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2766604 Ontario Ltd. Completes $15.7 Million Private Placement of Subscription Receipts

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Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – December 29, 2021) – Aardvark Capital Corp. (TSXV: ACCA.P) (the “Company“) and 2766604 Ontario Ltd. (“GoldCo“) are pleased to announce that GoldCo has closed its previously announced private placement of subscription receipts of GoldCo (the “Subscription Receipts“), consisting of the issuance of an aggregate of 7,457,514 Subscription Receipts at a price of C$2.10 per Subscription Receipt (the “Issue Price“) for aggregate gross proceeds of C$15,660,779.40 (the “Offering“). The Offering was comprised of a brokered and non-brokered component, with the brokered portion completed in accordance with, among other things, the terms of an agency agreement dated December 29, 2021 (the “Agency Agreement“) among the Company, GoldCo, Haywood Securities Inc. (“Haywood“) as sole bookrunner and co-lead agent with Canaccord Genuity Corp., together with Cormark Securities Inc. and Sprott Capital Partners LP (collectively, the “Agents“). The Offering was completed in connection with the previously-announced arm’s length Qualifying Transaction (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) (the “Qualifying Transaction“) proposed to be completed by the Company and GoldCo, further details of which may be found in the prior news releases of the Company, including the most recent news release of the Company dated December 24, 2021.

The Subscription Receipts were created and issued pursuant to the terms of a subscription receipt agreement dated December 29, 2021 (the “Subscription Receipt Agreement“) among GoldCo, Haywood, on behalf of the Agents, and TSX Trust Company (the “Subscription Receipt Agent“), as subscription receipt agent. Each Subscription Receipt will be deemed to be automatically converted, without payment of additional consideration or further action by the holder thereof, into one common share in the capital of GoldCo (each, a “GoldCo Share“), subject to adjustment in certain events, immediately before the closing of the Qualifying Transaction upon the satisfaction and/or waiver of certain escrow release conditions (the “Escrow Release Conditions“) specified in the Subscription Receipt Agreement at or before April 28, 2022 (the “Escrow Release Deadline“). Upon completion of the Qualifying Transaction, each GoldCo Share will be immediately exchanged for one common share of the Company (after giving effect to the Company’s proposed 5 to 1 share consolidation), as the issuer resulting from the completion of the Qualifying Transaction (the “Resulting Issuer“), for no additional consideration and without any further action by the holders thereof, as more particularly described in the news releases of the Company dated December 24, 2021. The Company and GoldCo are currently aiming to close the Qualifying Transaction in calendar Q1, 2022, subject to the timely satisfaction of a number of customary closing conditions (including, receipt of the conditional approval of the TSXV), all as more particularly described in the news releases of the Company dated December 24, 2021.

In consideration for their services in connection with the brokered portion of the Offering, GoldCo paidto the Agents a cash fee (the “Agent’s Fee“) equal to 6.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of the Subscription Receipts. As additional consideration for the services of the Agents, GoldCo also issued to the Agents compensation options of GoldCo (the “Compensation Options“) equal to 6.0% of the number of Subscription Receipts sold in the Offering. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Agent’s Fee and the number of Compensation Options were reduced to (i) 2.0%, on proceeds of an aggregate amount of approximately C$2.5 million from purchasers directly arranged by GoldCo through a president’s list, and (ii) nil for purchases by directors, officers and employees of GoldCo and certain strategic advisors to GoldCo and their affiliates. Additionally as consideration for the advisory services rendered by the Agents in connection with the Qualifying Transaction, Goldco paid to the Agents a cash advisory fee equal to $140,000 plus applicable taxes (the “Advisory Fee“); and (ii) issued to the Agents an additional 75,000 Compensation Options.

On closing of the Offering, 50% of the Agent’s Fee and 50% of the Advisory Fee was paid to the Agents, with the remaining 50% of the Agent’s Fee and 50% of the Advisory Fee deposited in escrow with the Subscription Receipt Agent. Each Compensation Option will, upon completion of the Qualifying Transaction, be automatically exchanged for one compensation option of the Resulting Issuer (the “Resulting Compensation Options“), with each Resulting Compensation Option exercisable to acquire one common share of the Resulting Issuer, at a price of C$2.10 per Resulting Issuer share for a period of 24 months following the date of closing of the Qualifying Transaction.

Upon closing of the Offering, the gross proceeds of the Offering, less 50% of the Agent’s Fee, 50% of the Advisory Fee and the Agents’ estimated expenses, were deposited in escrow with the Subscription Receipt Agent pending satisfaction and/or waiver of the Escrow Release Conditions in accordance with the provisions of the Subscription Receipt Agreement. Unless the requisite approval is obtained pursuant to and in accordance with the terms of the Subscription Receipt Agreement, if the Escrow Release Conditions are not satisfied and/or waived on or before the Escrow Release Deadline, each of the then issued and outstanding Subscription Receipts will be cancelled and the Subscription Receipt Agent will return to each holder of Subscription Receipts an amount equal to the aggregate Issue Price of the Subscription Receipts held by such holder plus an amount equal to the holder’s pro rata share of any interest or other income earned on the escrowed funds (less applicable withholding tax, if any).

The proceeds of the Offering are expected to be used to fund (i) the exploration and other expenses relating to the FAD Property (as defined below), (ii) the expenses of the Qualifying Transaction and the Offering, and (iii) the working capital requirements of the Resulting Issuer.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein in the United States or in any other jurisdiction, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold in the United States except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom.

About GoldCo

GoldCo is a private company incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario). Pursuant to the terms of the Option Agreement, GoldCo, through Golden Hill, has the option to acquire a 100% interest in the “FAD Property” (the “FAD Property“) located on the Eureka-Battle Mountain trend in Nevada, USA. The FAD Property is host to the high-grade poly-metallic FAD Deposit that was partially delineated with surface and underground drilling in the 1940s and 1950s. Other than as disclosed in the news release of the Company of November 8, 2021, there has been no modern-day exploration or drilling completed on the FAD Property since the 1950s.

The FAD Property is located less than 3 miles from Eureka, Nevada and has established infrastructure, including a shaft, roads and old buildings.

About Aardvark Capital Corp.

The Company is a capital pool company (within the meaning of the Policy) incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) on January 29, 2021. It is a reporting issuer in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with its registered and head office located in Toronto, Ontario. The Company has no commercial operations and no assets other than cash.

Cautionary Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-looking statements“) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “will”, “estimates”, “believes”, “intends” “expects” and similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements concerning the Qualifying Transaction (including, without limitation, the anticipated timing of the completion thereof, the use of proceeds, and the satisfaction and/or waiver of the Escrow Release Conditions). Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and the actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, assumptions and expectations, many of which are beyond the control of the Parties, including expectations and assumptions concerning (i) the Company, GoldCo, the Resulting Issuer, and the Qualifying Transaction, and (ii) the timely receipt of all required shareholder, court and regulatory approvals (as applicable), including the approval of the TSXV. Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking statements 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 the Parties. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, as such information, although considered reasonable by the respective management of the Company and GoldCo at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and are expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statement. Except as expressly required by securities law, neither the Company nor GoldCo undertakes any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Further Information

All information contained in this news release with respect to the Company and GoldCo was supplied by the respective party for inclusion herein, and each party and its directors and officers have relied on the other party for any information concerning the other party. For certainty, all information in this release with respect to the FAD Property and the Offering was supplied by GoldCo for inclusion herein, and the Company and its directors and officers have relied on GoldCo for any information related thereto.

For further information please contact:

Aardvark Capital Corp.
Zachary Goldenberg
C.E.O, and Director
Telephone: 647-987-5083
Email: [email protected]

2766604 Ontario Ltd.
Christina McCarthy
President, CEO, Director
Telephone: 416-712-6151
Email: [email protected]


Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for release, publication, distribution or dissemination, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, in or into the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108632

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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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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