As the marijuana industry continues its brisk forward march — with cannabis now legalized in some form in 29 states as well as the District of Columbia — cannabis dispensaries and other businesses are still faced with the challenge of having no banking options currently available to them, which forces them to conduct cash transactions only. These merchants are clamoring for a solution that has, as yet, been elusive, but SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) may finally have the answer: bitcoin.

The use of bitcoin, a digital currency, enables financial transactions to be completed independent of banks and free of government regulation — making it an ideal option for marijuana merchants that presently cannot offer their customers credit and debit card payment options due to federal restrictions. SinglePoint has announced an initiative to create a bitcoin payment solution for the cannabis industry that would enable marijuana businesses to accept card payments without the need for federal approval or the cooperation of banks.

SinglePoint’s aim is to develop a bitcoin payment solution that would create a user-friendly experience for customers and allow them to purchase cannabis products using their credit or debit cards. The solution could be easily implemented in any point-of-sale machine by simply downloading an application.

The company’s SingleSeed subsidiary is already engaged in offering mobile marketing and payment solutions to businesses in the marijuana industry, including cashless ATM, Pay-by-Text™ and text message marketing. SinglePoint has also successfully completed technology integrations with companies like RedFynn, Twilio and IATS, as well as with major carriers like Verizon (NYSE: VZ), T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS), AT&T (NYSE: T) and Sprint (NYSE: S), through which it offers text message marketing and text-based payment solutions. The company plans to utilize these integrations as it develops its bitcoin payments technology.

This solution, once ready for implementation, could quickly spread to many stores, where the SinglePoint API could be easily downloaded into existing point-of-sale machines. Cannabis merchants could then begin performing bitcoin transactions via credit and debit card.

This pioneering solution for the banking problems currently faced by marijuana businesses could be a game-changer in this flourishing industry, which has been projected by New Frontier to reach $24 billion by 2026.

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

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Moxian, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: MOXC) expansion of its alliance with Xinhua New Media Culture Communications Co., including the launch of a game channel on the Xinhua mobile app platform, is expected to generate revenues for Moxian from game downloads and mobile banner advertisement fees, according to a research report by Crystal Equity Research (http://nnw.fm/V45Pj).

Moxian is a Shenzhen, China-based company, which is in the development stage. It is building infrastructure and staffing as its executes its marketing strategy to commercialize its two online-to-offline (O2O) mobile platforms. Moxian+ is its paid business platform, which the company seeks to convert from free. It currently has some 30,000 small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) users. Its Moxian User app currently boasts a user base of roughly 300,000 consumers. The goal is to convert those users, add more, and also generate revenues through subscription revenues, transaction fees, mobile advertising, licensing fees, OEM and distribution charges.

The Crystal Equity Research report views Moxian’s timing entering the O2O market as strategically advantageous. “We believe Moxian can benefit from these early efforts since its Moxian+ platform offers location services and customer relationship management features that cannot be easily found in the other O2O platforms in the China market,” the report says.

In its expanded alliance with Xinhua New Media Culture Communications, Moxian will likely find many more daily users. The report cites Xinhua’s 10 million daily users after 110 million downloads of its mobile app. The Game Channel is powered by Moxian’s payment technology through Mo-Coin. Moxian, it says, expects to receive revenue from game downloads and mobile banner advertisement fees. In addition, the Game Channel is expected to attract consumers to the Moxian+ app. Crystal has set a price target on Moxian stock at $5.25.

For more information, visit www.Moxian.com

The process of paying for goods and services is rapidly and radically changing. Virtually unheard of a decade ago, nearly $40 billion in mobile transactions occurred during 2015. Amazingly, that total is expected to explode 20 times to over $800 billion within the next couple of years. During this same time period, the global mobile point-of-sale installed base is projected to grow from about 13 million units to over 54 million units in 2019. A typical mobile point-of-sale solution gives merchants the flexibility to accept credit card payments anywhere and at any time and allows customers to quite literally skip the checkout line and check out anywhere in the store. Paying for transactions with mobile devices has not only gained widespread acceptance; it has also provided benefits for both consumers and merchants.

In addition to faster and more secure transactions, another benefit of a mobile point-of-sale system is that it gives merchants tools to drive sales in different environments and can actually increase average customer transactions by 25% through upsells. During personalized customer checkout services, consumers are fixated with their mobile devices and find it more convenient to rely on their devices to make payments. Mobile point-of-sale transactions give merchants the ability to integrate loyalty and incentive programs into mobile payment applications, track customer trends and inventory, increase check-out speed and save money on credit card fees. Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE) is in the midst of this mobile point-of-sale revolution.

Net Element is a global mobile payments, value-add technology company that has been at the forefront of facilitating this mobile point-of-sale boom, providing speed, security, accuracy and the convenience of mobile transactions. Net Element owns and operates a global mobile payments and transactional processing provider, TOT Group. TOT Group companies include Aptito, Digital Provider, Restoactive, PayOnline, and Unified Payments, which was named the fastest-growing private company in America in 2012 by Inc. Magazine.

The company provides a broad range of electronic payment solutions that enable merchants of all sizes to quickly and securely process transactions, and the company continues to see increased acceptance and adoption of its mobile and online payments. The company processed 51.2 million bankcard transactions in North America in 2015, as well as 90 million transactions in the CIS and the Russian Federation and 19.5 million mobile transactions in emerging markets.

It’s only logical that Net Element should enjoy the same mercurial growth projections as the industry as a whole. Net Element remains focused on improvements and investments in its core technology, while it’s savvy and experienced management team is committed to capturing more than the company’s fair share of the worldwide mobile payment industry revenues, which are forecast to surpass $800 billion in 2019.

For more information, visit www.NetElement.com

Now that shares of ABcann Global Corporation (TSXV: ABCN) are trading on the venture arm of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), the company is creating more buzz than ever. On the same day it launched its initial public offering (IPO) (May 4), industry analysts PI Financial initiated coverage of the stock with a decidedly bullish report (http://nnw.fm/zcgG2) on the company. PI has put a “Buy” rating on the stock and set a one-year price target of $2.25, implying a return of well over 100 percent. The investment bank backs up this sunny prognosis with an in-depth look at ABcann’s value chain and Canada’s cannabis industry, by some accounts set to grow to $8 billion in sales by 2024.

ABcann Global recently acquired all the outstanding stock of ABcann Medicinals, a Canadian medical marijuana company licensed to carry on business as a producer and marketer of medical cannabis. ABcann Medicinals has strong fundamentals. It was a first mover in the Canadian cannabis space, obtaining a cultivation license in March 2014, just six months after Health Canada began inviting applications. In addition, it has collaborated with the University of Guelph in studies of the cannabis cultivation process. Consequently, the company has developed substantial institutional expertise, particularly in controlling quality and production costs and is now poised to add value in those areas and develop a competitive advantage.

ABcann’s institutional knowledge is already bearing results. The company’s computer-controlled growing environment produces optimum yields of 250 grams per square foot per annum, based on six crops a year. The industry interval is 60 grams on the greenhouse side, and 138 grams for indoor growers. ABcann’s growing technology controls a variety of variables, including air quality, carbon dioxide and oxygen levels, water quality and volume, light quality, temperature, humidity, and naturally enough, nutrition. As a result, the company is able maintain consistency in its product and to escape the ravages of pests with the attendant evil of employing toxic pesticides. In an interview earlier this year (http://nnw.fm/1llH4), CEO Aaron Keay revealed that one major advantage over its competitors that Abcann has, is its ability to produce consistent quality as it scales up.

ABcann has that potential to scale up. Its initial facility at Vanluven, currently producing 1,000 kilos annually, is expected to double production to 2,000 kilos by the end of 2017. The company also controls the 65-acre Kimmett property intended for further expansion. Health Canada has granted a license to build a 70,000-sq-ft facility, which is expected to produce 10,000 to 20,000 kilos per annum depending on whether single or double-layered grow rooms are constructed.

PI Financial expects ABcann Global shares to provide investors with a return of 181 percent based on the target price of $2.25. The target represents an EV/EBITDA of 15x based on its FY19 estimates. EV is enterprise value; EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

PI Financial’s 15x multiple, while large, is not far-fetched, as a look at ABcann’s peers shows. Shares of SupremePharma (XCNQ: SL) soared a stupendous 1,364% after their launch and the company’s market cap is currently 232 million. Aurora’s (TSXV: ACB) shares went up 887% after they began trading publicly and the company is now valued at $836 million. Shares of Aphria (TSE: APH) rose 938% after their debut; Aphria’s market cap is now $854 million. And shares of Canopy Growth (TSE: WEED) climbed 711% after the company’s IPO. Its valuation now stands at a whopping $1.38 billion. Canadian cannabis valuations appear to be taking to the skies. Could ABcann be next?

For more information, please visit www.ABcann.ca

One of the fastest growing industries in the United States in recent years, the legal marijuana market remains a highly attractive prospect for both entrepreneurs and investors, despite facing uncertain times as a consequence of the new administration’s position on cannabis use. Investors are actually expected to increase their investments this year, determined to push the market toward further growth. A recent GreenWave Advisors report notes that the industry will continue this trend even if the current administration will actively challenge it (http://dtn.fm/h7Pmr). Arizona-based holding company SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) is riding atop the marijuana investing wave, having recently completed yet another major acquisition that will solidify and expand its reach on the market.

The current state of the legal marijuana industry was discussed in depth at Marijuana Business Daily’s Conference and Expo earlier this month, with most investors, analysts and startups in the market admitting concern over the future, given the authorities’ position on the matter. President Donald Trump and other high-ranking officials have repeatedly talked about cracking down on the marijuana market, since the substance is still illegal at federal level. Marijuana use is however legal one way or another in at least 29 states, and stricter enforcement at central level would interfere with states’ individual legislation. No official position or measures have been announced yet.

While some expo participants were concerned they might see fewer investors coming to the market, most industry research points to a very likely increase in overall investments this year. The average investor is expected to invest roughly $500,000 in marijuana businesses this year, up from last year’s $450,000. Additionally, research indicates that legal marijuana retail sales will continue to grow, reaching $7.7 billion this year, according to GreenWave Advisors. The market is likely to top $30 billion by 2021, if medical and recreational marijuana is legalized all across the country. And even if the current administration takes on a more active stance against marijuana legalization, the market is still expected to reach $18 billion by 2021. Marijuana Business Daily research projects a more moderate, but still substantial revenue: $6.1 billion in retail sales for this year.

California alone could account for 40 percent of the market, the GreenWave Advisors research shows. The Golden State is turning into a hotspot for marijuana investments and businesses, as it moves to completely legalize recreational use next year. SinglePoint has already entered the Californian marijuana market following its latest acquisition. By acquiring 90 percent of Discount Indoor Garden Supply (DIGS), the company positions itself as a leader in marijuana consulting, equipment, retail stores and online products. The acquisition gives SinglePoint access to DIGS’s two brick-and-mortar stores and online shop, as well as to a third store likely to open in the near future. This investment not only demonstrates SinglePoint’s ability to grow its investment portfolio strategically, but also provides the company with a new and consistent source of revenues to help fund future acquisitions.

The DIGS investment follows another major strategic acquisition for SinglePoint: that of Convectium, the manufacturer and distributor of an innovative equipment and packaging solution in the cannabis industry. Convectium’s unique cartridge and vape pen filling machines is revolutionizing the traditional, manual cartridge filling method, as it can fill more than 100 cartridges in 30 seconds.

SinglePoint also has a strong presence on the marijuana payment solutions market via its subsidiary SingleSeed. A provider of various state-of-the-art non-cash payment and marketing tools for the medical and retail marijuana market, SingleSeed’s declared goal is to help businesses on the market thrive, while also helping to legitimize the industry and educating customers and business owners on key issues in the market.

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

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Archaeological research suggests that Cannabis Sativa, the source plant for cannabidiol (CBD) compounds, was one of the first agricultural crops planted by early man near the birth of agriculture some 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. The use of CBD for health benefits extends back several thousand years as well. CBD is one of more than 80 active cannabinoid chemicals in the Cannabis Sativa (marijuana) plant and is a part of the cannabis plant that does not produce euphoria or a “high”. Anecdotally, CBD has long been considered to have a broad range of medical benefits. Now, two major studies released in the last four months have scientifically validated the medicinal efficacy of CBD.

The New England Journal of Medicine just confirmed what thousands have attested to anecdotally for years (http://dtn.fm/0KOsd). The report shows that CBD dramatically reduced the number of convulsive seizures in children with a severe and often fatal epilepsy disorder. “The median frequency of convulsive seizures per month decreased from 12.4 to 5.9 with cannabidiol, as compared with a decrease from 14.9 to 14.1 with (a) placebo.” The results of the NEJM study follow a sweeping 400-page report released in January by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine which covered more than 10,000 scientific studies on marijuana and medicine. The report’s conclusions that marijuana does have legitimate medical uses are supported by scientific studies that show cannabis and cannabinoids are effective at treating chronic pain and that cannabinoid substances were effective for treating chemotherapy-related nausea.

With medical efficacy questions resolved, smart money is now looking for avenues to profit from this explosive new medical market. The Hemp Business Journal (https://www.hempbizjournal.com/) recently projected that the CBD market will grow to a $2.1 billion market in consumer sales by 2020; a 700% increase from 2016 in the U.S. alone. Globally, the growth could be even stronger.

Recently, ChineseInvestors.com (OTCQB: CIIX) has made several interesting announcements highlighting the worldwide growth potential from its investments and commitments in the global cannabis industry. The recent launch of what management identifies as the “world’s first Cannabidiol (CBD) health products online store in the Chinese Language (www.ChineseCBDoil.com)” is a significant milestone for the company and the 2+ billion Chinese speaking people it serves. The company also launched a Chinese language Yelp-style mobile application that contains a location-enabled database of recreational and medical marijuana dispensaries, as well as a platform to review and discuss various cannabis products. ChineseInvestors.com is about to make its mark in the global CBD market.

Historically, ChineseInvestors.com has served as a specialized investment services company providing real-time commentary, analysis, and education-related services in the Chinese language. However, the company’s growth focused, long term quest for value add opportunities led it to stake out a position in the explosive new medical CBD market. With nearly two decades of brand recognition, a current user base of 100,000+ and a target market of nearly two billion Chinese speaking people, ChineseInvestors.com is well positioned to capture more than a fair share of the global Chinese speaking CBD market. Confirming this assumption, SeeThruEquity, a leading independent equity research firm, recently issued an update and increased its price target for CIIX to $3.75, “reflecting potential from the company’s legal cannabis initiatives.” Currently trading near a dollar a share, the upside seems obvious.

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

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Zinc prices soared over the last few days after top consumer China increased imports of the metal in wake of the country’s halting production as part of an environmental crackdown on the local steel industry. The Asian nation’s move to curb zinc and nickel production is likely to have a significant impact on global supply, with inventories already under pressure from growing demand and currently at about 342,675 tons (roughly 20 percent lower than last year), according to Reuters (http://dtn.fm/gP0yM). Zinc exploration corporations such as Vancouver-based Kootenay Zinc Corp. (CSE: ZNK) (OTCQB: KTNNF) are already exploring ways to step up efforts to find deposits so as to help meet the global demand for zinc.

Refined zinc imports to China jumped 21 percent year-over-year last month, reaching 47,469 tons (http://dtn.fm/H9mbb). Similarly, shipments of zinc ore and concentrates increased by 44 percent, Reuters said. This led to a significant increase in zinc prices, with the London Metal Exchange benchmark zinc closing up one percent at $2,658 per ton earlier this week – the highest since the beginning of the month.

Nickel prices also soared to $9,395, the highest in three weeks, as a result of growing Chinese imports. The halt in Chinese nickel production is unlikely to have a major impact, since the country accounts for only four percent of global supply. The situation, however, is significantly different when it comes to zinc, as the Asian nation accounted for at least 38 percent of global production before the crackdown. Both nickel and zinc are used in the steel manufacturing process – zinc for galvanized steel and nickel for stainless steel.

It is yet unclear how much of the country’s zinc and nickel production will be affected by the crackdown, but industry sources say the government is shutting down all steel mills that emit excessive pollution, along with zinc and nickel mining operations. Several of these operations might be reopened if they are found in compliance with environmental regulations, the sources added.

China’s move is likely to drive zinc demand even higher. According to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group, demand for the metal is already exceeding supply, and the difference is expected to reach 226,000 tons this year (http://dtn.fm/Lb7BC).

To help meet the rising demand, Canada’s Kootenay Zinc Corp. has already taken steps to expand its exploration program at its Sully property in British Columbia. The property is located near the legendary Sullivan Mine, which was one of the world’s largest reserves of zinc, with an output of over 17 million tons of zinc and lead until it was closed down in 2001. Kootenay’s Sully Project is located 18 miles from Sullivan, and both properties share different environments of the same basin.

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

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The global mobile revolution continues to accelerate. It’s estimated that, currently, about 4.8 billion individuals globally use a mobile phone, with about 2.3 billion of them being smart phone users. Smartphone subscribers now represent over half of the global mobile population. Mobile devices are fast becoming the go-to technology, even in mature economies where people can use alternative devices at home. Expanded mobile usage even engenders and propagates new behavior sets among consumers.

More mobile usage even drives the usage of mobile devices to make purchases. Approximately $37 billion in mobile transactions occurred in 2015, and that total is expected to explode to over $800 billion by 2019. Like the mobile phones and devices themselves, mobile transactions and payments will soon be commonplace.

Paying for transactions with mobile devices has taken off as a convenient and constructive option for both consumers and merchants. Consumers find it easier to rely on their phones for payments, while mobile point-of-sale transactions give merchants the ability to integrate loyalty and incentive programs into mobile payment applications, track customer trends and inventory, increase check-out speed and save money on credit card fees.

Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE) has been at the vanguard of facilitating this mobile point-of-sale (m-POS) boom, providing speed, security, accuracy, value-add and the convenience of mobile transactions. Net Element owns and operates a global mobile payments and transactional processing provider, TOT Group. TOT Group companies include Aptito, Digital Provider, Restoactive, PayOnline and Unified Payments, which was named the fastest-growing private company in America in 2012 by Inc. Magazine.

Through its wholly owned group of companies, Net Element delivers tailored turnkey solutions that fit merchant needs. The company’s online and offline payment capabilities allow merchants to transact business anywhere, any way and at any time. Simultaneously, Net Element’s mobile payments and value-added transactional platforms deliver speed and convenience to mobile customers, giving them the ability to make purchases with just a few clicks on their mobile devices, and provide an alternative to cash payments.

For these and many other reasons, SeeThruEquity, a leading independent equity research firm, recently issued an update and reaffirmed its price target of $2.45 on shares of Net Element. It appears that the mobile payments boom could be very rewarding for Net Element and its shareholders.

For more information, visit www.NetElement.com

India Globalization Capital, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IGC) has named Craig Cheifetz, M.D., as an advisor to aid the company in its clinical trials in microbiology, immunology, neuroscience, and biotechnology. IGC is engaged in the development of cannabis-based therapies, which treat pain, terminal neurological and oncological diagnosis, PTSD, seizures, and other life altering issues. The company, based in Bethesda, Maryland, has a portfolio of patent filings for its phytocannabinoid-based treatments.

In a news release, Ram Mukunda, CEO of IGC, welcomed Cheifetz to the company’s advisory team, noting that he looks forward to Chiefetz’s contributions as IGC develops unique cannabis combination therapies.

Cheifetz is the Medical Director of Inova VIP 360, Northern Virginia’s Concierge Medicine Program. He is also Regional Dean at Virginia Commonwealth University Inova Fairfax Campus.

He received his M.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and also attended Georgetown University, where he trained in internal medicine. He was National GRMC Chairman from 2011 to 2013.

“We remain committed to accelerating our initiatives and building robust a portfolio of compounds to address large market conditions,” Mukunda noted in the release.

The company anticipates clinical trials in 2017 for several indications, including pain, a huge market. IGC has already filed for six patents in areas such as eating disorders and epilepsy, in addition to pain. It is working on several more filings for indications including depression, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Its lead candidate is IGC-501, and it has filed patents for the candidate in the United States, Canada and Europe.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.IGCinc.us

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It is a prime time to be in the zinc mining business, and Kootenay Zinc Corp. (CSE: ZNK) (OTCQB: KTNNF) is poised to profit in the midst of a continuing global zinc shortage and simultaneously booming prices.

As recently reported (http://dtn.fm/7RcNS), the price of zinc rose to $1.17 per pound and $2,628 per metric ton as of May 2017, representing a 60 percent increase over the previous year’s prices. This exceeded already propitious predictions that a deeper worldwide shortage would send zinc prices soaring as high as $2,500 per metric ton over the course of 2017 (http://dtn.fm/Mgwq5).

The current imbalance in the global zinc market is partly attributed to the 2016 shutdown of a number of zinc mines in China — the world’s largest producer of zinc, as well as its biggest consumer. Major zinc mines in other parts of the world have been experiencing declining ore supplies, as well, which is further credited as contributing to the shortage.

Seeking to cash in on the current global zinc shortage and price hike and to help meet the growing demand, KTNNF recently reported that it is expanding its active search for zinc at its Sully Project, which is located in British Columbia, Canada, just 18 miles (30 kilometers) from the legendary Sullivan Mine. The company recently reported it has completed three exploration holes at the site and that its project team is extending its survey efforts to the property’s west anomaly, including conducting state-of-the-art gravity mapping.

The Sully Project boasts shared geologic features with the famed Sullivan Mine, and the sedimentary rocks that host the Sullivan Mine are present at Sully, representative of different environments of the same basin. So far, geologic data indicates that the Sully Project shares the same stratigraphic level at which the Sullivan Mine was deposited, and it appears to coincide with the East gravity anomaly at the Sully Project. A subtle lead-zinc soil anomaly could reflect leakage up faults and dispersion through thick till and alluvium from an entirely buried deposit. A Cominco airborne geophysical survey has shown two N-S trending magnetic anomalies underground that are up to almost two miles long (1.86), that are approximately 0.62 miles apart, and that are near-coincident with the gravity anomalies.

So far, drilling efforts at the Sully Project have been a very near miss, meaning a strike may not be far away. Initial surveying at the project indicated that drilling conducted in 2004 only narrowly missed a shallow mass there. Work performed since then indicated the target was deep. The target may have been missed by just 100 meters, according to downhole temperature and magnetic field readings taken in 2014. KTNNF has initiated a drilling program and is targeting this East mass, which has been confirmed and better defined by new gravity data.

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

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