibility of the technology to the client’s needs. CSRH has entered into a joint business agreement with DevLex Ltd. to release its initial Predictive Analytics Platform. This first predictive data analytics mobile offering will focus on the game of cricket, a sport with 2.5 billion fans worldwide (http://ibn.fm/Lpd2Y), and it is set for release this summer. Following its release, CSRH intends to extend this platform to additional sports. This innovative tool requires continual update of a massive statistical database that will soon be in the hands of cricket fans globally. With a growing market for online gaming that is predicted to surpass the $1 trillion mark by 2022 (http://ibn.fm/EFlcW), entering the gaming sector strategically positions CSRH for continued growth.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Consorteum.com

• Blockchain-based genetic registration process provides verification security for growers and consumers alike
• Global cannabis market projected to reach $31.4 billion by 2021
• WeedMD becomes first Canadian Licensed Producer to adopt BLOCKStrain’s technology

As the legal cannabis market continues to develop, concerns about ensuring transparency and quality control for the growing number of medicinal and recreational drug products sold to consumers continue to drive a necessary breed of entrepreneurship required to legitimize the industry. BLOCKStrain Technology Corp. (TSX.V: DNAX) has emerged as an innovative leader in the quality control arena, releasing its proprietary supply chain management platform as a secure means of providing confidence in the inventory pipeline while safeguarding the interests of licensed growers.

Blockchain’s ability to provide an inalterable and transparent multi-user platform for tracing manufacture-to-market transactions within virtually any industry has gained an exuberant following among investors during recent months, sparking sometimes-explosive growth in entities’ values.

BLOCKStrain has adapted the open-source ledger’s technology to provide a cannabis genome-to-sale genetic chain of evidence that provides proof of ownership to brand builders in the multibillion-dollar industry and allows consumers to verify where a product originated and where it has been before landing in their shopping carts. In between the two extremes of the pipeline, distributors, shipping companies and government agencies also have a stake in auditing a product’s wellbeing. Moreover, the platform forms the foundation for what could become IP protection for growers and producers who produce branded products.

WeedMD Inc. (TSX.V: WMD) (OTC: WDDMF) (FSE: 4WE), which recently announced a merger with Hiku Brands Co. Ltd. (CSE: HIKU) (OTC: DJACF), in May became the first Canadian Licensed Producer (LP) to adopt the BLOCKStrain platform for gene record-keeping purposes. As Canada and select U.S. states continue pushing toward full national legalization of cannabis as a recreational drug as well as a medicinal product, the BLOCKStrain platform ensures competitive advantage for their products at retail by giving consumers more transparent data on each product.

“Unique and differentiated strains and product offerings have always been, and will remain, a cornerstone of WeedMD’s business model. Validating and protecting that intellectual property through BLOCKStrain’s platform will prove invaluable as we scale operations and broaden our distribution throughout the country as well as internationally,” WeedMD Chief Financial Officer Keith Merker said about the agreement (http://ibn.fm/STvLU).

Cannabis presents an interesting challenge to players in the industry. Increasingly in demand for its reputed healing properties as well as for a burgeoning social drug movement, the plant contains more than 500 known chemical compounds that are, in some cases, pharmacologically active and the basis of worldwide marijuana restrictions. With cannabis, consumers have a keen interest in being able to identify what they are purchasing at a genetic level, and blockchain provides the potential to build up a new breed of custom retail.

Government agencies also have a public stake in ensuring the production quality, product potency and measurable equivalency standards of cannabis derivatives claiming a medicinal or wellness benefit. BLOCKStrain helps provide the supply chain data to support a regulatory framework that achieves this goal.

Thousands of cannabis strains exist, and, as new breeding takes place, craft growers also have an interest in protecting their intellectual property. For growers, the BLOCKStrain platform provides a gene-registration defense of intellectual property rights and establishes a historical proof of ownership standard that may sustain challenges in the legal arena (http://ibn.fm/jRK9n). Once growers create an account with BLOCKStrain, they can deliver seeds, flower and derivative products that will be tested at an approved facility to provide identifying data. BLOCKStrain administrators also provide a verification process for pre-existing cannabis strain genetic data that can become part of a client’s profile.

Closing the consumer supply loop, users can also use BLOCKStrain to rate products and share their opinions, which become part of the strain’s immutable record.

“We have a mission to take an industry that was originated in the shadows and, using the power of big data and a blockchain-supported supply chain management model, bring it into the light,” stated BLOCKStrain CEO Robert Galarza. “The business opportunity is massive.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.BLOCKStrain.io

• Independent research firm JGR Capital predicts more growth for Net Element in North American and emerging markets
• Research note also highlights company’s focus on the development of blockchain-based technology
• Via Unified Payments subsidiary, vendors at any event will be able to use mobile point-of-sale tools and self-order kiosks to accept multi-channel payments

Global financial technology and value-added solutions group Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) is set for sustained organic growth through its North American transaction solutions segment. Following the release of its first quarter 2018 financial results, which included a 17.8 percent year-over-year revenue increase, independent equity research firm JGR Capital issued an updated research note on May 21 (http://ibn.fm/NMGQ7). The note mentioned Net Element’s Q1 2018 financial results, which indicated total revenue of $15.98 million, compared to $13.6 million in Q1 2017. It also remarked on how the same first quarter financials show that Net Element managed to cut its selling, general and administrative expenses by over $380,000.

Additionally, the research note made mention of the company’s expansion into international markets, with JGR Capital’s analysts expecting the Russian market to add to Net Element’s international revenues this year. The report attributed Net Element’s strong growth in North America to the success of its Aptito system, a payment service developed for the restaurant sector. Aptito’s cloud-based payment solution allows restaurants to integrate a point of sale solution with digital menus, self-order kiosks and kitchen displays.

Another major point noted by JGR Capital was the company’s focus on the development of blockchain-based technology with the launch of its proprietary Netevia platform, which offers same-day funding to eligible merchants, easy merchant account set up and integration, payment conversion optimization, competitive pricing for payment acceptance services and other advantages and features.

The JGR Capital update came two days before Net Element announced the launch of a payment solution tailor-made for the needs of the multibillion-dollar events industry (http://ibn.fm/OMC2n). Via subsidiary Unified Payments, events industry vendors will be able to use mobile point-of-sale systems and self-order kiosks, as well as benefit from chargeback protection and acceptance of multi-channel payments. Unified Payments’ solutions will be fully integrated with vendors’ existing payment systems, allowing seamless transactions

In a news release, Vlad Sadovskiy, Net Element’s president of integrated payments, said, “We are excited to provide the event management industry with fully integrated, feature rich payment acceptance solutions. Our capabilities have the potential to dramatically change the way event transactions are processed today.”

Vendors will have access to programs such as ‘Fast Pass Funding’, which allows same-day funding; ‘Complimentary Equipment Placement Program’, which offers access to free payments equipment rental and on-site tech support; and ‘Zero Pay’, a cash discount program which will allow vendors to pocket 100 percent of their sales revenue.

The move will allow Net Element to tap into a highly prolific market, which generates more than $330 billion in direct spending and over $845 billion in business sales each year while supporting 5.9 million jobs across the United States (http://ibn.fm/jKHNG).

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.NetElement.com