• Negotiated partnerships provide PGAS, through its subsidiaries, with growth in the energy field and expansion into Nigeria and Cypress, Greece
• Physical trading in oil commodities and logistics is the company’s core business; it makes strategic investments, then operates subsidiaries separately as standalone businesses, leveraging transactions with other company sectors and third parties
• Company also owns and operates a fleet of tankers through a series of Marshall Islands-based subsidiaries that provide sea transportation for oil and liquefied natural gas

Petrogress, Inc. (OTC: PGAS) is growing and maximizing shareholder value by negotiating partnerships, such as those in Nigeria and Cypress (Greece), while also planning for expansion in its tanker business and oil commodities and liquefied natural gas sea transportation (http://ibn.fm/8qfQG).

Most recently, the company’s subsidiary, Petrogress Int’l LLC (“PIL”), entered into a partnership agreement with A&E Petroleum Co. to jointly form and operate a corporation to be named P&A Nigeria Oil Co. Limited (“PANOC”). The combined company’s stated goal is to engage in oil and gas opportunities in Nigeria while also operating storage tank facilities, providing sea transportation and distribution, and facilitating the sale of gas, oil and other petroleum products (http://ibn.fm/5Z6G4).

In a news release, Christos P. Traios, CEO of Petrogress, said, “Our companies’ combined facilities, assets and services are not only expected to provide for enhanced revenue streams, but also ensure our future in this important international market.”

PGAS is a New York-based, fully integrated oil and natural gas energy company with offices in Piraeus, Greece, and Tema, Ghana. PGAS holds subsidiaries, including Petrogress Co. Limited, Patronav Carriers LLC, and Petrogress Oil & Gas Energy Inc. Petrogress’ vision is to be a vertically-integrated energy company. To achieve a more focused approach in management and enable these subsidiaries to pursue individual growth strategies, the company is separating its shipping business and petroleum sales.

The company is also divided into distinct groups. Its upstream group consists of oil resources and exploration. The midstream group represents its product fleet carriers. Its downstream group features its refinery and finished products. Finally, its liquefied group hosts its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sea transportation operations.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: Petrogress, Inc. Message Board

• Company successfully emerges from three-year bankruptcy process to relaunch its proprietary imaging system and once again seek FDA approval
• Medical imaging industry is expected to grow to more than $55 billion by 2025
• The Dominion VI SmartScan™ has virtually infinite potential applications not only for medical imaging and diagnostics, but also in multiple other industries

Imaging3, Inc. (OTCQB: IGNG), a development stage company targeting disruptive technologies in the medical imaging industry, is set to revolutionize the market via proprietary technology offering significant advancements in real-time 3D imaging. The unique technology could prove to be a game changer in the growing medical imaging market, which is expected to reach $55.7 billion worldwide by 2025 as a result of an exponential increase in the use of portable diagnostic devices and the growing prevalence of chronic and sedentary lifestyle diseases (http://ibn.fm/LCXqA).

Founded in 1993, Imaging, Inc. has successfully overcome some difficult challenges to pursue a 510K with the Food and Drug Administration. The Burbank, California-based company might sound familiar to seasoned investors, as it was a popular stock with more than 14,000 investors trading a few years ago. Its lead product and proprietary technology, the Dominion VI SmartScan™, is a patented fluoroscopic device with the capability of producing real-time 3D images, including multi-axis slice through views like a CT, but much faster and with significantly lower radiation exposure to patients. The system is fully portable and works off of any standard 110-volt energy source. In addition to imaging human parts, the Dominion has also imaged agricultural products over the past few months. These images are available on the company’s website (http://ibn.fm/wc2i6).

The Dominion was developed nearly 10 years ago, when Imaging3 was primarily focused on refurbishing C-arms, the fluoroscopes that have been the standard in the imaging industry over the past 40 years. Created with detailed knowledge of how fluoroscopes work and how they could be significantly improved, the Dominion differs from standard C-arms, as it has an O-ring design. The O-shape allows the “eye” – the cone x-ray which emits the low-level radiation – to entirely encircle the target subject or object. During that revolution movement, which can happen as quickly as one revolution per second, the eye is able to take multiple images. The standard approach is one image per degree for 360 degrees, but the number could be higher if required. The images are then assembled into a 3D image, which is displayed via proprietary software. Users can view the image in both 2D and 3D, and they can rotate it to view it from different angles, as well as slice through it in any direction.

The near-term potential uses for the Dominion VI SmartScan™ are virtually infinite, with opportunities available wherever a very fast (one second of imaging time), portable, low-radiation device that can display images like an x-ray or a CT would be to the benefit of a patient or health care provider. Obvious examples include the emergency room for triaging patients, in sports medicine clinics or sporting facilities, in any community in the U.S. or abroad where access to a CT is not readily available or the costs are prohibitive, and in settings where getting a better 3D view of a part of the body can enable the health care provider to do a better job or monitor progress. Additionally, there is significant potential for the device to aid in real-time imaging for minimally-invasive surgery.

The Imaging3 team is confident that it can revolutionize the imaging space with the Dominion VI SmartScan™. The company has already been approached by several industries outside of the medical arena, with security, agriculture, food, transportation and veterans’ organizations each expressing interest in the product.

Imaging3’s work on the revolutionary device several years ago raised a great deal of attention in the industry, and hopes for FDA approval were high. However, the company’s 510K submission was rejected at the time because it failed to provide adequate support to justify claims that exceeded the capabilities of the devices submitted as predicates — comparable devices used in the 510K process. Furthermore, it was discovered that the company’s founder and CEO had committed fraud by not divulging negative FDA feedback to the directors and officers of the company. As a result, the company was forced to seek protection under federal bankruptcy laws.

The company worked through a three-year bankruptcy process and a Securities and Exchange Commission-mandated self-remediation, both of which were completed last year. In November of 2017, the company received a letter from the Division of Corporate Finance of the SEC stating that it, at that time, had no further comments on the company’s post-bankruptcy periodic reports. With that behind it, the company once again focused on preparing the Dominion for FDA review. The company completed the first half of the FDA preparation last year by enlisting one of the leading regulatory consulting companies to conduct an evaluation of the Dominion software. The hardware evaluation, expected to include hazard testing and take roughly three months, is yet to be completed. Once these assessments are finalized, the company will compile the new 510K and submit for review by the FDA. The company hopes to file in the first half of the year.

Subsequent to its emergence from bankruptcy and completion of the SEC self-remediation process, the Imaging3 board recognized the need to start building out a team capable of managing the FDA 510K process to successful completion. With 30 years of health care experience in pharmaceutical, biotech and device companies, including management of public companies listed on the OTC, new CEO John Hollister is prepared to lead this effort. Last month, Hollister and Imaging3 announced the formation of a scientific advisory board, with the first two members being well-respected and experienced radiologists.

Parallel to its FDA efforts, Imaging3 will be busy assessing which of the many potential markets will be the first target for its proprietary technology, while also focusing on designing the final product. The current working model is a prototype that facilitates testing and development, but it is not meant for final production. The company’s management believes that these efforts will result in the first commercial placements in the first quarter of 2019.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Imaging3.com

• Drug delivery platform ideal for M&A-driven growth
• $80 billion global dermatology market
• $30 billion global over-the-counter skincare market
• Half of the 100 million surgeries performed in the U.S. require post-surgical pain medication, according to Transparency Market Research report

If history repeats itself, as we are often told, then Skinvisible, Inc.’s (OTCQB: SKVI) proposed deal with Quoin Pharmaceuticals Limited (“Quoin”) could increase shareholder value after execution. In late 2017, the company announced its plan to merge with Quoin, a marriage made in heaven that combines Skinvisible’s virtues as a drug delivery developer with Quoin’s position as a producer of post-surgical pain products that replace or diminish opioid use (http://ibn.fm/GEuCN). Over the past two decades, mergers in the pharmaceutical industry have generally resulted in positive returns to shareholders, and today’s market leaders are the ones that have been most active in mergers and acquisitions.

There are many reasons why a merger may make sense. Taking over a rival, for example, means acquiring that rival’s market share and most, if not all, of its revenues. If product lines or business divisions overlap, costs can be cut and synergies exploited. In addition, purchasing a rival or merging with one may mean the acquisition of exciting new products at a much-reduced cost. It may cost the acquirer less to buy the target (and its product line) than to attempt to develop similar products in-house. Also, borrowing costs matter. If interest rates are low and likely to rise, now might be the time to borrow and spend. These are all good rationales for corporate consolidations. However, ‘growth is the main driver for most M&A deals: not just growth in drug distribution scale or earnings growth through cost cutting, but in revenues—and especially share price’, according to McKinsey & Company (http://ibn.fm/7sWhQ).

Skinvisible is ideally poised to grow by acquisition, since its core business revolves around a drug delivery methodology that’s applicable to a wide range of topical products. Such ‘platform companies’ have a bright future, since they are enablers rather than competitors to other drug companies. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, opined, ‘“platform companies”—those that grow through bolt-on acquisitions—enrich their shareholders with each new deal…’ (http://ibn.fm/LdErS). If that is to be believed, there’s little doubt that Skinvisible is treading the right path.

Since 1999, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical companies have been adopting Skinvisible’s Invisicare® technology, developed through wholly-owned subsidiary Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The technology can be used to revitalize or create new medical or skincare products, allowing a company that licenses Skinvisible’s formulations to sell its own patented product and combat generic competitors.

Products utilizing Invisicare have been effective at bonding active ingredients to the skin for up to four hours and longer. Invisicare is non-occlusive; it allows normal skin respiration and perspiration while moisturizing and protecting against exposure from a wide variety of environmental irritants. When topically applied, products formulated with Invisicare adhere to the skin’s outer layers, forming a protective bond, resisting wash-off and delivering targeted levels of therapeutic or cosmetic skincare agents to the skin. This allows enhanced delivery performance for a variety of topicals resulting in improved efficacy, longer duration of action, reduced irritation and lower dosage of active agents required. The ‘invisible’ polymer compositions that make up Invisicare wear off as part of the natural exfoliation process that removes the skin’s outer layer of cells.

With a $80 billion global dermatology market and a $30 billion global over-the-counter skincare market, the patented polymer delivery system for topical products developed by Skinvisible has a great deal of potential to add shareholder value.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: Skinvisible, Inc. Message Board

• The two companies entered co-marketing and distribution agreement to be implemented worldwide
• Pressure BioSciences’ high pressure generator technology can improve optical spectroscopy accuracy and data collection with potentially far-reaching impact on drug development
• The joint technology will be promoted to scientists all over the world and is expected to generate increased sales starting this year

A leading developer and provider of innovative high pressure-based solutions to the global life sciences industry, Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (OTCQB: PBIO) has entered a two-year agreement with ISS, Inc., a prominent designer and manufacturer of advanced scientific instruments with more than 30 years of experience in the field. Under the agreement, the two companies will join their marketing and distribution efforts worldwide, as well as their own technologies to create an advanced high pressure optical spectroscopy system that’s expected to generate significant data that could be critical to the discovery and development of new biopharmaceutical diagnostics and drugs, according to a Pressure BioSciences press release issued on February 14, 2018 (http://ibn.fm/hRbo0).

Optical spectroscopy is typically used by scientists all over the world as a powerful analytical method to generate and gather information about the composition of biological molecules. The collected data have multiple applications ranging from the design of new drugs to the development of preventive strategies against certain diseases. However, with high pressure optical spectroscopy, scientists have access to a more unique and effective way to study molecular interactions instantaneously and with a better control of reversibility and irreversibility, due to the easily adjustable duration and amount of applied pressure. This can greatly improve the speed and accuracy of data collection, helping scientists better understand how biological molecules function and interact, with a significant impact on the discovery and development of improved drugs and diagnostics.

ISS is confident that, by using Pressure BioSciences’ patented and game-changing pressure cycling technology (“PCT”) with its optical cell systems instead of current manual pressure generators, scientists will be able to “visualize biochemical reactions as they are happening in the pressure cell,” as noted by ISS President Dr. Ben Barbieri in a news release. “The Pressure BioSciences pressure generators will also facilitate automated and significantly faster data collection. Such systems could potentially have a significant and far-reaching impact on drug development and other important areas of biomedical research worldwide,” he added.

“This powerful combination of technologies will be promoted to scientists worldwide by both Pressure BioSciences and ISS, with the combined system expected to drive an increase in sales this year and beyond,” commented Dr. Nate Lawrence, PBIO VP of Marketing and Sales.

The ISS Agreement is the latest in a series of acquisitions and collaborations that Pressure BioSciences has entered into over the last few months, including, most notably, the acquisition of BaroFold, Inc.’s assets in December of last year and its entry into a strategic partnership with Phasex Corporation in October 2017. The BaroFold acquisition has significantly increased the company’s intellectual property estate by eight issued patents and several others that are pending, as noted by CEO Richard T. Schumacher on a ‘Stock Day’ podcast (http://ibn.fm/QuG2q).

With Phasex, the collaboration has allowed Pressure BioSciences to enter the fast-growing nanoemulsions market, where its proprietary PCT-based Ultra Shear Technology can be used with Phasex’s Supercritical Fluid processing to generate water-soluble, fully stable nanoemulsions. Ensuring stability of nanoemulsions has been a challenge until now, but this strategic collaboration has every chance to change that, leading to the further expansion of an already large market and an increase in the number of potential nanoemulsion applications in industries ranging from pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, paints and industrial lubricants to food and even medical cannabis (e.g., CBD).

Unlike most commercially-available emulsions, which tend to be unstable and sometimes inappropriate for human use due to a high amount of surfactants required, nanoemulsions have been shown to improve absorption, enhance stability, exhibit higher bioavailability, contain reduced amounts of surfactants and present multiple other advantages. Pressure BioSciences is confident that, with its patented Ultra Shear Technology, it will be able to develop commercial-scale nanoemulsions that require less emulsifying events, or even none at all.

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

• States that legalize medical cannabis reaping large tax windfalls
• State-sanctioned cannabis businesses forced into cash-only operation due to federal banking impasse
• REFG resolves cannabis banking and operational issues, generating more state tax revenues

Current regulatory anxiety surrounding cannabis will have little impact on the long-term growth of the industry. Evermore states continue to relax marijuana strictures not only in response to citizen demand but also to generate tax revenues. There’s overwhelming scientific evidence validating the medical efficacy of certain cannabinoids, and states that have legalized marijuana in various forms are finding that cannabis cash is filling state coffers. In 2016, marijuana tax revenue totaled $256 million in Washington and $60 million in Oregon. Meanwhile, Colorado has harvested over half a billion dollars in taxes and fees since it legalized recreational weed. In a report from New Frontier Data highlighted in Forbes (http://ibn.fm/nHpjI), tax revenues in states with legalized marijuana were estimated at $1.8 billion last year. States are addicted to cannabis tax revenues and more states will look to legalization to increase income.

The states’ need and subsequent reliance on marijuana tax revenues pits state rights against federal oversight. This ongoing impasse has created a banking conundrum and an enormous opportunity for Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTC: REFG). Banks are licensed and regulated by the federal government and, subsequently, are reluctant to accept proceeds from any marijuana operation. Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions delivers solutions to state-sanctioned medical cannabis operations, providing end-to-end management across multiple management systems. REFG resolves all the fragmentation issues created by the federal government impasse and rapid industry growth.

REFG delivers an industry first, secure, state-of-the-art financial services system that’s simple to set up and easy to use. The company’s purpose-built solution to cannabis banking solves cash handling issues, offers electronic payment and e-commerce features and gives marijuana businesses immediate access to funds while keeping them in compliance with all federal (FinCEN) laws aimed at combatting domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial crimes. Not only compliant, REFG’s end-to-end payment processing solution finally provides cannabis customers and retailers with payment options other than cash.

REFG’s proprietary ‘StateSourced” closed-loop merchant processing system is the first operation of its kind geared to the legal cannabis industry. Not a prepaid or gift card, it is one of the first and only comprehensive card processing operations to break the operational and logistical logjam caused by cash-only transactions in state-sanctioned marijuana businesses. The debit card from Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions can only be used for payment within a state where marijuana is legal and only for cannabis-related products from state-sanctioned vendors. Businesses using the company’s card realize an immediate advantage in reducing risks, meeting regulatory requirements and improving customer interactions.

There’s no longer any doubt about the medical efficacy of certain cannabinoids. State-sanctioned delivery of these medications will not only continue but is likely to expand due to patient needs and the states’ increasing reliance on the massive influx of cannabis tax revenues.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions Message Board

• Blockchain technology may find widespread application in oil and gas industry
• Replacing intermediaries with blockchain technology
• Reducing transaction costs in oil and gas

Although most closely associated with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology is finding its way into a wide range of industries and applications. Under development in fields as diverse as stock trading, land title registration, smart contracts, the sharing economy and supply chain logistics, the technology’s disruptive potential is being compared to that of the internet itself. As an example of the seismic shifts it may precipitate, a Forbes feature speculates on the reasons ‘Why Blockchain Could Kill Uber’ (http://ibn.fm/tITNB). Uber, the peer-to-peer ridesharing company, is perhaps the poster child for what has come to be called the sharing economy. Now, Petroteq Energy Inc. (OTCQX: PQEFF) (TSX.V: PQE) is out to take that sharing concept one step further, in the oil and gas industry, with its PetroBLOQ blockchain platform. Developed in collaboration with First Bitcoin Capital Corp., PetroBLOQ may reduce transaction costs in supply chain management by making many intermediaries in the industry redundant.

The sharing economy is best characterized by companies like Uber and Airbnb. Indeed, ‘uberization’ is now an accepted alternative term for the phenomenon, which is essentially the enabling of peers to transact with each other. However, the approach adopted by Uber and others is just one model under which peer-to-peer transacting is made possible. These companies erect a technological platform that allows two parties to contract, and, by doing so seamlessly, they appear almost invisible to the transactors. Nevertheless, they are intermediaries and must be compensated not only for the costly infrastructure that makes ‘sharing’ possible but also for the trust they bring to the system (Uber does background checks on its drivers).

By contrast, blockchain technology obviates the need for a trusted intermediary. Using it, parties can transact directly with each other by using verified procedures that are incorporated in the transaction details. The technology creates an incorruptible digital ledger of their transactions, the information on which then exists as a shared and continually reconciled database. Reconciliation takes place at 10-minute intervals, and each reconciled group of transactions becomes a ‘block’, which is distributed to all participants. Consequently, parties need depend only on the system to maintain the integrity of transactions rather than having to rely on a trusted person or organization to do so.

The oil and gas industry is one where blockchain technology may find widespread application. Its supply chain is global and spans an extensive network that includes domestic and international transportation, ordering, inventory management and control, materials handling, import and export facilitation, refining and information technology. The scale and complexity of this network makes it difficult to gather accurate information on a timely basis. 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.

Petroteq is moving ahead quickly with its blockchain initiative. Late last year, it announced that it had joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (“EEA”), the world’s largest open-source blockchain network (http://ibn.fm/8plc6). The EEA brings together over 500 enterprises and experts to discuss and develop the ethereum framework, currently the only blockchain running in real-world production that supports smart contracts, or programs that encode the terms of an agreement and are stored, replicated and supervised by a network of computers running a blockchain.

The company recently announced that Pemex, the Mexican state-owned petroleum company, has agreed to become the first member of the PetroBLOQ Global Blockchain Industry Consortium (http://ibn.fm/nw092). This stems, no doubt, from the promise offered by PetroBLOQ of improving efficiency, transparency and security in the oil and gas industry. The technology is expected to be the first blockchain-based platform developed exclusively for the supply chain needs of the oil and gas sector. At its deployment, PetroBLOQ users will enjoy cost and time savings, increased transparency and the ability to mitigate the constantly evolving geopolitical atmosphere and market fluctuations.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Petroteq.energy

Let us hear your thoughts: Petroteq Energy Inc. Message Board

• EVIO is the leading accredited provider of analytical services for the cannabis industry
• Increase in year-on-year revenue of 438 percent from 2016 to 2017
• Financing of almost $6 million will fund expansion from nine to 18 labs by the end of 2018

In January 2018, life sciences company and leading provider of accredited cannabis analysis and consulting services EVIO, Inc. (OTCQB: EVIO) announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017. The company generated approximately $3 million in revenue, representing a year-on-year increase of an impressive 438 percent. Currently, EVIO has nine laboratories located in five states, including Oregon, California, Colorado, Florida and Massachusetts. On February 1, 2018, the company announced that it had concluded an agreement for financing of almost $6 million. This will be used to fund EVIO’s proposed expansion of its facilities into other states and cement its leading position as a provider of critical services to the cannabis industry.

EVIO Labs provides its clients with consistent, high-quality services for analysis of cannabis products. The company has established a network of industry professionals to give its clients access to leading scientists, consulting partners and business leaders to ensure the success of their projects. EVIO has implemented rigorous quality management systems in order to ensure the accuracy and reliability of analytical methods. On February 7, 2018, the company announced that its Florida licensee, Kaycha Holdings LLC, had attained ISO 71025 accreditation, making it the first Florida-based cannabis testing lab to do so. ISO 71025 accreditation is the highest quality standard in the world for calibration and testing laboratories. This follows the accreditation awarded to EVIO’s Colorado licensee, PhytaTech CO, in December 2017. All of the company’s other laboratories are in the process of attaining ISO accreditation.

EVIO’s laboratories specialize in analyzing cannabinoids, terpenes and pesticide residues. The company has conducted over 50,000 tests in its laboratories over the last two years, which include tests for moisture content and detection of heavy metals and harmful solvent residuals from cannabis extraction. Apart from its expertise in analytical chemistry, EVIO offers extensive experience in product research and development, as well as the cultivation and production of medical cannabis. In addition, the company provides consulting services to assist cannabis producers and retailers in meeting quality goals, improving production processes and achieving regulatory compliance. Having secured the necessary financing, EVIO is on track to open 18 laboratories around the United States by the end of 2018.

Early in January 2018, the company acquired a 60 percent stake in C3 Labs, LLC, which is based in Berkley, California. In addition, EVIO secured an option to purchase the company outright within the next three years. C3 Labs generated more than $1 million in revenue over the last two years from its 8,000 square foot facility with the latest analytical testing equipment. EVIO’s CEO, William Waldrop, expects the demand for analytical services to increase substantially as California rolls out its adult-use marijuana market.

Having secured funding to proceed with its expansion program, EVIO is strongly positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for analytical services in the cannabis industry as more and more states legalize use of the substance. The company’s program for ISO accreditation for all of its facilities is on track to strengthen EVIO’s leading position as a critical service provider in the cannabis industry.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: EVIO, Inc. Message Board

• IEG Holdings Corp. provides small personal online loans of up to $10,000
• IEGH subsidiary Mr. Amazing Loans offers rates up to 13-times lower than typical APR
• IEG Holdings Corp. intends to create metal-backed cryptocurrency

Based in Las Vegas, IEG Holdings Corp. (OTCQB: IEGH) provides small online personal loans in over 20 states within the U.S. This publicly traded company is a global leader in consumer financing, providing these loans through a state-licenced operating subsidiary known as Investment Evolution Corporation under the consumer brand Mr. Amazing Loans. As a leading fintech brand, Mr. Amazing Loans specializes in dedicated loan amounts of $5,000 and $10,000. This is offered directly to consumers through access to an easy-to-use website.

Customers are assured of no hidden or additional fees and are able to receive same-day processing. There is no prepayment penalty, and loans have fixed repayment and interest rates for their duration. Contrary to the typical annual percentage rate (APR), which can range from 391 percent to 521 percent, as stated by the Centre for Responsible Learning, Mr. Amazing Loans offers rates of 29.9 percent or less that are designed to fit into the budgets of consumers.

A 100 percent-owned subsidiary, Investment Evolution Crypto, LLC has been tasked with the exploration of business opportunities within the blockchain/cryptocurrency industry. This company is set to explore the economic risk and legalities associated with a joint business venture with Mr. Amazing Loans (http://ibn.fm/skYxt).

With over 22 years in the finance industry, Paul Mathieson, IEG Holdings’ CEO and chairman, has experience in funds management, lending, investment banking and stock market research. Mathieson has been a member of the IEGH board of directors since 2012 and a member of its subsidiary’s board since 2009. Mathieson founded IEG Holdings Limited in Sydney, Australia, having launched Mr. Amazing Loans there in 2005 and then in the United States via IEGC in 2010. He was awarded Ernst & Young’s 2007 Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Eastern Region). Mathieson has been joined on the IEGH management team by Carla Cholewinski, who currently serves as chief operating officer with over 37 years of experience in the finance industry, including credit union management, debt securitization, banking, underwriting, regulatory oversight and banking.

For consumers to be eligible for a loan from Mr. Amazing Loan, they must have a minimum gross annual income of $40,000, a minimum credit score of 600 and steady employment history. The loans are originated, processed and serviced out of the company’s Las Vegas corporate offices, which eliminates IEGH’s need to have a physical establishment in each of the states in which it is licenced to conduct business. IEGH’s six-and-a-half-year track record of originating, underwriting and servicing personal loans to underbanked consumers has made it adept within the consumer finance industry, achieving a meaningful return on its loan portfolio (http://ibn.fm/SwWmf).

On January 29, 2018, it was announced that the consumer loan provider IEG Holdings was exploring the possibility of creating a cryptocurrency to be backed by gold metal and registered with the SEC as a security. Investment Evolution Crypto, LLC announced its intention to create its own gold metal-backed cryptocurrency that could be used when offering loans and accepting loan repayments. Although Crypto is currently in the development planning stages and exploring the opportunities presented by cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies, the company has already commenced negotiations to purchase a bona-fide gold project with established gold resources in the ground and prospecting licences on record (http://ibn.fm/g1u7O).

Investment Evolution Crypto is in the process of developing plans to explore the above-mentioned blockchain/cryptocurrency opportunities, with efforts made toward evaluating the legal and associated economic risks. Unlike other digital currencies such as bitcoin, either, Ripple, and Litecoin, IEG Holdings’ cryptocurrency is expected to be backed by gold and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In a news release (http://ibn.fm/mMQ4V), Mathieson stated, “We believe potentially combining the exciting new blockchain technology with the hard asset of gold metal, expected SEC registration, a leading sophisticated online consumer finance system and individual U.S. state lending licences is a very exciting proposition. In addition, we believe the future leaders of the crypto/blockchain sector will be companies that are materially compliant with all of the existing and future related U.S. government legislation. We aim for IEGH to leverage off its existing fintech business credentials, specifically its experience on online consumer loans, to potentially be a key player in the crypto/blockchain sector.”

Although it is one of IEGH’s main goals to create its own gold metal-backed cryptocurrency, it will in addition explore the acceptance of established digital currencies, such as bitcoin, for the repayment of consumer loans. This promises to be a year of substantial growth for the company, with plans for further expansion that could see it grow to include up to 25 states by the end of the year.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: IEG Holdings Corporation Message Board

• James Hancock, CEO of Global Payout, lauds the SecurCloud Platform offered by company’s SecurCapital subsidiary
• Rochfort announces SecurCapital’s participation in global fintech and blockchain conferences to demonstrate platform’s ranging capabilities
• Key to SecurCapital’s performance is its disruptive ‘banking in a box’ cloud-based finance solutions platform

Global Payout, Inc. (OTC: GOHE) has named Bill Rochfort as the new president and EVP sales at SecurCapital Corp., its newly-formed subsidiary (http://ibn.fm/5Xkv7). SecurCapital Corp. is a supply chain finance company offering both working capital and premier payment solutions for the logistics industry. Its SecurCloud Platform offers an integrated solution for global payments through a proprietary ecosystem controlled by the client. As a result, the client can then optimize management of cash flow through delivery of documentation of invoices, proof of delivery and payments to global vendors.

SecurCapital CEO Steve Russell, prior to joining SecurCapital, was group CEO for an amalgamated rollup of eight logistics companies focused on targeting and managing M&A, integrating acquisitions, rebranding and positioning for exit. For four years, he was president and CEO, Asia Pacific, of Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), launching its platform in 12 Asia-Pacific countries.

SecurCapital has plans to attend a global schedule of fintech and blockchain conferences in China, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. (http://ibn.fm/poKPk). Bill Rochfort champions the schedule as showing the global capability of the company’s web-enabled finance solutions platform. Rochfort is a 25-year veteran of the fintech industry in global banking, e-wallet platforms, freight payment and foreign exchange. He was an early utilizer of cloud technology. He previously served as an officer with companies such as Sprint, Intermedia and Premier Global Services.

In a news release, James Hancock, CEO of San Diego-based Global Payout, said, “We’re very excited to have Bill join our senior team of logisticians at SecurCapital at this pivotal time as the company launches its SecurCloud Platform (SCP)… Leveraging years of international finance experience, Bill will be instrumental in driving the SecurCapital value proposition to our customers.”

“Launching our platform throughout the world in Shanghai, London, San Francisco and Boston demonstrates our capability to offer our customer solutions on a global scale,” Rochfort said. He added that the upcoming events would bring together digital banking, blockchain, business lending, payments and insurance and smart contracts applications.

The company’s upcoming schedule includes: MIT FinTech on March 10-11 in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Lendit FinTech Conference on April 9-11 in San Francisco, California; the Global FinTech & Blockchain Conference on April 12-13 in Shanghai, China; and the London FinTech World Forum on May 30-31 in London, England.

GOHE is a leading provider of comprehensive and customized prepaid payment solutions, distributing money worldwide for domestic and international companies. GOHE will offer its fintech payment system to many vertical markets for support of digital currency and foreign currency exchange. SecurCapital is marketed as a fully configurable ‘banking in a box’ cloud-based platform.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: Global Payout, Inc. Message Board

• Building the world’s largest pure-play cobalt exploration company with interests in historic Canadian Cobalt Camp
• Recently completed 3-way merger with Cobalt One Ltd. and CobalTech Mining Inc., which created a consolidated camp of more than 10,000 hectares containing 50 past cobalt/silver producers and working mines
• $100 million in existing infrastructure includes only permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing battery material
• Lithium-ion battery market, buoyed by surge in electric vehicle market, expected to reach USD $68 billion by end of 2022
• $30 million in financing closed December 21, 2017

First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQB: FTSSF), with headquarters in Canada, is the largest land owner in the Cobalt Camp in Ontario with control of over 10,000 hectares (nearly 25,000 acres) of prospective land and 50 historic cobalt/silver mines. The company’s assets include a mill and the only permitted cobalt extraction refinery in North America capable of producing battery material, providing an integrated solution for cobalt projects. First Cobalt began drilling in the historic Cobalt Camp in 2017 and seeks to build shareholder value through new discovery and growth opportunities.

First Cobalt’s 2018 $C7 million drilling program, which includes testing different styles of mineralized areas throughout the Cobalt Camp in more than 10 past-producing mines known to contain cobalt, is a significant expansion over its 2017 exploration activities. The company received positive test drill results from the Bellellen mine location, with early results confirming the presence of high-grade cobalt and nickel, prompting First Cobalt to increase its drilling program at that site. A prospecting sampling program of existing muckpiles around the camp’s historic mines, trenches, pits and surrounding bedrock could provide an early production scenario.

First Cobalt Corp. is moving quickly to leverage its potential against an economic background that estimates global consumption for refined cobalt is set to grow at an average rate of approximately 5 percent per annum for the next 10 years. The electric vehicle market, in particular, is driving this sector since more than 50 percent of the world’s current production of cobalt is used in the manufacture of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The global lithium-ion battery market, as estimated by Zion Market Research, indicates the value at around USD $31 billion in 2016 and is expected to generate revenue of nearly USD $68 billion by end of 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate of slightly above 17 percent.

First Cobalt is embracing innovation in the mining sector, utilizing a digital compilation of 100-plus years of mining and geological data spanning the historically prolific Cobalt Mining Camp’s lifespan. First Cobalt’s management team is also assessing the ability of artificial intelligence to accelerate the discovery cycle. As a member of the Mineral Exploration Research Centre (MERC) and Metal Earth Project, First Cobalt conducts regional geophysical surveys for geological interpretation of structures controlling cobalt-silver mineralization.

The company’s clear pathway to production and cash flow generation includes being one of only four fully permitted cobalt extraction refineries in Canada with significant material and processing infrastructure on site. With the price of cobalt increasing significantly and its importance in the growing battery market underpinning a strong long-term demand forecast, First Cobalt Corp. and its mining interests are primed for success.

First Cobalt Corp. President and CEO Trent Mell, a mining executive and capital markets professional with extensive international transactional experience, is joined by a team of reputable and seasoned deal-makers, mine builders and mine operators with decades of global experience in exploration, business development, geoscience, engineering and finance.

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

Let us hear your thoughts: First Cobalt Corp. Message Board