Good afternoon, I’m James Preston and it’s great to have your company for the Hot
Performers exclusive to Kalkine TV. Despite the burgeoning hype surrounding cryptocurrencies,
most people are not well versed with blockchain technology and might find it difficult to directly
invest in cryptos, perhaps the next closest thing is blockchain and crypto related stocks,
and in this edition of the Hot Performers we take a look at three ASX stocks that should
be on your radar if you’re looking to become more involved with the world of blockchain technology.
Blockchain is a technology that lies at the heart of Bitcoin and altcoins such as Ethereum.
It basically refers to a decentralised public ledger which is used to verify various digital
transactions without a central oversight. So with that said let’s take a look at some
stocks that are buzzing in the space, beginning with DigitalX. DigitalX is the first publicly
listed blockchain technology company in the world, which started its operations with Bitcoin mining.
Gradually it expanded into developing blockchain-based applications such as Airpocket,
which enables peer-to-peer forex transactions. [g] The company has a market capitalisation of around
74 million dollars and is up around 57 per cent in the last one year. [e] Apart from developing
blockchain-based products, the company also handles digital assets funds management.
DigitalX’s funds under management grew 36.8 per cent in October to a new record high,
as Bitcoin hit an all-time high late in the month. There were also $1 million new flows
into DigitalX’s funds during the month. In other words, crypto proved its value during October
as an asset class uncorrelated with equities or precious metals. The, Second blockchain share to
eye is Change Financial. It is a 40-million-dollar company trying to redefine the way payments are
made. The company’s Vertexon payments platform offers prepaid debit and credit card solutions,
allowing secure payments through mobile devices and smartwatches. [g] Its share price has
delivered a negative return of around 23 per cent this year. [e] Global fintech Change Financial
last month announced a partnership with Axiom, one of the fastest growing community banks in the US.
The three-year partnership is a key step towards expanding Change’s reach in the US and will be a
key relationship when onboarding fintechs in the region. Change aims to onboard potential clients
with Axiom as the issuing bank, leveraging Change’s Mastercard registered processor and
payments platform, Vertexon. Its platform currently manages and processes more than 16
million virtual, credit, debit and prepaid cards worldwide, serving 136 clients in 36 countries.
AND the third and final stock to take a look at is the Fatfish Group. It’s a venture capital firm
which specialises in incubating tech start-ups, with a presence in Australian, Asian and Nordic
European regions. The company has a market capitalisation of around 56 million dollars.
The company’s portfolio includes Fatberry, Buy Now Pay Later player PaySLowSlow, digital media firm
Esports Plyers League and more. [g] Fatfish Group shares are up by a decent 38 per cent this year.
[e] The Asia-focused technology venture capital firm is now planning to enter the
burgeoning earned wage access sector with the $4.14 million acquisition of Australian digital
financing company BNPL Next Limited. BNPL Next owns 60% of salary-on-demand service provider
Circopay and has a two-year option to purchase the remaining 40%. [w] Circopay is an early
mover in the global Earned Wage Access space with customers in Southeast Asia and Australia. [e]
So in order to cash in on blockchain technology – without having to navigate the
sometimes complicated waters of the crypto space, investors are now turning to ASX listed players
making strides with blockchain more generally. Even though blockchain
technology is increasingly being implemented across diverse fields, its usage is still at a
nascent stage, leaving huge room for expansion. ALRIGHT that’s all for this edition of the Hot
Performers, hope you enjoyed the show. Make sure to keep watching kalkine tv for the latest market
updates, business news and exlusive interviews. I’m James Preston signing off for now!