• Energy-efficient devices market is expected to reach $908 billion by 2022
• Residential and commercial buildings account for up to 45 percent of total energy consumption
• Regulatory targets for reduction in energy consumption and concerns over climate change are major factors driving overall market growth
• Zero Cost Energy Savings Program offers savings with no upfront customer expenditures

Temperatures are warming up, and the cost of electricity is a concern for residential and commercial customers seeking a more efficient, cost-effective way to power their homes and businesses. Zenergy Brands, Inc. (OTC: ZNGY), the nation’s leading next-generation utility headquartered in Plano, Texas, is primed with an answer to those skyrocketing energy prices through its Zero Cost Energy Savings Program that reduces utility expenses by 20 to 60 percent.

On a global scale, residential and commercial buildings account for up to 45 percent of the total energy consumed through heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, water heating, plug loads and various other energy-consuming functions, according to a report by Navigant Research (http://ibn.fm/OfkjF). As both individuals and countries around the world begin to take action to combat rising energy costs and global warming, some of the first lines of defense are installing energy-efficient devices and embracing conservation methods.

Zenergy’s Zero Cost Energy Savings Program (http://ibn.fm/sAfcS) is a financing mechanism designed to allows customers to reduce water, natural gas and electricity expenses through the use of smart controls, building automation, LED lighting solutions, refrigeration optimization, efficient water systems, EC motor controls, demand-size management and load factor correction – all with no out-of-pocket cost to the client. A unique Managed Energy Services Agreement (MESA) allows the partner who is financing the upgraded retrofit equipment and installation costs to retain a portion of these utility savings until a specified repayment period ends. After that, the client reaps all of the financial rewards of the technologies implemented.

Zenergy Brands’ dedication to delivering comprehensive smart energy service to its customers is being augmented with a new business development initiative called the Zenergy Associate Program. Operating under the umbrella of Zenergy’s new marketing and business development subsidiary, Zenergy & Associates, Inc. (Z&A), this associate program will certify qualified individuals to build a portfolio of income by working individually or as an organized team to originate new customers, projects and, ultimately, sales.

Zenergy CEO Alex Rodriguez said that the new associate program was created to support sales of the company’s full suite of products and services. “We firmly believe in a direct sales or relationship-based model where well-connected individuals can leverage their relationships to produce sales, and this program allows us to tap into such a similar powerful distribution channel, so I am excited about the opportunity that is the Zenergy Associate Program,” Rodriguez said in announcing the initiative (http://ibn.fm/aeoP2).

The global forecast for the energy-efficient devices market calls for growth to more than $908 billion by 2022, according to a report by Research and Markets (http://ibn.fm/1uo4G). The development of smart cities and green technologies, along with rising consumer interest in becoming more tech-savvy when it comes to energy conservation, are projected to be driving factors in the market’s growth.

For more information, visit the company’s websites at www.ZenergyBrands.com and www.WhatisZenergy.com

• Every 43 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a heart attack
• Over six million patients visit U.S. emergency rooms reporting chest pain each year
• Chest pain symptoms can be hard to diagnose in emergencies but are vital to assessing for heart attack
• Zenosense’s handheld device aims to give first responders rapid, highly sensitive analysis of heart biomarkers

Each year, well over six million patients visit emergency rooms across the United States reporting chest pain. Most of these patients are not suffering from an acute myocardial infarction (AMI/heart attack), but they are a major burden on emergency departments, with billions of dollars spent on unnecessary admissions annually. When a suspected heart incident occurs, usually after a chest pain complaint, emergency responders turn to an immediate ECG, complemented by blood tests for the cardiac markers troponin I or T, to diagnose AMI.

The troponin element of diagnosis is problematic. When troponin levels from damaged heart muscle rise rapidly after AMI, the challenge is early detection when levels are very low. High sensitivity tests are required. These high sensitivity troponin tests have been in use in other parts of the world for over seven years, and, in 2017, the first next generation troponin assay was approved for use in the U.S. by the FDA. These tests are performed on state-of-the-art central laboratory analyzers, but they are expensive and also typically take at least an hour to turn around results, when minutes are vital. The market requires a device that can conduct high sensitivity troponin tests, at the point of care (“POC”), rapidly, cost effectively and easily.

Through its joint venture ownership of MIDS Medical Limited (MML) (www.MIDSMed.com), located at the United Kingdom’s prestigious Sci-Tech Daresbury campus, Zenosense, Inc. (OTC: ZENO) is developing MIDS Cardiac™. This handheld device aims to deliver accuracy equal or superior to these ‘gold standard’ central laboratory analyzers at the POC – taking lab testing to the patient. MIDS Cardiac aims to deliver high sensitivity results that are available within minutes. This would provide first responders with a new level of point of care device analysis. It will save valuable time during the so-called ‘golden hour’, when critical treatment is crucial to positive outcomes, and could also quickly rule out the majority of patients presenting with chest pain who are not suffering a heart attack, resulting in enormous hospital savings.

High sensitivity troponin assays (hs-cTn) have been used by thousands of clinicians around the world for many years, enabling better diagnosis in emergency departments. They have substantially assisted the safe rule-in or rule-out of AMI. The U.S. has been slow to adopt the assays, with the first next generation troponin T test approved by the FDA in early 2017. More are expected to follow from other manufacturers. Several studies have indicated that between two-thirds and three-quarters of patients could be ruled out, solely based on assay results, and safely discharged.

Frank Peacock MD, associate chief of emergency research at Baytor College of Medicine in Houston, stated that this recently FDA approved next generation assay “….is easily the best news in the last decade for emergency medicine patients presenting with chest pain” but added that centers without the right laboratory analyzers to perform the high sensitivity lab testing would be unlikely to switch, because installing those expensive analyzers would be a “multimillion-dollar endeavor.”

MIDS Cardiac is being developed to not only support these hs-cTn assays with accuracy that’s equal or superior to the latest state-of-the-art laboratory analyzers, but to do so at the POC, in the emergency room or even by paramedics in emergency situations such as in the back of an ambulance. MIDS Cardiac aims to provide a single troponin I or troponin T test within three minutes and a three-panel assay of additional cardiac biomarkers within eight minutes, providing a triage capability in emergency situations that is not only rapid but on a device which is a fraction of the cost of a laboratory analyzer. The device would only require a single pinprick of blood for a single assay test carried out on an easy-to-use, disposable microfluidic test strip.

Unlike existing laboratory analyzers and POC devices which generally rely on optical detection technology, the groundbreaking MIDS technology can detect and measure commonly used paramagnetic assay beads by their total aggregated nanomagnetic signal. This makes MIDS suitable to be incorporated into a miniaturized, cost-effective handheld device that could fill the hs-cTn gap identified by Frank Peacock.

In late 2017, Zenosense reported that initial testing had been completed on the MIDS device’s ‘Hybrid System’. Incorporating the patented MIDS technology platform, the Hybrid Strip, for initial testing purposes, aims to replicate as far as possible the planned MIDS ‘Lab on Chip’ technology. This is expected to give the very highest level of accuracy. It is anticipated to be equal to or better than laboratory analyzers, with capability of performing true ‘high sensitivity’ tests directly at the POC. The Hybrid Strip testing results (using packaged sensors) indicate that MIDS can already detect and measure very low numbers of commercial assay beads (as used in existing laboratory-based hs-cTn tests) to support hs-cTn tests which need to reliably measure down to five or six nanograms per liter of troponin at the 99th percentile. A final Lab-on-Chip MIDS test strip, using unpackaged sensors, is expected to be able to detect and measure even lower numbers of assay beads, by bringing the sensors much closer to the detected beads.

Carlos Gil, CEO of Zenosense, said November’s initial testing of the MIDS device was “an exciting phase of our development, designed to definitively prove this remarkable, novel method of detection.”

“These results come in at the very high end of detection expectations, even at this Hybrid Strip stage. As we move forward into true Lab on Chip construction, I expect detection levels to improve further still,” MIDS Medical Managing Director and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Nasser Djennati added (http://ibn.fm/PJ1Aj).

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

• 2018 Farm Bill promotes federal legalization of non-psychoactive industrial hemp in United States
• Majority of states already have legal pilot programs to analyze industrial hemp’s potential for boosting agriculture
• Global Hemp Group already testing revitalized cultivation of hemp in Canada, with interest in U.S. market

While states continue to grapple with how they will approach medical and recreational marijuana controversies, as well as the federal government’s drug classification policy in the United States, a more cooperative camaraderie appears to be developing nationwide in regard to the growth of industrial hemp, the cannabis plant’s non-psychoactive breed. The U.S. Senate is debating a 2018 update to its 2014 Farm Bill that legalized hemp for limited agricultural research, and state governments across the country are contemplating the plant’s potential for reviving their agricultural economies.

Global Hemp Group, Inc. (CSE: GHG) (FRANKFURT: GHG) (OTC: GBHPF) has long had an interest in establishing a strong footing in the industrial hemp industries of Canada and the United States. Its headquarters are situated in Vancouver, British Columbia, where it could be in a prime position to take advantage of the Canadian government’s plans to fully legalize recreational drug uses of the cannabis plant later this year. However, Global Hemp Group’s focus is currently on cultivating the non-psychoactive plant variety to extract cannabinoids with a healthful benefit and then to advance through additional phases of cultivation for products that draw on the plant’s potential in tens of thousands of commercial products, including paper, construction fiber, biofuels, clothing and textiles.

Until the United States took an aggressive stance toward the detrimental effects of mind-altering substances in the country’s ‘war on drugs’, hemp enjoyed a history of cash crop production that stretched back beyond the nation’s first president, George Washington, who counted on it in his fields. The 2014 U.S. Farm Bill sought to restore a distinction between hemp and its rebellious marijuana sibling by allowing universities and state governments to grow hemp for research (http://ibn.fm/YfAJB), but, as the Drug Enforcement Administration held to its classification of hemp as a controlled substance and business enterprises occasionally found themselves targeted by law enforcement for marketing food products with hemp-derived ingredients that they argued were protected by the Farm Bill, the bill’s sponsors have moved for a 2018 update that classifies non-psychoactive hemp as a legal commodity answerable to agricultural oversight at the federal level and removes it from the controlled substances list.

Under this new bill, states would continue to retain their right to regulate production, but perhaps most importantly, the bill would allow hemp to qualify for some U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and fall under the coverage of federal crop insurance (http://ibn.fm/IUTyj).

While the federal government debates its policy, Kansas (http://ibn.fm/BmZGz) and Oklahoma (http://ibn.fm/QVtUQ) have joined the 37 states identified by The National Conference of State Legislators as having some form of legal pilot program assessing the potential of industrial hemp for their agricultural futures (http://ibn.fm/IK74K).

“It looks like the world of hemp in the US is about to enter a new phase and Global Hemp Group is proud to be part of this exciting new sector,” the company stated in a March press release (http://ibn.fm/ia7rT).

Global Hemp Group is focused on corporate acquisitions and joint ventures across all sectors of the hemp industry as it builds a portfolio of networked “soil-to-shelf” businesses that share its commitment to revitalizing the reputation of the versatile plant. One such joint venture led to the cultivation of hemp on the Acadian peninsula of New Brunswick, Canada last year – the first time the plant had been grown in the region in two decades (http://ibn.fm/hp9S9).

Analysis by the Hemp Industries Association pegged the yearly retail revenue from hemp products at $573 million in the United States during 2015 (http://ibn.fm/KB3E9). Cannabis analytics firm Brightfield Group estimated that Hemp-derived cannabidiol health food industry products alone netted $170 million in 2016 and predicted they would reach the billion-dollar level within three years, according to a report in Forbes (http://ibn.fm/ngwmW).

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

• Company’s main focus is the development of SerpentCoin, a peer-to-peer digital token with a distributed, decentralized public ledger
• Guardians of the token (holders) can send value between friends, pay for a good or service, deposit funds on an exchange, or enter an application
• SerpentCoin guardians receive a 0.05% bonus on every transaction through a process referred to as “staking” – or token rewards
• Built on “Cardano,” the most advanced third generation public blockchain and cryptocurrency technology designed to support smart contracts and cryptocurrencies

Uneeqo Inc. (OTC: UNEQ) is a Nevada corporation that recently incorporated and registered a new subsidiary, Serpentcoin Limited (“SCL”), in the United Kingdom. Through this subsidiary, Uneeqo has a new focus – a peer-to-peer digital token called “SerpentCoin” built upon a distributed, decentralized public ledger that is viewable and easily audited by transacting parties through unbreakable, encrypted smart contracts.

SerpentCoin is built upon Cardano, a technologically superior blockchain platform developed from a scientific philosophy by a global team of leading academics and engineers. SerpentCoin’s design platform includes several mission critical elements that directly support this forward-thinking technology that is constantly evolving in a fast-moving space.

Projects under development include:

• Medusa – Each cryptocurrency requires a “wallet,” which is essentially a software application that can be installed on any computer or smartphone, to store tokens. SerpentCoin’s highly-engineered Medusa wallet will contain refined security features developed specifically for Cardano blockchain technology and protects assets with the most advanced cryptography. Medusa will not only support SerpentCoin tokens, but many others as well.
• Temple – Think of this as a “treasury” which underpins the long-term core value of SerpentCoin. On every transaction through the SerpentCoin platform, 1.5 percent will be deposited in the platform’s Temple. Each quarter, Guardians (or holders of SerpentCoin) will have the chance to vote on how these treasury funds are invested into identified healthcare projects and technologies that benefit humanity.
• Entwine – This refers to unbreakable smart contracts that allow SerpentCoin Guardians to make agreements on virtually anything while being assured the other party will meet its obligation. Through the use of double-deposit, theft is impossible, no escrow is needed, and no “middlemen” or websites are involved that could hold onto funds.

At the helm of the Uneeqo and SerpentCoin Limited team is Dr. Abel N J Haque, a business development professional with extensive experience in international business in the medical, technology and automotive sectors, as well as a leading consultant in regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Dr. Haque currently serves as an orthopaedic surgery technical consultant for Synergy Medical Technologies where he provides autologous stem cell cartilage transplants under contract to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, University College, Long. In the past, Dr. Haque has held various positions at Wright Medical Europe and Stryker Corporation, along with many of its mergers and acquisitions.

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

• Announces expansion of cryptocurrency and blockchain education business into China
• Set to provide 24/7 coverage of the latest developments in global cryptocurrency and blockchain industry
• Launching Bitcoin Trading Academy to grow subscribers

ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) recently announced its expansion into China through the establishment of NewCoins168.com Digital Media Technology Ltd., located in Shanghai (http://ibn.fm/Ay6qa). This wholly owned foreign enterprise is registered in the China Free Trade Zone with capital of 10 million RMB ($1.58 million). This expansion strengthens the company’s vision of becoming the premier financial information website for Chinese-speaking investors. CIIX prides itself on being an innovative company providing real-time market commentary, analysis and educational services in Chinese language character sets (traditional and simplified).

The company plans to hire 10 to 15 editors in Shanghai to work in conjunction with their United States counterparts at www.NewCoins168.com, which was established in November 2017 and is headquartered in New York City’s Trump Building. This joint effort between Shanghai and the United States editors will result in 24/7 coverage of the latest in global cryptocurrency and blockchain industry developments.

CIIX, through the NewCoins168.com platform, has established itself as a well-known cryptocurrency and blockchain technology information portal for the North American Chinese community. The addition of the Shanghai enterprise positions the company to bolster its popularity among the Chinese community worldwide.

CIIX Chief Executive Officer Warren Wang announced the company’s plans to launch a Bitcoin Trading Academy in June. It is expected to broadcast on NewCoins168.com. This academy will feature a three-level bitcoin trading course for Chinese-speaking investors in the U.S. (http://ibn.fm/CtAKw). These courses will consist of trading in bitcoin futures, educational research and an explanation of ICOs. The recent announcement to spin off CIIX’s CBD-focused assets into a private company allows CIIX to remain focused on financial consulting, corporate brand building and educational services for cryptocurrency markets. CIIX’s focus has returned to its core skills as a financial service business for the Chinese-speaking community.

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

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in March 2018, estimated ‘economic burden’ of opioid misuse at $78.5 billion annually
• ETST plans to complete white paper, begin human clinical trials by 2019; company intends to investigate drugs that combine mineral element and cannabinoid industrial hemp oil
• Goal for biotech company is to fight opioid addiction with over-the-counter (OTC) treatment drug and a cannabinoid companion generic drug

Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTC: ETST) is planning to fight opioid addiction in the near future by completing its white paper and beginning human clinical trials in 2019. The epidemic is projected to claim nearly 500,000 American lives by 2027, according to a study by STAT (http://ibn.fm/QW1hH).

The ETST white paper and planned human clinical studies deal with the measure of the efficacy of combination drugs against opioid dependency. The company will investigate the synergies between mineral elements and full spectrum cannabinoid industrial hemp with the goal of developing OTC and generic drugs that treat opioid addiction.

ETST is a biotech company focused on the cannabinoid, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets. In addition to drug research, it also performs R&D testing for medical devices. The company holds several subsidiaries, including Earth Science Pharmaceutical, Inc.; Cannabis Therapeutics, Inc.; KannaBidioiD, Inc.; and Canna Inno Laboratories, Inc., based in Montreal, Canada.

The company’s proposed OTC drug would be intended to reduce the cravings of opioid addicts. The other would be a generic designed to reduce the danger of side effects and make the first drug more effective, according to ETST. The purpose of the human trial is to develop a methodology that prevents fatal overdoses and relieves the side effects of withdrawal.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a March 2018 revised report, estimated the ‘economic burden’ of opioid misuse at $78.5 billion annually in the U.S., including in that figure health care, addiction treatment and the involvement of the justice system. The National Institute on Drug Abuse terms it a national health crisis (http://ibn.fm/x279M).

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

• Research firm Singular Research projects growth for EVIO, analyzing company’s aggressive expansion and noting performance of legal cannabis industry as tailwind
• Newly launched Canadian subsidiary EVIO Canada signs binding agreement to acquire 50 percent of Edmonton, Alberta-based Keystone Labs, Inc.
• EVIO Labs provides testing and scientific research for the regulated cannabis industry

EVIO, Inc. (OTCQB: EVIO) has launched a new wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, EVIO Canada, which concurrently signed a binding agreement to acquire 50 percent of Keystone Labs, Inc., a licensed testing facility for medical cannabis based in Edmonton, Alberta (http://ibn.fm/iauFB). Both the EVIO Labs division and Keystone Labs offer quality testing for the regulated cannabis industry.

EVIO’s aggressive expansion into new markets, and the growth of the cannabis industry, was cited by Singular Research as it projected EVIO, Inc. to reach $10 million in revenues by FY2019 (http://ibn.fm/J8Io4). It noted a New Frontier Data estimate that the U.S. legal cannabis market will grow to $24.1 billion by 2025 (http://ibn.fm/jNKYU).

EVIO, Inc. is a leading provider of cannabis testing and scientific research for the regulated cannabis industry. The company’s EVIO Labs division operates coast-to-coast, providing state-mandated ancillary services to ensure the safety and quality of the nation’s cannabis supply. EVIO is on track to have 18 of its state-of-the-art testing facilities by year-end 2018.

Keystone Labs is a contract-testing laboratory licensed to offer a wide array of testing services, including testing of medical cannabis. It holds a Health Canada Controlled Substance License and is a licensed Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) laboratory with a Health Canada license.

The launch of the new company and its binding agreement for acquisition marks EVIO’s first international expansion. Its aggressive growth was a key factor in the positive projections of Singular Research. The report cited favorable tailwinds in the cannabis sector and initiated its coverage with a $2 price target.

Singular offered analysis of EVIO’s aggressive expansion plans, citing its exploration of “opportunities in many regions including Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, and Canada.” It noted that the company also has aggressive plans to tap into California’s cannabis market.

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

• As of July 2017, the Federal Reserve Bank estimates the value of all consumer loans in the U.S. to be more than $1.3 trillion
• Total personal loan balances finished 2017 at $117 billion, up from 2016’s $102 billion
• Nation’s strong economy is helping to build consumer confidence in personal balance sheets, signaling strong performance across multiple credit product lines, including personal consumer loans
• “Mr. Amazing Loans” brand available online in 20 states, with plans to expand to additional states

Specialized fintech company and consumer loan provider IEG Holdings Corp. (OTCQB: IEGH) issues and services direct, unsecured personal loans under the brand name “Mr. Amazing Loans” through its state-licensed operating subsidiary, Investment Evolution Corporation. Residents of 20 states (and counting) are able to apply online for consumer loans of either $5,000 or $10,000 by simply going to the company’s website and application portal at www.MrAmazingLoans.com. With a fixed APR in the range of 12 percent to 29.9 percent with a non-revolving term of five years, Mr. Amazing Loans gives consumers the option of securing a loan without ever having to meet with a lender or pay extravagant payday lender rates.

As a licensed, direct lender with licenses or certificates of authority to lend in each state, Las Vegas-based IEGH originates, processes and services personal loans to a long line of satisfied, underbanked consumers who have limited access to credit from banks and credit card companies.

The latest data from consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion puts the size of the personal loans sector at $107 billion for the second quarter of 2017. That’s a 10.8 percent increase over the same quarter in 2016 and a 132 percent increase from 2012, as detailed in an article published by SuperMoney.com (http://ibn.fm/nRyQC). A 2016 Federal Reserve survey notes that 10 percent of respondents said they applied for a personal loan that year, leaving significant room for the industry’s growth (http://ibn.fm/Wrtlc).

SeeThruEquity reports that IEGH is also looking at tapping into a $28 billion remittance market in the Philippine economy. Nearly 10 million Filipinos work abroad each year and send much of that money back home to family members, often paying exorbitant transaction fees. A progressive regulatory climate in the Philippines is seen as a favorable opening for cryptocurrencies, the report states (http://ibn.fm/NGbye).

Company CEO Paul Mathieson said that the company seeks to enter the remittance services market through the launch of a cryptocurrency by Investment Evolution Coin Ltd. (“IEC Ltd.”), a Singapore-incorporated public unlisted company managed by Mathieson (http://ibn.fm/JPOJF). Through IEC, Mathieson is collaborating with HashCash Consultants, a California-based blockchain company, to launch a new cryptocurrency – Investment Evolution Coin – that aims to make it easier and more cost-effective for the millions of Filipinos who work abroad to send money home. Mathieson also announced IEG Holdings’ shareholders will be provided with an opportunity to attain shares in Investment Evolution Coin.

“We believe potentially combining the exciting new blockchain technology with a leading sophisticated online consumer finance system, individual U.S. state lending licenses and exposure to the Philippines $28 billion OFW remittance sector is a very exciting proposition,” Mathieson said in a new release (http://ibn.fm/5fRUL).

For more information, visit the company’s websites at www.InvestmentEvolution.com and http://ibn.fm/IEGH

• Revenues increased 11 percent during 2017, reaching $60.1 million on organic growth across all categories
• Point of sale market expected to reach $106 billion by 2025
• Global retail e-commerce sales to post solid gains, rising by more than 23 percent to $2.3 trillion by end of 2017 and accounting for 10 percent of total retail sales
• Net Element processed $2.8 billion in global transactions in 2017, a 14 percent increase
• Fast Pass Funding service unveiled on proprietary Netevia platform

Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE), a global technology and value-added solutions group focused on supporting electronic payments acceptance in a multichannel environment, continues to master the art of the transaction by delivering valuable payment solutions to merchants and consumers.

E-commerce continues to show a healthy growth pattern, as consumers are increasingly dedicated to using their mobile devices to make purchases. According to a report compiled by Accenture Consulting (http://ibn.fm/BF5bZ), consumer awareness of mobile payments is at an all-time high and first movers that deliver additional value to merchants and their customers will become the industry’s ‘game changers’.

Net Element’s new service, Fast Pass Funding, provided through the company’s proprietary Netevia platform (http://ibn.fm/LHPID), is just one of the company’s innovative value-added services offered to merchants who are tired of waiting for funding to be processed. Eligible merchants receive funds in as little as three hours during regular business days, avoiding the 12 to 24 hour wait-time they normally endure. Other value-added services offered through the Netevia platform include fast, easy merchant account opening and integration, payment conversion optimization, over 150 risk-monitoring filters and highly competitive pricing for payment acceptance services.

People around the world are expected to make 726 billion transactions using digital payment technologies by 2020, according to an article published by CNBC (http://ibn.fm/RqWqP). Based on analysis of payment trends during the years 2014 and 2015, the study – conducted by global consulting firm Capgemini – reported that debit cards accounted for the highest share of non-cash payments at 46.7 percent, while credit cards trailed behind at 19.5 percent. Non-cash transactions between 2014 and 2015 rose 11.2 percent, the highest growth of the past decade.

Net Element intends to capitalize on the mobile transaction market as it transforms to meet demands by consumers and merchants who pivot to embrace smart technology trends. The company’s key goals include continuing company growth in all key segments, driving client retention, expanding the company’s client base in particular markets, delivering value-added products to increase efficiencies and payment acceptance, continuing the development of Netevia and launching new tools to reach clients and deepen partner relations.

“We are very pleased with our 2017 progress and the strong balance sheet position as of December 31, 2017, which we believe positions the company for future growth and opportunities,” Firer said in a news release describing the company’s year in review and plans for 2018 (http://ibn.fm/3y9zf).

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

• Canada on-track to legalize cannabis plant derivatives for all potential uses this year
• U.S. Senate set to debate update to 2014 Farm Bill using research showing hemp’s agricultural promise
• Global Hemp Group pioneering new commercial-scale cultivation of hemp in New Brunswick

As pending legislation authorizing the cultivation of hemp without drug enforcement oversight opens the potential for U.S. federal government friendliness toward cannabis production, Global Hemp Group, Inc. (CSE: GHG) (FRANKFURT: GHG) (OTC: GBHPF) is busy pledging its visionary portfolio to the market for consumer goods arising from the cannabis species’ non-psychoactive varieties.

Global Hemp Group joined other players in the delicate industrial hemp arena in praising Sen. Mitch McConnell’s long-time efforts to remove low-psychoactive chemical plants from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s listing of controlled substances, as well as his recent announcement of a Hemp Farming Act Senate bill that would permanently reduce hemp to agricultural oversight (http://ibn.fm/O8EzD).

“It looks like the world of hemp in the US is about to enter a new phase and Global Hemp Group is proud to be part of this exciting new sector,” a company statement adds.

Global Hemp Group’s goal is to establish cooperation among companies interlinked in the production of hemp – an ancient domesticated crop that was once favored as a plantation crop in the United States for making paper, textiles, ropes and concrete, and that has an edible seed also millable for oils. Global Hemp Group’s joint venture with Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTC: MCOA) led to a plan to extract non-psychotropic cannabidiol (CBD) from industrial hemp cultivation for research purposes on the Acadian peninsula of New Brunswick, Canada, last year – the first time the plant had been grown in the region in 20 years. The research comprised the first phase of the companies’ plans to reintroduce large-scale commercial hemp cultivation in New Brunswick and establish a processing facility in the region, once it was determined that hemp could be productive there (http://ibn.fm/7EzjB).

The companies anticipate cultivating a minimum of 125 acres this year and increasing the amount of land to 1,000 acres within three years, building on the Canadian government’s drive to legalize cannabis crops for all potential applications later this year. Global Hemp Group is also preparing to build permanent processing facilities by the fall, beginning with an initial crop focused on CBD extraction but working toward the purchase of extraction equipment to obtain other types of cannabinoids and straw processed for use in building materials.

“We are excited to complete the first phase of industrial hemp trials in Canada, and we look forward to continue expanding operations in Canada,” Marijuana Company of America CEO Donald Steinberg stated last month amid the news of the New Brunswick project’s advance. “Our joint venture with (Global Hemp Group) allows (Marijuana Company of America) the opportunity to expand the Company’s operations on an international level. Both Companies are excited about the endless possibilities for hemp derived CBD product this year in Canada.”

In the United States, Sen. McConnell took the first step toward re-legalizing hemp in 2014 by using his leadership position in the Senate to support hemp pilot programs in the Farm Bill. Since then, the research has shown hemp’s potential as an agricultural commodity, according to the senator’s office (http://ibn.fm/E4xw3), and his 2018 update to the Farm Bill would build on that research. While the pending bill is being promoted in concert with Kentucky’s efforts to revitalize its historical agriculture industry, hemp de-listing also has significant potential for the West, especially in Colorado, where more hemp is grown than anywhere else in the country and a pioneering farmer introduced the efficacy of growing a commercial-scale industrial hemp crop, according to a report by High Plains Public Radio (http://ibn.fm/UEBil).

Existing law prohibits U.S. farmers from growing hemp with more than 0.3 percent THC — the most psychoactive chemical in the cannabis byproducts that produce the marijuana drug. If tests show that a hemp crop has more than the allowable level of THC, the farmer is required by law to destroy it and bear the costs. A representative of the Colorado Department of Agriculture told High Plains Public Radio that controlling THC levels is only a challenge currently because the revitalized U.S. hemp industry is still in its infancy, and that new hemp varieties have already been developed that cannot produce more than the legal amount of THC.

Hemp has a wide variety of potential applications. The Hemp Industries Association estimated annual retail value for hemp products in the United States at $573 million in 2015 (http://ibn.fm/gma2b). Of the total market, the largest percentage of products involved personal care items, with estimated sales of $146.8 million, followed by industrial applications at $116.2 million.

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