• Worldwide cannabis market expected to reach between $30 billion and $50 billion within four years
• Patent protected disruptive technology enables more efficient delivery and absorption of cannabinoids
• Groundbreaking delivery technology DehyraTECH™ positions Lexaria as potential M&A prospect

Lexaria BioScience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQB: LXRP), a Canadian biosciences company that has developed delivery technologies to improve absorption of bioactive compounds, including cannabinoids, now has multiple patents pending in over 40 countries around the world. The company’s first patents, issued in the United States and Australia, relate to edible forms of cannabinoids or CBDs. Hot off a winning presentation at the 2017 Marijuana Business Conference & Expo (MJBizCon) in Las Vegas, Lexaria’s chairman and CEO Chris Bunka offered some thoughts on the future of cannabis during an interview with The Street at the LD Micro conference in Los Angeles last week.

“The market potential of cannabis is really exploding worldwide, it’s not just an American phenomenon, it’s happening in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Australia, all over the world,” Bunka told The Street’s Kinsey Grant (http://dtn.fm/8WNgf). “It’s expected to be in the $30-$50 billion range in the next three to four years … and growing very, very rapidly.”

Lexaria BioScience’ss groundbreaking technology is specifically created for the delivery of APIs, or active pharmaceutical ingredients, found in cannabis, vitamins, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and, even, nicotine.

“We effectively help CBDs get into the bloodstream more rapidly and more efficiently than they otherwise can,” Bunka told Grant in the interview. “We’ve developed this technology – we’re really a research and development company – and we license it off to other companies that have expertise in developing consumer products or cannabis-related products, and they utilize our technology to make those products better.”

The company’s DehydraTECH™ proprietary technology is not only cost effective, it has been proven to enhance the performance of beneficial compounds in ingestible products (http://dtn.fm/tWdB2). An edible cannabinoid product, for instance, becomes better tasting, better smelling, has better bioavailability and absorption, and lasts longer when Lexaria’s patented delivery technology is utilized. Because Lexaria’s technology enables or works with all ingested forms of cannabinoids, the company is seen as an attractive partner with various biotech companies conducting cannabinoid research and development, and it could be an equally attractive acquisition target (http://dtn.fm/Ur8Ya).

Lexaria research and development partnership with the Canadian government’s National Research Council underscores the significance of its unique technology. Results from the endeavor are expected to support accelerating B2B relationships – and not just in the booming cannabis and CBD/hemp oil industry. Much more can be done to enhance and enable delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients in a wide variety of important health-related fields, offering Lexaria additional future growth potential.

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

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• Company plans to start processing cannabis payments from subsidiary SingleSeed Payments by January 2018
• Goal is to build a fully integrated solution for cannabis businesses to help manage day-to-day operations from beginning to end
• SING plans more acquisitions in 2018, investing a significant amount of equity and cash into additional companies

SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) has been cited by the The Greensheet Online Edition for building a “soup-to-nuts” platform for payment processing in the cryptocurrency and cannabis industries (http://dtn.fm/5bZVE). The goal, according to Wil Ralston, SING president, is to have a “fully integrated solution for businesses to manage their day-to-day operations from beginning to end.” Greensheet prominently mentioned SinglePoint in a section titled, “Workarounds Emerging.” It detailed how SinglePoint is a company offering solutions to the cryptocurrency and cannabis industries.

“We already have all the pieces in place to get a credit-debit card solution up and running,” Ralston said. He added that SING is experimenting with a mobile solution for payment processing from subsidiary SingleSeed Payments. It focuses on cannabis dispensaries that have a proprietary bitcoin exchange. “We hope to start processing by mid-January,” he said.

SING also announced that, in 2018, it will continue its growth strategy of pursuing more joint ventures and the closing of new deals within existing agreements. The goal is to solve key issues in the cannabis industry (http://dtn.fm/JD2go).

SING has been acquiring technologies and companies that will eventually support a comprehensive platform for the cannabis industry, with the goal of providing a single platform to manage all operations for companies in the cannabis industry.

SinglePoint is a mobile, high-technology company offering payment processing solutions in high-risk markets, such as the legal cannabis industry. SING is a publicly-traded holding company building its portfolio of undervalued subsidiaries. The cannabis market operates independently of conventional banking. It uses its own proprietary technology to process transactions in bitcoin for the “unbankable” cannabis industry.

The company has already made a number of acquisitions, such as SingleSeed, Convectium and Discount Industry Garden Supply (DIGS). It also strengthened its position in the cannabis and cryptocurrency markets through its recent joint venture agreement with AppSwarm (OTC: SWRM). The agreement calls on the two companies to start development of a proprietary delivery application that will enable licensed delivery services and licensed dispensaries to safely make in-home deliveries.

After achieving a $100 million market cap in December 2017, SING plans continued growth through acquisitions in 2018. Its management remains bullish on bitcoin and blockchain technologies that solve key issues in the cannabis markets. SING will look for additional companies to acquire and partner with in order to bring solutions to this market.

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

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• Millions of people in North America report major depression concerns
• Sage Therapeutics drug trials return dramatic data
• Testing phase targets central nervous system biomolecule receptors

Biopharmaceutical company Sage Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAGE) is reporting optimism over recent product testing in its efforts to reduce the debilitating effects of central nervous system disorders such as depression in its varied forms. Company CEO Jeff Jonas told a CNBC interviewer this month that he’s hopeful a pill now known as SAGE-217 may even become as prominently recognized as Prozac in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), or clinical depression (http://dtn.fm/p80OC).

“What we saw in this study was a reduction to such a degree that two-thirds of the patients nearly achieved remission, which is elimination of depressive systems, by two weeks… I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen data this dramatic in a mid-stage trial,” Jonas said during the ‘Power Lunch’ interview.

MDD reportedly affects millions of people in North America, the principle geographical region where it is recognized and treated globally. In 2015, nearly seven percent of U.S. adults reported episodes of MDD that affected aspects of their lives including appetite, sleep, interest in once-enjoyable activities, ability to reason and act, and, in some cases, their will to live, according to Healthline Media (http://dtn.fm/2rbKm).

“There are currently significant gaps in the disease management of depression and our development goal at Sage is to change patients’ expectations by transforming the treatment landscape for MDD,” Dr. Steve Kanes, chief medical officer for Sage Therapeutics, stated in a December news release (http://dtn.fm/7oCR9).

In November, Sage Therapeutics reported its lead experimental product for intravenously treating postpartum depression — brexanolone, or SAGE-547 — helped women with moderate to severe afflictions by statistically significant margins over placebo in third-stage testing (http://dtn.fm/bD69X). SAGE-217 has just completed smaller scale second-stage testing, but Jonas said the company is confident that the positive results will continue through the next phase of trials as it works with the FDA on potential market approval.

SAGE-217 would offer a side effect and efficacy profile distinct from any other product, as the company works on “brand new science” to calm down the brain, according to Jonas.

“The one challenge is that people are going to have to clear their minds of the old style of thinking about what … anti-depressants do and what they need to do. So we’re going to have to be very innovative in designing our Phase 3 program. We obviously will need one, and that’s the work we’re undertaking right now,” he said.

The company’s products target gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) system receptors in the central nervous system, which are responsible for reducing neuronal excitability and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) system receptors in nerve cells. The double-blind SAGE-217 test involved 89 eligible patients who reported no serious or severe adverse side effects during the trials involving the neuroactive steroid’s effects on the GABA system. In addition to MDD, the trials analyze the drug’s response to postpartum depression and to the movement disorders essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease.

The company’s portfolio includes anticipated product trials for SAGE-718, which will target “cerebrosterol deficit disorders, Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis and other indications involving NMDA receptor hypofunction” in the hope of eventually developing ways of treating conditions such as depression, Alzheimer’s disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, Huntington’s disease, and neuropathic pain.

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

• Developing blockchain platform for oil and gas industry
• Distributed ledger technology to reduce transaction costs
• Now a member of Enterprise Ethereum Alliance

Blockchain deployment is still new, with a world of opportunities for application. Cloud providers are already moving to offer it as an enterprise service (http://dtn.fm/lM2l6). Petroteq Energy Inc. (TSX.V: PQE) (OTCQX: PQEFF) is out to disrupt the oil and gas industry with its new blockchain platform for supply chain management. The platform, to be developed in conjunction with First Bitcoin Capital Corp. (OTC: BITCF), holds the promise of drastically reducing operating costs for the industry. At present, oil is traded through a diverse network of producers, suppliers, contractors, subcontractors, refiners and retailers in such large volumes that tracking the movement of crude is a Sisyphean task. However, the new platform, by employing blockchain technology, will be able to represent physical supplies of crude by digital assets, which remain digitally attached throughout the supply chain journey.

In November 2017, Petroteq Energy announced a co-development agreement with First Bitcoin Capital Corp., under which the companies will develop the new supply chain management platform based on advanced blockchain technology. The new platform, called PetroBloq (www.PetroBloq.com), offers the promise of improving efficiency, transparency and security in the oil and gas industry. According to the company, “PetroBloq will be the first blockchain based platform developed exclusively for the supply chain needs of the oil and gas sector. PetroBloq users will enjoy cost and time savings, increased transparency and the ability to mitigate the constantly evolving geopolitical atmosphere and market fluctuations.”

Presently, the industry relies on an extensive global supply chain that includes domestic and international transportation, ordering, inventory management and control, materials handling, import and export facilitation, refining and information technology. Due to the size and complexity of this system, accurate information is difficult to compile and is usually outdated by the time it is verified and published. However, with blockchain technology transactions for product trades and transfers can be instantly verified across an entire global network without reliance on a central reconciling authority, potentially reducing operating costs, more securely storing and managing data and speeding up the processing of transactions.

A study by Deloitte proffers one example of how the oil and gas industry might benefit from employing blockchain (http://dtn.fm/Kl9x6). By issuing digital tokens with names, perhaps, like Brent or WTI (for West Texas Intermediate), a blockchain-distributed ledger could be used to trade barrels of oil. These tokens would represent the underlying asset (a barrel of oil) and would remain digitally attached throughout the supply chain journey. By using tokens in a blockchain, payment could be processed more quickly, paperwork such as title transfers would be eliminated and disputed transactions would be significantly reduced. Currently, around nine percent of crude oil transactions are disputed, which equates to around $150 billion annually.

Petroteq is moving ahead quickly with its blockchain initiative. On December 4, 2017, it announced that it had joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), the world’s largest open-source blockchain network (http://dtn.fm/ylZn1). The EEA brings together over 500 enterprises and experts to discuss and develop the ethereum framework, which is currently the only blockchain running in real-world production that supports smart contracts. A smart contract is a program, which encodes the terms of an agreement and is stored, replicated and supervised by a network of computers running a blockchain.

Petroteq has also announced that it is now a member of the API, or American Petroleum Institute (http://dtn.fm/lNIq1). The API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry. It promotes safety across the industry globally and attempts to influence public policy in support of a strong, viable oil and natural gas industry.

Petroteq Energy is also involved in the development and implementation of proprietary technologies for the environmentally safe extraction of heavy oils from oil sands, oil shale deposits and shallow oil deposits. The company has already revolutionized extraction methodology with its introduction of a unique, environmentally safe, continuous flow, closed loop technology – a first in North America and probably in the world – that requires no tailings ponds. With its new blockchain initiative, it is promising to bring that same innovative approach to oil and gas supply chain management.

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

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• Role playing games (RPG) in casino- and movie-themed applications are one of four revenue streams for diverse SWRM, which leverages its large studio relationships
• Management of SWRM hopes to achieve revenues of roughly $7 million by FY2018; company recently entered cannabis mobile app market in joint venture focused on blockchain technology and bitcoin payment options
• Market for virtual reality games is projected to grow to $40 billion by 2020, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 61.3 percent over five years

AppSwarm, Inc. (OTC: SWRM) markets unique and niche offerings in the role playing games (RPG) market, giving players specialized titles such as ‘Avenging Soldiers’ on Google Play; ‘Komandir – War Front VR’, a virtual reality shooting game; ‘Soccers’, available on the App Store; ‘Dead Uncleansed’ and ‘Turtles, Huh?’.

This market is just one of the revenue streams for AppSwarm, which boasts a growing portfolio of mobile game titles. ‘Avenging Soldiers’ generates sales from in-app purchases that gamers buy to accelerate game play. It boasts four different characters and five unique weapons.

‘Komandir – War Front VR’ puts SWRM in the virtual reality gaming market and is available on Google Play and the App Store. A virtual reality shooting game, it allows players to enjoy a 360-degree immersive gaming environment. It works with numerous VR headsets and offers a number of exciting features, including auto shoot, auto zoom-in and zoom-out and auto aim. This sophisticated game offers users a full battle scene.

SWRM is a high-technology application acceleration firm which engages in joint ventures as well as marketing and developing in the multi-platform games industry. Interactive development and joint ventures play an important role in the company’s growth strategy. Management of the company projects revenues of $6 million to $7 million by FY2018, according to Ron Brewer, CEO and director of AppSwarm (http://dtn.fm/Hng3G).

The company’s management team recently used its business and technical expertise to enter the cannabis mobile app market through its partnership with SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING). The two firms have agreed to conduct a shared rollout of mobile applications (http://dtn.fm/U5Imv). These are specifically focused on solving issues is the cannabis space using blockchain technology and bitcoin payment options. The apps will be available where legal and feasible, but not in all 50 states.

According to SuperData Research, as quoted by Virtual Reality Reporter, the virtual reality video games market is expected to reach $40 billion by 2020, with a nine-fold jump in households that have at least one VR device (http://dtn.fm/Eai55). The dollar growth shown by SuperData Research reflects a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 61.3 percent. The report finds that platforms driving the growth will be PC ($16.3 billion), mobile ($15.6 billion) and console ($8.5 billion). Software sales in virtual reality are projected to reach $24.5 billion by 2020, with $15.9 billion in hardware sales.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.App-Swarm.com

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• Demand for lithium expected to increase by over 300 percent by 2025
• Standard Lithium has a strong technical team to process established reserves
• The company is exploring other potentially highly lucrative reserves

On the back of the growing global demand for cleaner energy, lithium producers are leading the way by providing the essential element for batteries in electric cars. Fortune magazine reports that the production of electric cars will increase by almost three percent by 2020 and 10 percent by 2025 (http://dtn.fm/fD813). The demand for lithium is set to increase by more than 300 percent over the next eight years, prompting lithium mining companies to step up their efforts for a leading position on the market. Already a prominent lithium developer, Vancouver-based energy exploration and development company Standard Lithium Ltd. (TSX.V: SLL) (FRA: S5L) (OTCQX: STLHF) is expanding its operations and recently announced an expansion of its lithium brine project in California.

The company announced on December 11, 2017, that it has installed six new separate evaporation ponds at its Bristol Dry Lake property in the Mojave Desert of California. Standard Lithium is taking advantage of the region’s record-high evaporation rates to pre-concentrate brines produced from the project, from where it will be shipped to the company’s testing and processing facilities located at three campuses across North America. In addition, Standard Lithium is undertaking drilling work with four exploration boreholes completed and two more planned. Preliminary results equal and exceed historic data, with the full QA and QC results to be released in the first half of 2018.

The Bristol Dry Lake project covers an area of over 33,000 acres including both patented and placer mineral claims and private property. Recently acquired geophysical data indicates that the basin is deep and expansive. Historical drill samples have shown lithium contents of over 100mg/l over the drilled interval. Bristol Dry Lake is an established mining area with world class infrastructure at the project, paved road and rail access, water and electricity. Standard Lithium has inked agreements with two of the established brine producers in the region, National Chloride Corporation of America and TETRA Technologies (NYSE: TTI), to explore and develop the area for potential lithium production. Under the agreements, the company can conduct exploration, brine sampling, extraction, evaporation and process testing.

Standard Lithium has brought together a strong team of scientists and process engineers to advance the project by applying a hybrid approach, utilizing both conventional and modern extraction processes. With a focus on producing high-quality lithium at low cost to meet global demand, Standard Lithium’s mission is to develop lithium resources that can be brought into production quickly while minimizing project and process risks.

Standard Lithium has also entered into an agreement to explore the highly promising brines over an area of approximately 30,000 acres in the Smackover Formation, which transverses Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. This offers a low-risk investment with good potential returns in a region with well understood geology. It also has a long history of brine production and the infrastructure for profitable mineral extraction. Historical analysis of the Arkansas Smackover Fromation showed a lithium content of 365mg/l.

Lithium is set to become a highly valuable commodity as the world turns to vehicles driven by electric batteries instead of fossil fuels and, also, with the exponential increase in the use of mobile devices. As the global demand for lithium takes off, producers around the world are expected to have a hard time keeping up, resulting in a market deficit. Standard Lithium has secured reserves to process and will continue to develop other opportunities to meet worldwide demand.

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

• Net Element, Inc. shares registered an initial increase of over 300 percent after the announcement of a new blockchain unit
• The project will be executed in partnership with Bunker Capital
• Net Element’s move follows several similar announcements and the growth of the cryptocurrency market to over $600 billion in December 2017

Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) saw an increase in shares of over 300 percent on December 19, 2017, after the company announced the launch of a new blockchain-based business unit. Eventually, the initial increase slowed down, but company shares were still up around 254 percent at the time of Market Insider’s report the next day (http://dtn.fm/fKUr5).

Net Element is a technology-driven enterprise aimed at developing specialized mobile payment solutions and transaction services. Some of the company’s key developments include restaurant point of sale solutions, retail and mobile point of sale solutions, analytical tools, sales partner solutions, online payment tools and mobile transaction technologies.

The blockchain-focused business unit will become a decentralized ecosystem that will establish the framework for the provision of new Net Element value-added services. Blockchain technology will be relied on to establish the direct connection between a buyer and a merchant. Thus, the efficiency and simplicity of transactions in the system will increase.

Additionally, Net Element has announced that the new unit will invest in new projects aimed at decentralizing payment processes. These projects will preferably combine real world applications and blockchain cryptocurrencies to address a growing market need.

In November 2017, the global cryptocurrency market surpassed the $300 billion mark (http://dtn.fm/TYIj5). The new development was the result of a massive surge in the price of bitcoin, as well as ethereum. As of December, the market capitalization for cryptocurrencies reached $600 billion, a remarkable surge from $17 billion in January 2017 (http://dtn.fm/1Wmzv). The rapid upward shift is demonstrative of the growing interest in blockchain adoption and cryptocurrency payments.

Experts predict that major cryptocurrencies are here to stay (http://dtn.fm/uaY38). Some also suggest that brand new cryptocurrencies will enter the big game in 2018 and beyond. While it’s impossible to determine how many blockchain protocols will survive and thrive, the market still has room available for new players.

Net Element CEO Oleg Firer said that we’re currently at the dawn of an evolution that focuses on innovative digital payment methods. The creation of the company’s new blockchain unit will increase transparency and compliance assurance. The unit will also enable the provision of value-added services to over 20 million ecommerce clients that are already relying on Net Element services.

The deployment of Net Element’s blockchain technology unit will occur in partnership with Bunker Capital – a company that describes itself as a cryptocurrency pioneer. The company’s range of services includes preparation and promotion of ICOs, as well as strategic investment banking and consulting in the field of cryptocurrency adoption. Bunker Capital CEO Remy Jacobson said in a news release that the company is looking forward to its joint project with Net Element for the purpose of developing innovative blockchain solutions in the payment industry.

Net Element’s announcement isn’t the first one in the field of blockchain technology adoption. A Chinese company called Future Fintech Group (NASDAQ: FTFT) previously announced that it will be making a switch from selling juices to cryptocurrency financial technology development. Company shares saw an almost immediate increase of 221 percent.

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

• New cryptocurrency app allows cannabis dispensaries to accept electronic bitcoin payments
• Legal marijuana market predicted to hit $24.5 billion in North America by 2021
• Convergence of cryptocurrency and cannabis industry meet in SingleSeed subsidiary

Publicly traded holding company SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) and its innovative SingleSeed app – designed to allow cannabis dispensaries and customers to exchange funds using debit and credit cards via the vehicle of bitcoin – is singled out in a CNBC article highlighting the industry’s ongoing need for an alternative banking solution (http://dtn.fm/eZr6X).

Three years ago, SinglePoint placed terminals in medical marijuana dispensaries, so consumers could use a debit card to make purchases. The convenient terminals “were going great,” SinglePoint CEO Wil Ralston states. “Then overnight the banks shut them all down. There were no guidelines about how banks were supposed to interact with the cannabis industry. They didn’t want to risk it.”

It was obvious banks didn’t want to handle legal marijuana transactions, Ralston notes, which meant cannabis retailers and consumers were forced to bring cash to the table, and it was apparent that an alternative payment form was desperately needed. The addition of the SingleSeed app to the cannabis market could solve the industry’s glaring “unbankable” problem, since dispensaries and consumers alike could use the app to accept and make purchases using bitcoin.

Soft launched in mid-November with an emphasis on the marijuana industry, the SingleSeed app can also be utilized by any business (http://dtn.fm/n4UwO). Ralston notes that 14 percent of the nation’s population doesn’t have access to a traditional banking system either because they don’t have credit or are involved in a high-risk business.

“Blockchain is applicable to any industry,” Ralston said. “We’re letting consumers know, this is just an additional way to pay.”

Legal marijuana sales are on track to hit $9.7 billion in North America by the end of 2017, a 33 percent increase over 2016, with industry analysts predicting that the market could fetch upward of $24.5 billion in sales by 2021, according to an article in Business Insider (http://dtn.fm/Uk7hc). Marijuana is legal in some form in 29 states and the District of Columbia, while Canada is poised to make the highly regulated plant legal for nationwide adult-use sales by July 2018. Cannabis remains illegal on the federal level in the United States.

SingleSeed is fully KYC-AML compliant and can be used by any business. For marijuana vendors specifically, it can be utilized within any of the states where marijuana currently has a legal status. It is designed as a payment service that enables instant bitcoin-powered purchases using credit and debit cards. Through a user-friendly signup form and ID verification, customers can set up accounts online prior to visiting a cannabis merchant, or they can sign up in just seconds at the point of sale (http://dtn.fm/9wbNd).

The cannabis industry could be one of the first to fully blend cryptocurrencies into its day-to-day business operations. For those seeking alternative forms of payment, SinglePoint’s unique SingleSeed app offers an intriguing option.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.SinglePoint.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SinglePointMobile
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Singlepoint_

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• U.S. medical and recreational marijuana sales are projected to reach $24.5 billion by 2025
• REFG has pioneered a first-of-its-kind payment system tailored specifically to the underserved legal cannabis industry with planned expansion to integrate cryptocurrency payments
• Growth trends continue amid widespread legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use

As trends continue toward increased awareness regarding the potential health benefits of cannabinoids, as well as widespread legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use, Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTC: REFG) is positioned as a pioneer at the forefront of a multi-billion dollar market. Serving both medical and recreational dispensaries and related businesses, the company is able to compete in various and widely-underserved verticals with solutions specifically tailored to the cannabis industry.

Within the current multi-billion dollar and rapidly-growing industry (New Frontier Data projects U.S. medical and recreational marijuana sales will reach $24.5 billion by 2025) (http://dtn.fm/8hK4d), REFG is a frontrunner in the booming market that is vying to match growing demand with full spectrum solutions.

In response to the need for a private encrypted digital solution, REFG is positioned in the industry as a first-tier merchant processing pioneer. REFG, through subsidiary StateSourced, has launched the first and only comprehensive card processing system of its kind. With considerable investment in market research and product development, the company specifically tailored the new technology to serve cannabis industry vendors and end users with security, convenience and sector-specific customized tools. The result is a completely-integrated, state-of-the-art platform that empowers businesses by leveraging capabilities to track sales and tax collection with industry-customized tools and advanced capabilities for comprehensive client management.

Within the system, REFG will earn revenues in the form of a percentage of all financial transactions. In addition, the company is further expanding processing options to enable cryptocurrency payments. To bring this solution to market, REFG has partnered with First Bitcoin Capital Corporation (OTC: BITCF) to integrate Weed Coin cryptocurrency (“$Weed”). This expansion will provide more options to meet the changing demands of the market, as well as current and comprehensive payment methods to enable payment processing via both debit cards and prominent cryptocurrencies like $Weed and bitcoin.

With projected growth trends, widespread legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use and increased opportunities to effectively participate in commerce with a variety of prominent payment processing options, REFG is well-positioned as an industry leader in the rapidly-growing market.

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

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• Global mobile gaming revenues expected to reach over $40 billion in 2017
• Mobile gaming revenues forecast to grow at a CAGR of 6.2 percent through 2020
• Tapinator has developed over 300 mobile games, which have been downloaded more than 450 million times

Mobile gaming is the fastest growing sector in the gaming market, and a recent study predicts that worldwide 2017 mobile gaming revenues will reach over $40 billion, representing a 33 percent increase over 2015 (http://dtn.fm/6lqkP). This market is driven by exponential growth in sales of smartphones and tablets, the corresponding increase of mobile device use and rising income levels. A Global Games Market Report issued by Newzoo forecasts that mobile gaming will soon form over 50 percent of the total gaming market, growing at a CAGR of 6.2 percent through 2020 (http://dtn.fm/87fB3).

Founded in 2013, Tapinator, Inc. (OTCQB: TAPM) is uniquely positioned to capture a leading role in this growing market, having already developed and published over 300 mobile games that have been downloaded more than 450 million times from Google Play, the App Store and Amazon platforms. The company aims to solidify and increase its market share by focusing on mergers and acquisitions within this sector.

Tapinator has created a selection of best-in-class, full-featured games that includes ‘ROCKY™’ and ‘Solitaire Dash’, providing in-depth and unique content that promotes long-term player retention and targets high ROI. The company envisages the potential for full-featured games to have a product lifespan of over five years, producing franchise-type revenues of more than $100 million. It uses proprietary processes for games development and marketing, which factor in projected player retention and profitability.

Tapinator’s team of developers, strategists and product specialists focuses on combining gameplay elements with best-in-class monetization methods. It recently launched two full-featured titles, ‘Big Sport Fishing 2017’ and ‘Dice Mage 2’. ‘Big Sport Fishing 2017’ experienced more than 520,000 global downloads during its first seven days following launch. The company also has new titles scheduled for release in Q4 2017 and the first and second quarters of 2018, including ‘Divide and Conquer’, ‘ColorFill’ and ‘Fusion Heroes’. It also recently launched ‘Fidget Spinner Superhero’ and ‘Scary Shark Evolution 3D’, two highly popular games within its Rapid-Launch Games division.

To accelerate its growth, Tapinator is investigating opportunities to develop virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) games, as recent reports predict that the VR market will reach $30 billion and the AR sector $120 billion by 2020. On November 28, 2017, the company reported that its Rapid-Launch game ‘Virtual Mom: Happy Family 3D’ ranked among the top 100 games in the United States on Google Play. This game was downloaded by more than 600,000 players since its launch on November 8, and it was featured as the number 34 top game in Brazil, number 97 in Russia and number 102 in China. In a news release, Tapinator CEO Ilya Nikolayev disclosed the company’s intention to build on this success by releasing extra content and expanding its ‘Happy Family’ game series.

Apart from the direct revenue realized from game downloads and app store purchases, Tapinator derives 54 percent of its revenue from advertising placed within mobile games. Advertising is restricted to placements between game levels, and the company runs rewarded video ad units, tied directly into the currency of each game. Tapinator has set its sights on achieving an annual booking growth target of over 30 percent for the period from 2017 to 2019.

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

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