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A Starter Guide to Building Exposure to NFT Stocks for the Metaverse Boom (CRTD, AHFD, PLBY, TKAT, OCG, ZKIN, WKEY, EBAY)

One of the most remarkable growth opportunities to get in gear over the past year is the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. However, contrary to popular confusion, this is not a pile of disjointed collectibles strung together in a common “hobbyist”…

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One of the most remarkable growth opportunities to get in gear over the past year is the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. However, contrary to popular confusion, this is not a pile of disjointed collectibles strung together in a common “hobbyist” instinct. This is the birth of digital real estate. It represents the dawn of true property rights for digital goods. 

Jesse Walden’s (Variant Fund) eloquent exploration of the coming NFT boom says it best in his “NFTs Make the Internet Ownable”.

The amount of real-world property value is limited by physics. The value proposition for digital goods is theoretically unlimited. Cyberspace is infinite. Physical space is finite. It’s just that simple. And, right now, NFTs represent the only solution to the puzzle of unleashing that infinite value. 

The NFT space was on fire earlier in 2021 after a JPEG file by the digital artist Beeple sold for $69 million at Christie’s. That momentum resurfaced in August and picked up further in September as monthly sales on OpenSea, the top platform for buying and selling NFTs, reached new heights.

We could see that momentum resurface again soon, and it may become stickier as the concept becomes increasingly tied to the Metaverse theme. 

With that in mind, we take a look below at some of the hottest and most interesting players in the equities market with strong NFT exposure.

PLBY Group Inc. (Nasdaq:PLBY) is a well-known company with a rich history as a cultural icon. But it’s also becoming a major NFT player. According to its materials, PLBY views blockchain as a new technology layer to expand the ways consumers can interact with the Playboy lifestyle and as a key tool for building Playboy’s new membership offerings. 

Playboy entered the world of NFTs and blockchain technology in the Spring of 2021 with its genesis NFT drop called Liquid Summer: a collection of digital artworks created in collaboration with the artist Slimesunday. The first drop was distributed on Nifty Gateway and sold out in under 3 minutes. Since then, Playboy has continued expanding in the world of NFTs, blockchain and Web3 through collaborations with artists such as Shantell Martin, art drops on SuperRare, Metaverse events in Decentraland and with an NFT artist grant program in partnership with the Sevens Foundation. 

PLBY Group Inc. (Nasdaq:PLBY) recently unveiled its newest collection of NFTs: Playboy Rabbitars. Paying homage to its founding year 1953, Playboy will release 11,953 unique Rabbitars, 3D rabbit characters, in NFT form. 

Inspired by Playboy’s iconography, heritage, and lore, each Rabbitar will possess unique traits – some more rare than others – and will serve as keys to a reimagined Playboy Club, giving owners access to benefits like special members-only events, merchandise, artwork, and exclusive artist collaborations.

Jamal Dauda, VP, Blockchain Innovation, noted, “Distributed ledger technology is revolutionizing how fans and consumers interact with brands today. At Playboy, we’re committed to moving out of the era of merely acquiring followers and into an era of building thoughtful communities where each member has a voice. Our goal is to deliver meaningful opportunities for ownership and unique value. The Rabbitars mark the beginning of true blockchain-based membership for Playboy. Just as Playboy Club keys gave millions of members a chance to step into the sophisticated lifestyle that the Playboy brand represents, NFTs today can do the same and so much more.”

The context for this announcement is a bit of a bid, with shares acting well over the past five days, up about 22% in that timeframe. 

PLBY Group Inc. (Nasdaq:PLBY) also boasts a strong balance sheet, with cash levels exceeding current liabilities ($255.5M against $49.9M).

Active Health Foods Inc. (OTC US:AHFD), aka “CoinChamp”, recently acquired CoinChamp, Inc., and, according to materials from the company, the operations of CoinChamp now represent the operations of the entire Company. 

CoinChamp looks to be developing a platform for the plug-and-play creation of non-fungible tokens with a focus on ease of use. The company is headed by Glen Bonilla, an experienced serial entrepreneur with an extensive banking background, years of managerial experience, and a fresh vision as a tech savvy millennial CEO. It’s an interesting story in the making and the stock has found some big bids since hinting at its transition into the NFT space.

Active Health Foods Inc. (OTC US:AHFD) is a developing story in the market. The company just announced this morning the launch of measures to fund the development of the Company’s market-leading plug-and-play universal function NFT platform vision. 

According to its release, proceeds will be primarily deployed for the rapid development of a market-leading plug-and-play universal function NFT platform targeting ease of use and the democratization of the NFT marketplace. As announced in its release dated November 16, the Company recently signed a Statement of Work with MEV, LLC, a leading software development firm, to undertake the initial stages of the development of the platform.

“We have an aggressive timeframe for development and deployment of core technology underpinning our NFT platform vision,” noted Glen Bonilla, President and CEO of CoinChamp. “As recently discussed, we have already established our development team and vision. This round will ensure we are able to move fast and maintain a high standard of functionality in creating the most user-friendly universal plug-and-play tool in the NFT space. By the time we launch, we want anyone and everyone to be able to participate in the NFT marketplace without prior experience, expertise, or training with just a few clicks.”

Active Health Foods Inc. (OTC US:AHFD) is now CoinChamp. That’s the most important point. And the company appears to be headed toward positioning as a potentially leading name as a universal plug-and-play NFT platform concept. AHFD has already nailed down its vision, strategy, and development team. And it is now putting its funding strategy in place, with an eye on launching something game-changing in 2022, possibly as the NFT space takes further strides toward explosive mainstream commercial viability as the Metaverse takes shape.

Oriental Culture Holding Ltd. (Nasdaq:OCG) Oriental Culture Holding Ltd. operates as a holding company which through its subsidiaries engages in providing collectibles and artwork e-commerce services. It facilitates trading by individual customers of all kinds of collectibles, artworks and commodities through its online platforms. The company was founded on November 29, 2018 and is headquartered in Nanjing, China.

Oriental Culture Holding Ltd. (Nasdaq:OCG) recently announced its unaudited financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2021, including news that total revenues were approximately $24.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, representing an increase of 891.1 % compared with the total revenues of approximately $2.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020. It also noted that gross profit was approximately $23.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, representing an increase of 1,011.2% compared with approximately gross profit of $2.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020.

Mr. Yi Shao, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented “We are very excited to report that our revenues in the first half of 2021 increased by 891.1% year over year to $24.5 million and our net income in the first half of 2021 increased by 2,601.8% year over year to $10.1 million. We have seen a strong first half of this year comparing to the same period of last year as the art and collectible market has bounced back and our business operation has returned to normal as COVID-19 pandemic has mostly been under control in China. During the first half of 2020, our business and operation suffered material negative impact by the outbreak of COVID-19 with the closure of our offices, especially the closure of our warehouse which prevented us from taking in new collectibles and artwork products as well as the traffic control and logistics restrictions in China during the outbreak which delayed delivery of collectibles and artwork from clients for appraisal and listing on our platform.”

If you’re long this stock, then you’re liking how the stock has responded to the announcement. OCG shares have been moving higher over the past week overall, pushing about 8% to the upside on above average trading volume. 

Oriental Culture Holding Ltd. (Nasdaq:OCG) had no reported sales in its last quarterly financial data. In addition, the company is battling some balance sheet hurdles, with cash levels struggling to keep up with current liabilities ($0 against $0, respectively).

Other core NFT plays include Creatd Inc. (Nasdaq:CRTD), Takung Art Co. Ltd. (NYSE American:TKAT), ZK International Group Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq:ZKIN), WISeKey International Holding Ltd. ADR (Nasdaq:WKEY), and eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY).

Please make sure to read and completely understand our disclaimer at https://www.wallstreetpr.com/disclaimer. We may be compensated for posting this content on our website by EDM Media LLC. For questions, comments or suggestions please contact ir@edm.media.

The post A Starter Guide to Building Exposure to NFT Stocks for the Metaverse Boom (CRTD, AHFD, PLBY, TKAT, OCG, ZKIN, WKEY, EBAY) appeared first on Wall Street PR.

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Homes listed for sale in early June sell for $7,700 more

New Zillow research suggests the spring home shopping season may see a second wave this summer if mortgage rates fall
The post Homes listed for sale in…

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March 11, 2024

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  • A Zillow analysis of 2023 home sales finds homes listed in the first two weeks of June sold for 2.3% more. 
  • The best time to list a home for sale is a month later than it was in 2019, likely driven by mortgage rates.
  • The best time to list can be as early as the second half of February in San Francisco, and as late as the first half of July in New York and Philadelphia. 

Spring home sellers looking to maximize their sale price may want to wait it out and list their home for sale in the first half of June. A new Zillow® analysis of 2023 sales found that homes listed in the first two weeks of June sold for 2.3% more, a $7,700 boost on a typical U.S. home.  

The best time to list consistently had been early May in the years leading up to the pandemic. The shift to June suggests mortgage rates are strongly influencing demand on top of the usual seasonality that brings buyers to the market in the spring. This home-shopping season is poised to follow a similar pattern as that in 2023, with the potential for a second wave if the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates midyear or later. 

The 2.3% sale price premium registered last June followed the first spring in more than 15 years with mortgage rates over 6% on a 30-year fixed-rate loan. The high rates put home buyers on the back foot, and as rates continued upward through May, they were still reassessing and less likely to bid boldly. In June, however, rates pulled back a little from 6.79% to 6.67%, which likely presented an opportunity for determined buyers heading into summer. More buyers understood their market position and could afford to transact, boosting competition and sale prices.

The old logic was that sellers could earn a premium by listing in late spring, when search activity hit its peak. Now, with persistently low inventory, mortgage rate fluctuations make their own seasonality. First-time home buyers who are on the edge of qualifying for a home loan may dip in and out of the market, depending on what’s happening with rates. It is almost certain the Federal Reserve will push back any interest-rate cuts to mid-2024 at the earliest. If mortgage rates follow, that could bring another surge of buyers later this year.

Mortgage rates have been impacting affordability and sale prices since they began rising rapidly two years ago. In 2022, sellers nationwide saw the highest sale premium when they listed their home in late March, right before rates barreled past 5% and continued climbing. 

Zillow’s research finds the best time to list can vary widely by metropolitan area. In 2023, it was as early as the second half of February in San Francisco, and as late as the first half of July in New York. Thirty of the top 35 largest metro areas saw for-sale listings command the highest sale prices between May and early July last year. 

Zillow also found a wide range in the sale price premiums associated with homes listed during those peak periods. At the hottest time of the year in San Jose, homes sold for 5.5% more, a $88,000 boost on a typical home. Meanwhile, homes in San Antonio sold for 1.9% more during that same time period.  

 

Metropolitan Area Best Time to List Price Premium Dollar Boost
United States First half of June 2.3% $7,700
New York, NY First half of July 2.4% $15,500
Los Angeles, CA First half of May 4.1% $39,300
Chicago, IL First half of June 2.8% $8,800
Dallas, TX First half of June 2.5% $9,200
Houston, TX Second half of April 2.0% $6,200
Washington, DC Second half of June 2.2% $12,700
Philadelphia, PA First half of July 2.4% $8,200
Miami, FL First half of June 2.3% $12,900
Atlanta, GA Second half of June 2.3% $8,700
Boston, MA Second half of May 3.5% $23,600
Phoenix, AZ First half of June 3.2% $14,700
San Francisco, CA Second half of February 4.2% $50,300
Riverside, CA First half of May 2.7% $15,600
Detroit, MI First half of July 3.3% $7,900
Seattle, WA First half of June 4.3% $31,500
Minneapolis, MN Second half of May 3.7% $13,400
San Diego, CA Second half of April 3.1% $29,600
Tampa, FL Second half of June 2.1% $8,000
Denver, CO Second half of May 2.9% $16,900
Baltimore, MD First half of July 2.2% $8,200
St. Louis, MO First half of June 2.9% $7,000
Orlando, FL First half of June 2.2% $8,700
Charlotte, NC Second half of May 3.0% $11,000
San Antonio, TX First half of June 1.9% $5,400
Portland, OR Second half of April 2.6% $14,300
Sacramento, CA First half of June 3.2% $17,900
Pittsburgh, PA Second half of June 2.3% $4,700
Cincinnati, OH Second half of April 2.7% $7,500
Austin, TX Second half of May 2.8% $12,600
Las Vegas, NV First half of June 3.4% $14,600
Kansas City, MO Second half of May 2.5% $7,300
Columbus, OH Second half of June 3.3% $10,400
Indianapolis, IN First half of July 3.0% $8,100
Cleveland, OH First half of July  3.4% $7,400
San Jose, CA First half of June 5.5% $88,400

 

The post Homes listed for sale in early June sell for $7,700 more appeared first on Zillow Research.

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Survey Shows Declining Concerns Among Americans About COVID-19

Survey Shows Declining Concerns Among Americans About COVID-19

A new survey reveals that only 20% of Americans view covid-19 as "a major threat"…

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March 11, 2024

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Survey Shows Declining Concerns Among Americans About COVID-19

A new survey reveals that only 20% of Americans view covid-19 as "a major threat" to the health of the US population - a sharp decline from a high of 67% in July 2020.

(SARMDY/Shutterstock)

What's more, the Pew Research Center survey conducted from Feb. 7 to Feb. 11 showed that just 10% of Americans are concerned that they will  catch the disease and require hospitalization.

"This data represents a low ebb of public concern about the virus that reached its height in the summer and fall of 2020, when as many as two-thirds of Americans viewed COVID-19 as a major threat to public health," reads the report, which was published March 7.

According to the survey, half of the participants understand the significance of researchers and healthcare providers in understanding and treating long COVID - however 27% of participants consider this issue less important, while 22% of Americans are unaware of long COVID.

What's more, while Democrats were far more worried than Republicans in the past, that gap has narrowed significantly.

"In the pandemic’s first year, Democrats were routinely about 40 points more likely than Republicans to view the coronavirus as a major threat to the health of the U.S. population. This gap has waned as overall levels of concern have fallen," reads the report.

More via the Epoch Times;

The survey found that three in ten Democrats under 50 have received an updated COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 66 percent of Democrats ages 65 and older.

Moreover, 66 percent of Democrats ages 65 and older have received the updated COVID-19 vaccine, while only 24 percent of Republicans ages 65 and older have done so.

“This 42-point partisan gap is much wider now than at other points since the start of the outbreak. For instance, in August 2021, 93 percent of older Democrats and 78 percent of older Republicans said they had received all the shots needed to be fully vaccinated (a 15-point gap),” it noted.

COVID-19 No Longer an Emergency

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued its updated recommendations for the virus, which no longer require people to stay home for five days after testing positive for COVID-19.

The updated guidance recommends that people who contracted a respiratory virus stay home, and they can resume normal activities when their symptoms improve overall and their fever subsides for 24 hours without medication.

“We still must use the commonsense solutions we know work to protect ourselves and others from serious illness from respiratory viruses, this includes vaccination, treatment, and staying home when we get sick,” CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement.

The CDC said that while the virus remains a threat, it is now less likely to cause severe illness because of widespread immunity and improved tools to prevent and treat the disease.

“Importantly, states and countries that have already adjusted recommended isolation times have not seen increased hospitalizations or deaths related to COVID-19,” it stated.

The federal government suspended its free at-home COVID-19 test program on March 8, according to a website set up by the government, following a decrease in COVID-19-related hospitalizations.

According to the CDC, hospitalization rates for COVID-19 and influenza diseases remain “elevated” but are decreasing in some parts of the United States.

Tyler Durden Sun, 03/10/2024 - 22:45

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Rand Paul Teases Senate GOP Leader Run – Musk Says “I Would Support”

Rand Paul Teases Senate GOP Leader Run – Musk Says "I Would Support"

Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul on Friday hinted that he may jump…

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9 hours ago

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March 10, 2024

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Rand Paul Teases Senate GOP Leader Run - Musk Says "I Would Support"

Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul on Friday hinted that he may jump into the race to become the next Senate GOP leader, and Elon Musk was quick to support the idea. Republicans must find a successor for periodically malfunctioning Mitch McConnell, who recently announced he'll step down in November, though intending to keep his Senate seat until his term ends in January 2027, when he'd be within weeks of turning 86. 

So far, the announced field consists of two quintessential establishment types: John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota. While John Barrasso's name had been thrown around as one of "The Three Johns" considered top contenders, the Wyoming senator on Tuesday said he'll instead seek the number two slot as party whip. 

Paul used X to tease his potential bid for the position which -- if the GOP takes back the upper chamber in November -- could graduate from Minority Leader to Majority Leader. He started by telling his 5.1 million followers he'd had lots of people asking him about his interest in running...

...then followed up with a poll in which he predictably annihilated Cornyn and Thune, taking a 96% share as of Friday night, with the other two below 2% each. 

Elon Musk was quick to back the idea of Paul as GOP leader, while daring Cornyn and Thune to follow Paul's lead by throwing their names out for consideration by the Twitter-verse X-verse. 

Paul has been a stalwart opponent of security-state mass surveillance, foreign interventionism -- to include shoveling billions of dollars into the proxy war in Ukraine -- and out-of-control spending in general. He demonstrated the latter passion on the Senate floor this week as he ridiculed the latest kick-the-can spending package:   

In February, Paul used Senate rules to force his colleagues into a grueling Super Bowl weekend of votes, as he worked to derail a $95 billion foreign aid bill. "I think we should stay here as long as it takes,” said Paul. “If it takes a week or a month, I’ll force them to stay here to discuss why they think the border of Ukraine is more important than the US border.”

Don't expect a Majority Leader Paul to ditch the filibuster -- he's been a hardy user of the legislative delay tactic. In 2013, he spoke for 13 hours to fight the nomination of John Brennan as CIA director. In 2015, he orated for 10-and-a-half-hours to oppose extension of the Patriot Act. 

Rand Paul amid his 10 1/2 hour filibuster in 2015

Among the general public, Paul is probably best known as Capitol Hill's chief tormentor of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease during the Covid-19 pandemic. Paul says the evidence indicates the virus emerged from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology. He's accused Fauci and other members of the US government public health apparatus of evading questions about their funding of the Chinese lab's "gain of function" research, which takes natural viruses and morphs them into something more dangerous. Paul has pointedly said that Fauci committed perjury in congressional hearings and that he belongs in jail "without question."   

Musk is neither the only nor the first noteworthy figure to back Paul for party leader. Just hours after McConnell announced his upcoming step-down from leadership, independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr voiced his support: 

In a testament to the extent to which the establishment recoils at the libertarian-minded Paul, mainstream media outlets -- which have been quick to report on other developments in the majority leader race -- pretended not to notice that Paul had signaled his interest in the job. More than 24 hours after Paul's test-the-waters tweet-fest began, not a single major outlet had brought it to the attention of their audience. 

That may be his strongest endorsement yet. 

Tyler Durden Sun, 03/10/2024 - 20:25

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