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Wellfield Closes Acquisition of Tradewind Markets and Private Placement – Creates Transformational Platform for Precious Metals Investors and Producers

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  • Making precious metals holdings easier to manage for investors through blockchain-based solutions, fully backed by deliverable physical metal custodied at the Royal Canadian Mint – ultimate in security, fungibility, and efficiency.
  • Transforming gold and silver into income-generating assets through the application of Wellfield’s proprietary IP, beginning with the decentralized fixed income and volatility products it launched in December 2022.
  • Opportunity to create new distribution channels for precious metals producers by offering a direct investor to producer connection that aims to allocate producers a greater share of the value of the metals they produce, and for investors, confidence they are purchasing precious metals from leading North American producers.

Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – February 8, 2023) – Wellfield Technologies, Inc. (TSXV: WFLD) (OTCQB: WFLDF) (FSE: K8D) (the “Company” or “Wellfield“), today announced that further to its press release dated January 23, 2023, it has closed its acquisition of Tradewind Markets, Inc. (“Tradewind“), a US-based operator of a global digital precious metals platform (the “Acquisition“) for consideration equal to 15,166,667 units of the Company valued at US$5,795,000, and a non-brokered private placement of 15,000,000 units of the Company for gross proceeds of C$3,000,000 (the “Private Placement“).

Tradewind Acquisition

Tradewind offers blockchain based digital ownership of deliverable precious metals held in custody by the Royal Canadian Mint. It currently has C$176 million in AUM1 between its flagship VaultChain™ Gold and VaultChain™ Silver products, with retail channel distribution primarily by Kitco Metals Inc. (“Kitco“), one of North America’s largest online retailers and full-service providers of precious metals, and a leading global commodities media and information provider. Tradewind additionally operates an Electronic Request For Quote (“RFQ“) platform used by miners and refiners to streamline large scale trade execution of physical precious metals. During calendar 2022, the RFQ processed over C$825 million in transactions. Tradewind has attracted investments from several industry leaders, who will continue as shareholders of Wellfield, including: Sprott Inc., Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, Newmont Corporation, IAMGOLD Corporation, IEX Group, and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.

Management Commentary

Levy Cohen, CEO of Wellfield, commented, “In many ways, today’s precious metals market still resembles the structure that has existed for decades, leaving persistent unmet needs for both investors and producers. For investors, the selection, purchase and storage of physical gold and silver products is confusing and comes with the expense of storing it safely. Digital solutions have emerged, however they do not serve the largest portion of the market, which is still focused on physical metals. Tradewind’s solution offers the convenience and cost advantage of a digital solution, with the unique assurance that each digital ounce is backed by physically deliverable metal.

“For producers, an antiquated market structure limits their distribution options and full value realization for their product, particularly for those with meaningful potential ESG attributes. The combination of Wellfield’s intellectual property and settlement capabilities with Tradewind’s precious metals trading and custody platform, will enable us to build a ground-breaking set of solutions targeted at these important investor and producer pain points.

“This is a highly scalable platform with compelling monetization opportunities when combined with our unique blockchain based IP. I would like to welcome the Tradewind team to Wellfield and reflect our excitement regarding the value we can bring to investors, producers and shareholders as we build a profitable global platform together.”

Ryan Graybill, Director of Tradewind said, “Tradewind was born of the idea that the marriage of physical precious metals and blockchain technology represents an unbeatable combination. Our VaultChain™ Gold and VaultChain™ Silver products have been successful, but we are barely scratching the surface of this opportunity. Wellfield’s technology and vision empowers us to expand our capabilities and leverage new opportunities that didn’t exist when Tradewind began its journey. We are excited about the possibilities to add new value for our investor and industry partners in the gold and silver markets and we look forward to continuing on our mission as part of the Wellfield team.”

Acquisition Execution Strategy

  1. Add Coinmama to VaultChain™ and expand the Institutional dealer network – Immediately opens access to VaultChain products for over 3.5 million registered users.
  2. Launch regulated blockchain-based spot market for gold and silver – Expected to draw liquidity into the ecosystem, which will support trading and facilitate a direct connection between producers and investors, where quality gold of strong provenance will receive the premium it deserves and where investors can have confidence they are purchasing precious metals that have been responsibly produced and sourced.
  3. Add institutional fixed income and volatility products to VaultChain™ suite – Leveraging the protocols Wellfield released in December 2022, the Company expects to offer investors in the ecosystem the ability to use their on-chain gold and silver holdings to generate income. The lack of income generating potential is currently one of the most cited reasons to not invest in precious metals.

Acquisition and Private Placement Terms

Pursuant to the definitive agreement for the Acquisition, the Company acquired all issued and outstanding securities of Tradewind in exchange for 15,166,667 units of the Company (the “Acquisition Units“). The valuation of Tradewind in the Acquisition, being US$5,795,000 (approximately C$7,754,869), and the number of Acquisition Units to be issued, was fixed through arms-length negotiations by the parties and implies a notional value of US$0.38 (approximately C$0.51) per Acquisition Unit.

Under the Private Placement, the Company issued 15,000,000 units (the “Placement Units“) at a price of C$0.20 per Placement Unit. The net proceeds from the Private Placement are intended to be used for general working capital purposes. All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement are subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

No finder’s fees were paid and no control person was created as a result of the Acquisition or the Private Placement.

Each Acquisition Unit and each Placement Unit consists of one common share without par value in the capital of the Company (the “Unit Shares“) and one purchase warrant (a “Warrant“) to purchase a common share (the “Warrant Shares“). Each Warrant is exercisable at any time for a period of three years from the date on which such Warrants are issued and at a price of C$0.45 per share. Under the terms of the Warrants, in the event that if the volume-weighted average price of its common shares over 10 consecutive days traded on the TSXV is at or more than C$0.75, the Company has the option to accelerate the expiration date of the warrants to a date that is not less than 30 days from the date of written notice from the Company to the Warrant holders.

A director of the Company acquired 650,000 Placement Units. As such, the issuance of the Placement Units is a “related-party transaction” within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (“MI 61-101“). The issuance is exempt from the valuation and the minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 under Section 5.5(b) and Section 5.7(1)(a), respectively, as the shares underlying the Placement Units are not listed on a market specified in MI 61-101, and the fair market value of the Placement Units does not exceed 25% of the Company’s market capitalization. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing as the details of participation by related parties were not settled and the Company wished to close on an expedited basis for sound business reasons.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (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. This press release is not for distribution to U.S. newswire services nor for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. securities laws.

About Wellfield Technologies (TSXV: WFLD) (OTCQB: WFLDF) (FSE: K8D)

Wellfield is an R&D focused Fintech company that operates on public blockchains including Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Company operates a regulated platform that onboards customers globally at scale, leveraging its proprietary decentralized technology to offer highly disruptive on-chain self-custody solutions. Wellfield operates through two brands: Coinmama, which with a growing base of more than 3.5 million registered users, is one of the most trusted and enduring global brands operating in the crypto space; and Wellfield Capital, which the Company announced in late 2022 to meet the needs of institutional users and professional investors.

Join Wellfield’s digital community on LinkedIn and Twitter, and for more details, visit wellfield.io.

About Tradewind Markets, Inc.

Tradewind has built a technology platform for digitizing the trading, settlement, and ownership of precious metals. The Tradewind solution combines world-class exchange technology with VaultChain™, Tradewind’s blockchain technology tailored for precious metals. Tradewind was formed in 2016 and is managed by a team of professionals with extensive experience in electronic trading, market structure, gold investment management, market operations, cryptography and blockchain technology. For more information, please visit https://tradewindmarkets.com/.

For further information contact:

Wellfield Technologies Inc.
Levy Cohen, CEO
[email protected]

Jonathan Ross, Investor Relations
[email protected]
(416) 283-0178

For media enquiries, please contact Kieran Lawler:
[email protected]
(416) 303-0799

Cautionary Notice on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking information” (“forward-looking information”) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as “expects”, or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, “plans”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”, “estimates”, “believes” or “intends” or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results “may” or “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes the anticipated strategic, operational and competitive benefits of the Acquisition, the development, growth and integration of Tradewind’s business; the abilities of management and other personnel of the Company to achieve the objectives believed to be required to meet such expectations; use of proceeds from the Private Placement; and final TSXV approvals associated therewith, which are based on the Company’s current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking information necessarily involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company’s actual performance and results to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the Company’s ability to achieve the synergies expected as a result of the Acquisition; the Company’s ability to meet the working capital requirements; material adverse changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets, changes in applicable laws; compliance with extensive government regulation, the ability of the Company to raise additional capital to fund future operations, compliance with extensive government regulations, domestic and foreign laws and regulations adversely affecting the Company, the impact of COVID-19, and the decentralized finance industry generally. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive and readers are encouraged to review the disclosure documents accessible on the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. 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. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) has approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release, nor do they. accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Wellfield Technologies Inc.


Assets Under Management as of December 31, 2022

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/154061

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Stockify goes fully Digital, offers Mutual Funds and Dematerialization of shares

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In a strategic move to expand its offerings and provide a comprehensive suite of financial services, Stockify, a leading platform for Unlisted and pre-IPO shares in India, has announced plans to venture into the Mutual Fund space.

This development comes as part of Stockify’s mission to assist High-Net Individuals (HNIs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in accessing various investment opportunities in India via the pre-IPO route and maximizing their wealth. The company is also set to facilitate the Dematerialization of Shares. (Conversion of Physical Share to DEMAT account.)

Founded by Piyush Jhunjhunwala (CA, CPA) and Co-Founded by Rahul Khatuwala (CA) both seasoned finance professionals with decades of experience in global conglomerates.

Stockify has already carved a niche for itself in the Indian Financial landscape. The platform primarily focuses on providing access to Blue-Chip Stocks before their listing on the Indian Stock Market (via the Pre IPO Route) enabling early investors to potentially achieve significant returns. While expressing the company’s intent behind expanding its services, Jhunjhunwala said, “Mutual Funds are the backbone of the Indian Equity market, and we believe it is important that NRI and retail investors in India can greatly benefit from our new offering and this will help them in creating long-term wealth.”

The recent announcement of Stockify entering the Mutual Funds market follows the company’s successful acquisition of a Mutual Fund license in the first quarter of 2023. Alongside Mutual Funds, Stockify intends to offer an array of other financial products, like Start-up Funding, fixed investment products like Bonds and Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) and Insurance-Linked Investments, in the coming months. Notably, Stockify plans to make all its products and services 100% accessible online, aligning with the Digital India vision of our beloved Prime Minster Mr. Narendra Modi.

Currently, Stockify boasts 70 Unlisted/pre-IPO companies on its platform, with in-depth research conducted on all of them as stated by Jhunjhunwala. It offers a simple online process where transactions can be completed online, and shares get transferred to the clients DEMAT account on the same day.

Stockify’s global presence was recently showcased at the Dubai Fintech Summit (DFS). The two-day event brought together over 5,000 C-suite leaders, 1,000-plus investors, and 150 speakers from around the world. Stockify was selected as one of the proud exhibitors at the summit, solidifying its position as one of the world’s largest providers of pre-IPO and Unlisted Stocks in India.

With its ambitious expansion plans and commitment to innovation, Stockify is set to continue revolutionizing the way investors access and engage with financial opportunities in India and beyond.

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VerifyVASP Wins Hong Kong’s IFTA Fintech and Innovation Awards 2022/23: Regulatory Technology Award

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VerifyVASP was awarded the Institute of Financial Technologists of Asia (IFTA) Fintech and Innovation Awards 2022/23 for Regulatory Technology. The awards exhibit the extraordinary achievements made by companies and individuals in the finance and technology industries.

The IFTA Awards, themed “Game Changers: The Rise of Next Gen Fintech”, celebrates ground-breaking ideas and technologies that are shaping the future of finance. The distinguished Guest of Honour presenting the IFTA awards was the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury for Financial Services in the Hong Kong SAR, Mr. Joseph Ho-Lim Chan.

VerifyVASP has established itself as a comprehensive Travel Rule solution provider catering to Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs) worldwide. Its commitment to facilitating full compliance with Travel Rule regulations across multiple jurisdictions has earned it this prestigious recognition.

This accolade comes at an opportune time, as VerifyVASP supports the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATPs) in adhering to the regulatory framework set forth by the Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission, which came into effect on 1 June 2023. VATPs are granted a grace period till 1 January 2024 to ensure compliance with Travel Rule requirements.

The IFTA Fintech and Innovation Award underscores VerifyVASP’s capabilities, including:

  • Facilitation of counterparty due diligence: VerifyVASP assists VASPs in counterparty due diligence before the first transaction, to stringent standards akin to that observed in correspondent banking. This is achieved through VerifyVASP’s own rigorous due diligence process, encompassing over 100 VASPs.
  • Immediate and secure transmission: Leveraging a scalable architecture, VerifyVASP ensures immediate and secure transmission of required information, alongside verification of such information. To date, the platform has processed over 5 million transfers.
  • Adherence to international data protection laws: VerifyVASP complies with international data protection law thanks to its decentralised, end to end encrypted architecture. This dedication to data security and privacy sets it apart in the industry.
  • Asset agnostic: VerifyVASP’s capabilities extend to accommodating any type of virtual asset, having processed over 400 cryptocurrency variants on its platform.
  • Integration of third-party screening solutions: VerifyVASP seamlessly integrates third-party solutions, allowing for efficient screening of originators or beneficiaries before blockchain transactions.

SOURCE VerifyVASP Pte Ltd

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Nagad’s Digital Bank on cards, Sadaf to lead the side

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Nagad, Bangladesh’s leading Mobile Financial Service (MFS) provider, is gearing up to establish the much-anticipated digital bank, as it is going to secure a licence from the Bangladesh Bank within a couple of months.

Sadaf Roksana, a co-founder and executive director of Nagad Ltd., has been entrusted with the responsibility of leading her company’s transformative venture that will bring greater convenience to the lives of millions of Bangladeshis, reducing their reliance on traditional brick-and-mortar banks.

The MFS provider earlier applied to secure a digital bank licence following the central bank’s call for applications through its website. The Bangladesh Bank also formulated necessary guidelines to widen and accelerate financial inclusion, which will also create jobs for young IT workers.

The world’s fastest mobile money carrier is going to venture into the digital banking era at a time when the financial landscape across the globe is fast evolving towards digitalisation, driven by technological advancements and changing consumer preferences.

Taking on the new assignment, Sadaf, a seasoned financial executive with a remarkable track record in the fintech industry, is poised to steer Nagad’s digital bank towards success. Once Nagad gets the digital bank licence, it will provide its consumers with innovative and convenient banking solutions.

“We are very excited that we are going to introduce digital banking services to the people of Bangladesh within a couple of months,” Sadaf said, adding, “This endeavour aligns perfectly with our vision of enhancing financial inclusion and ensuring easy access to all financial services also at affordable prices.”

Nagad is already well-equipped to launch a digital bank. It will start serving customers soon after getting the licence, Sadaf assured.

Under its digital banking platform, Nagad will introduce many new services, such as single-digit and collateral-free loans for small informal businesses and farmers who now are to take loans from moneylenders even at 40% interest rate per day, she pointed out.

“Thus, we will encourage them to come under financial inclusion, thus putting their money into the formal channel,” she expressed her optimism.

To assess one’s creditworthiness, Nagad has created an AI-based credit rating system that will analyse all transactions-related data available on public domains using one’s NID and mobile number, Sadaf Roksana added.

As Nagad goes ahead with its plans, all eyes will be on Sadaf Roksana and her team as they will embark on this exciting journey towards a more digitised and inclusive financial future for the country.

SOURCE Nagad Limited

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