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Fintech

GoPublic.AI Acquisition Corp. and Forrest Innovations Ltd. Announce CAD$4M Brokered Private Placement led by Echelon Wealth Partners

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Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – October 13, 2021) – GoPublic.AI Acquisitions Corp. (the “Company“) and Forrest Innovations Ltd. (“Forrest“) are pleased to announce that they have entered into an engagement letter with Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. (the “Agent“) with respect to a brokered private placement of subscription receipts of the Company (each, a “Subscription Receipt“), to be undertaken on a best efforts basis, pursuant to which the Company will offer up to 4,000,000 Subscription Receipts at a price of $1.00 per Subscription Receipt (the “Offering Price“) for gross proceeds of up to $4,000,000 (the “Brokered Offering“). Concurrently, the Company intends to complete a non-brokered offering of Subscription Receipts at the Offering Price for gross proceeds of up to $3,000,000 intended for existing shareholders of Forrest and certain prospective international subscribers (the “Concurrent Offering“, collectively with the Brokered Offering, the “Offering“).

Each Subscription Receipt will entitle the holder thereof to receive, without any further action on the part of the holder or payment of any additional consideration, one unit of the Company (each, a “Unit“), subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the Escrow Release Conditions (as defined herein) on the date that is 120 days following the final closing of the Offering (or such other date as may be agreed to by the Company and the Agent) (in any case, the “Outside Date“), and provided that the Transaction has not otherwise been terminated.

Each Unit to be issued on conversion of the Subscription Receipts shall consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (a “Common Share“) and one Common Share purchase warrant (a “Warrant“). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of $1.50 at any time prior to the second anniversary of the date of issuance subject to acceleration of the expiry date as described below (the “Expiry Date“). If at any time following the first anniversary of the date of issuance of the Warrants, the ten-day volume-weighted average trading price of the Common Shares on the exchange on which the Common Shares may be listed is greater than $3.00, the Company may deliver a notice to the holders of Warrants accelerating the Expiry Date to a date that is not less than 30 days following the date of such notice (the “Acceleration Right“).

The Company has agreed to grant the Agent an option (the “Agent’s Option“), which will allow the Agent to offer such number of additional Subscription Receipts as is equal to up to 15% of the Subscription Receipts issued under the Brokered Offering, having the same terms as the Subscription Receipts. The Agent’s Option may be exercised in whole or in part at any time up to two days prior to the closing of the Brokered Offering.

The Company and Forrest have agreed to pay the Agent a cash commission equal to 8.0% of the gross proceeds of the Brokered Offering (including any proceeds derived from exercise of the Agent’s Option). In addition, subject to compliance with all required regulatory approvals, the Company will issue to the Agent such number of compensation warrants (each, a “Compensation Warrant“) as is equal to 8.0% of the aggregate Subscription Receipts sold under the Brokered Offering (Including on any exercise of the Agent’s Option), each of which will entitle the Agent to purchase one Common Share at the Offering Price for a period of 24 months from the date of the completion of the listing of the Company on a recognized Canadian securities exchange.

The Subscription Receipts will be offered for sale to purchasers in: (i) all of the Provinces of Canada as agreed upon between the Company and the Agent, pursuant to available private placement exemptions; (ii) the United States on a private placement basis pursuant to available exemptions from the registration requirements under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended; and (iii) offshore jurisdictions agreed upon between the Company and the Agent pursuant to available prospectus or registration exemptions in accordance with applicable laws. Closing of the Offering is expected to take place on or about November 9, 2021 and/or such other date or dates as agreed to by the Company and the Agent.

The net proceeds of the Offering will be used to expand Forrest’s natural vector control projects in Brazil, expand its operations in India, fund United States regulatory approval objectives, research and development in Israel, and for general working capital and other corporate purposes.

The Offering is intended to be the concurrent financing in connection with the Company’s acquisition of Forrest, which is expected to be conducted by way of a securities exchange between the Company and Forrest, and which will result in the reverse takeover of the Company by Forrest (the “Transaction“).

The gross proceeds of the Offering (less 50% of the Agent’s cash commission and all of the Agents’ expenses incurred up to the closing date) will be held in escrow and, upon the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions (the “Escrow Release Conditions“), including all conditions to the closing of the Transaction, the escrowed funds will be released to the Company (less the escrowed portion of the Agent’s cash commission which will be released to the Agent).

It is a condition of the proposed Transaction that the parties receive all required board, shareholder, third party, and regulatory approvals, and that the resulting issuer (the “Resulting Issuer“) receives conditional approval to list its common shares on a recognized stock exchange based in Canada. In connection therewith, the Company expects to file a non-offering preliminary prospectus (the “Prospectus“) with the British Columbia Securities Commission (the “BCSC“) and a Listing Application (the “Listing Application“) with a Canadian stock exchange, in accordance with the policies of the BCSC and the chosen exchange.

Further details on the Transaction are available in the Company’s news release dated July 6, 2021, available at:

https://vested.ca/pages/gopublicai_acquisition_corp_signs_letter_of_intent_to_acquire_forrest_innovations_ltd.

The Company is not a reporting issuer in any province or territory of Canada. As such, the Subscription Receipts will not be transferable under the laws of Canada, except pursuant to applicable statutory exemptions, until the date that is four months and a day after the date the Company becomes a reporting issuer in any province or territory of Canada (subject to any control person distribution restrictions) in accordance with National Instrument 45-102 – Resale of Securities. Subject to the rules of the relevant securities exchange and Canadian securities law requirements applicable to “control distributions”, the Common Shares and Warrants issuable upon the exchange of the Subscription Receipts are expected to be qualified for distribution under the Prospectus and will be freely tradeable for Canadian holders pursuant to exemptions from the prospectus requirements of applicable Canadian securities laws.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities of the Company, Forrest or the Resulting Issuer in the United States. The securities of the Company, Forrest and the Resulting Issuer have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Contact Information

For further information, please contact:

GoPublic.AI Acquisition Corp.,
Nick Findler, Director, (778) 952-0418

For more information on Forrest, please visit https://www.forrestinnovations.com/.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, all required board, shareholder, third party, and regulatory approvals, and that the Resulting Issuer receives conditional approval to list its common shares on a recognized stock exchange based in Canada. Where applicable, the Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon.

All information contained in this news release with respect to Forrest and the Company was supplied by the parties, respectively, for inclusion herein.

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the timing and completion of the Transaction, the future operations of Forrest, the Company, and the Resulting Issuer, the completion of the Offering, the filing of the Prospectus and the Listing Application, the satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “will”, “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expects” and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Transaction, the Offering and the future plans and objectives of Forrest, the Company, and the Resulting Issuer are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Forrest’s, the Company’s, and the Resulting Issuer’s expectations include the failure to satisfy the conditions to completion of the Transaction set forth above and other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by Forrest, the Company, and the Resulting Issuer with securities regulations.

The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Forrest, the Company, and the Resulting Issuer. As a result, Forrest, the Company, and the Resulting Issuer cannot guarantee that the Transaction will be completed on the terms and within the time disclosed herein or at all. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and each of Forrest, the Company, and the Resulting Issuer disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements herein to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise except as expressly required by Canadian securities law.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAW.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/99456

Fintech

How to identify authenticity in crypto influencer channels

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Modern brands stake on influencer marketing, with 76% of users making a purchase after seeing a product on social media.The cryptocurrency industry is no exception to this trend. However, promoting crypto products through influencer marketing can be particularly challenging. Crypto influencers pose a significant risk to a brand’s reputation and ROI due to rampant scams. Approximately 80% of channels provide fake statistics, including followers counts and engagement metrics. Additionally, this niche is characterized by high CPMs, which can increase the risk of financial loss for brands.

In this article Nadia Bubennnikova, Head of agency Famesters, will explore the most important things to look for in crypto channels to find the perfect match for influencer marketing collaborations.

 

  1. Comments 

There are several levels related to this point.

 

LEVEL 1

Analyze approximately 10 of the channel’s latest videos, looking through the comments to ensure they are not purchased from dubious sources. For example, such comments as “Yes sir, great video!”; “Thanks!”; “Love you man!”; “Quality content”, and others most certainly are bot-generated and should be avoided.

Just to compare: 

LEVEL 2

Don’t rush to conclude that you’ve discovered the perfect crypto channel just because you’ve come across some logical comments that align with the video’s topic. This may seem controversial, but it’s important to dive deeper. When you encounter a channel with logical comments, ensure that they are unique and not duplicated under the description box. Some creators are smarter than just buying comments from the first link that Google shows you when you search “buy YouTube comments”. They generate topics, provide multiple examples, or upload lists of examples, all produced by AI. You can either manually review the comments or use a script to parse all the YouTube comments into an Excel file. Then, add a formula to highlight any duplicates.

LEVEL 3

It is also a must to check the names of the profiles that leave the comments: most of the bot-generated comments are easy to track: they will all have the usernames made of random symbols and numbers, random first and last name combinations, “Habibi”, etc. No profile pictures on all comments is also a red flag.

 

LEVEL 4

Another important factor to consider when assessing comment authenticity is the posting date. If all the comments were posted on the same day, it’s likely that the traffic was purchased.

 

2. Average views number per video

This is indeed one of the key metrics to consider when selecting an influencer for collaboration, regardless of the product type. What specific factors should we focus on?

First & foremost: the views dynamics on the channel. The most desirable type of YouTube channel in terms of views is one that maintains stable viewership across all of its videos. This stability serves as proof of an active and loyal audience genuinely interested in the creator’s content, unlike channels where views vary significantly from one video to another.

Many unauthentic crypto channels not only buy YouTube comments but also invest in increasing video views to create the impression of stability. So, what exactly should we look at in terms of views? Firstly, calculate the average number of views based on the ten latest videos. Then, compare this figure to the views of the most recent videos posted within the past week. If you notice that these new videos have nearly the same number of views as those posted a month or two ago, it’s a clear red flag. Typically, a YouTube channel experiences lower views on new videos, with the number increasing organically each day as the audience engages with the content. If you see a video posted just three days ago already garnering 30k views, matching the total views of older videos, it’s a sign of fraudulent traffic purchased to create the illusion of view stability.

 

3. Influencer’s channel statistics

The primary statistics of interest are region and demographic split, and sometimes the device types of the viewers.

LEVEL 1

When reviewing the shared statistics, the first step is to request a video screencast instead of a simple screenshot. This is because it takes more time to organically edit a video than a screenshot, making it harder to manipulate the statistics. If the creator refuses, step two (if only screenshots are provided) is to download them and check the file’s properties on your computer. Look for details such as whether it was created with Adobe Photoshop or the color profile, typically Adobe RGB, to determine if the screenshot has been edited.

LEVEL 2

After confirming the authenticity of the stats screenshot, it’s crucial to analyze the data. For instance, if you’re examining a channel conducted in Spanish with all videos filmed in the same language, it would raise concerns to find a significant audience from countries like India or Turkey. This discrepancy, where the audience doesn’t align with regions known for speaking the language, is a red flag.

If we’re considering an English-language crypto channel, it typically suggests an international audience, as English’s global use for quality educational content on niche topics like crypto. However, certain considerations apply. For instance, if an English-speaking channel shows a significant percentage of Polish viewers (15% to 30%) without any mention of the Polish language, it could indicate fake followers and views. However, if the channel’s creator is Polish, occasionally posts videos in Polish alongside English, and receives Polish comments, it’s important not to rush to conclusions.

Example of statistics

 

Wrapping up

These are the main factors to consider when selecting an influencer to promote your crypto product. Once you’ve launched the campaign, there are also some markers to show which creators did bring the authentic traffic and which used some tools to create the illusion of an active and engaged audience. While this may seem obvious, it’s still worth mentioning. After the video is posted, allow 5-7 days for it to accumulate a basic number of views, then check performance metrics such as views, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), signups, and conversion rate (CR) from clicks to signups.

If you overlooked some red flags when selecting crypto channels for your launch, you might find the following outcomes: channels with high views numbers and high CTRs, demonstrating the real interest of the audience, yet with remarkably low conversion rates. In the worst-case scenario, you might witness thousands of clicks resulting in zero to just a few signups. While this might suggest technical issues in other industries, in crypto campaigns it indicates that the creator engaged in the campaign not only bought fake views and comments but also link clicks. And this happens more often than you may realize.

Summing up, choosing the right crypto creator to promote your product is indeed a tricky job that requires a lot of resources to be put into the search process. 

Author Nadia Bubennikova, Head of agency  at Famesters

Author

Nadia Bubennikova, Head of agency at Famesters

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Fintech

Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space

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The BIS, along with seven leading central banks and a cohort of private financial firms, has embarked on an ambitious venture known as Project Agorá.

Named after the Greek word for “marketplace,” this initiative stands at the forefront of exploring the potential of tokenisation to significantly enhance the operational efficiency of the monetary system worldwide.

Central to this pioneering project are the Bank of France (on behalf of the Eurosystem), the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Korea, the Bank of Mexico, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. These institutions have joined forces under the banner of Project Agorá, in partnership with an extensive assembly of private financial entities convened by the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

At the heart of Project Agorá is the pursuit of integrating tokenised commercial bank deposits with tokenised wholesale central bank money within a unified, public-private programmable financial platform. By harnessing the advanced capabilities of smart contracts and programmability, the project aspires to unlock new transactional possibilities that were previously infeasible or impractical, thereby fostering novel opportunities that could benefit businesses and consumers alike.

The collaborative effort seeks to address and surmount a variety of structural inefficiencies that currently plague cross-border payments. These challenges include disparate legal, regulatory, and technical standards; varying operating hours and time zones; and the heightened complexity associated with conducting financial integrity checks (such as anti-money laundering and customer verification procedures), which are often redundantly executed across multiple stages of a single transaction due to the involvement of several intermediaries.

As a beacon of experimental and exploratory projects, the BIS Innovation Hub is committed to delivering public goods to the global central banking community through initiatives like Project Agorá. In line with this mission, the BIS will soon issue a call for expressions of interest from private financial institutions eager to contribute to this ground-breaking project. The IIF will facilitate the involvement of private sector participants, extending an invitation to regulated financial institutions representing each of the seven aforementioned currencies to partake in this transformative endeavour.

Source: fintech.globa

The post Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.

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Fintech

TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud

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TD Bank has inked a multi-year deal with Google Cloud as it looks to streamline the development and deployment of new products and services.

The deal will see the Canadian banking group integrate the vendor’s cloud services into a wider portion of its technology solutions portfolio, a move which TD expects will enable it “to respond quickly to changing customer expectations by rolling out new features, updates, or entirely new financial products at an accelerated pace”.

This marks an expansion of the already established relationship between TD Bank and Google Cloud after the group previously adopted the vendor’s Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) for TD Securities Automated Trading (TDSAT), the Chicago-based subsidiary of its investment banking unit, TD Securities.

TDSAT uses GKE for process automation and quantitative modelling across fixed income markets, resulting in the development of a “data-driven research platform” capable of processing large research workloads in trading.

Dan Bosman, SVP and CIO of TD Securities, claims the infrastructure has so far supported TDSAT with “compute-intensive quantitative analysis” while expanding the subsidiary’s “trading volumes and portfolio size”.

TD’s new partnership with Google Cloud will see the group attempt to replicate the same level of success across its entire portfolio.

Source: fintechfutures.com

The post TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.

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