VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After the execution of a memorandum of understanding in early January 2021, Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: MARA), (“Marathon”) and DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: DMGI) (OTCQB-US: DMGGF) (FRANKFURT: 6AX) (“DMG”), a vertically integrated blockchain and cryptocurrency technology company, have entered into a definitive license agreement (the “Agreement”) to provide technology solutions for Marathon and the new Digital Currency Miners of North America (“DCMNA”) pool. Marathon is one of the largest enterprise Bitcoin self-mining companies in North America and will be launching the first North America-based Bitcoin mining pool that is fully compliant with U.S. regulations, including anti-money laundering (AML) and the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s (OFAC’s) standards. Unique features of DMG’s Blockseer pool technology include the ability to filter transactions to ensure AML and OFAC compliance in anticipation of impending US regulations. On a day-to-day basis, DCMNA will manage the pool with DMG providing strategic guidance and/or technical support as needed.
Marathon intends to direct 100% of its hashrate to the new mining pool. Marathon expects all 103,120 of its miners to be deployed by the first quarter of 2022, at which point, the Company will be directing 10.37 EH/s to the mining pool. In June 2021, the pool will begin accepting other U.S.-based Bitcoin mining companies.
Terms of Agreement with Marathon
As part of the Agreement, Marathon will be licensing DMG's proprietary Blockseer pool technology to be used by the DCMNA entity. Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, DMG will receive:
| (a) | USD$500,000 in common shares of Marathon; | |
| (b) | a monthly license fee paid in cash or Bitcoin (at DMG’s election) with a sliding scale based on DCMNA’s block rewards and transaction fees received by the pool; and | |
| (c) | technical support services to be provided on an as-needed basis with payment in US dollars. |
"We are excited to provide our proprietary software tools to the DCMNA pool.. As more U.S.-based Bitcoin mining companies (and their hashrate) join DCMNA, DMG will receive more Bitcoin from licensing our technology," said DMG’s CEO & COO, Sheldon Bennett.
“While institutional interest in Bitcoin is accelerating, many large funds and corporations have expressed concerns over purchasing Bitcoin that may have been tainted by nefarious actors,” said Merrick Okamoto, Marathon’s chairman and CEO. “Our pools’ initiatives are grounded on decentralization, transparency, legal compliance with U.S. rules and regulations, and independent auditability under U.S. auditing standards. While we appreciate some miners’ appetite for processing transactions indiscriminately, it is our belief that as a publicly listed company based in the United States, and as one focused on enabling more institutional adoption of Bitcoin, it is our responsibility to follow U.S. regulations. We believe that such regulatory compliant mining will allow us to produce ‘clean’ Bitcoin, which will enable a greater number of institutions to gain exposure to this new asset class, ultimately benefiting our organization, our shareholders, and the broader network.”
Okamoto continued, “Currently, more than two-thirds of Bitcoin’s global hashrate is concentrated in pools with little transparency, and most reside in one country. It is our belief that this concentration of hashrate outside of the United States, where central authorities could interfere with mining operations without due process, poses a risk to the network. We believe shifting more mining power to the U.S. could reduce these risks, potentially strengthening the network and benefitting all who participate in it. If all 10.37 EH/s of our potential hashrate were pointed towards this pool today, our mining pool would be the seventh largest bitcoin mining pool in the world, putting North America on the map as a digital-asset mining hub.”
Management/Director Updates
DMG also announces a change in senior management and the addition of a new director.
The Company reports that Daniel Reitzik has resigned from DMG as a director and as the Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Reitzik was one of the founders of DMG, and helped DMG grow from a small company in 2016 to a leading cryptocurrency and blockchain company. The Company thanks Mr. Reitzik for his contribution to DMG and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.
Sheldon Bennett, also a founder, who leads the day-to-day operations of DMG, has been appointed CEO and will also continue in his position of Chief Operating Officer for the time being. With the appointment to CEO, Mr. Bennett will continue building on his role of developing new business opportunities, partnerships, and continuing to execute on bringing DMG’s products to market.
The Company is also pleased to announce that Steven Eliscu has joined DMG’s board of directors. In adding Mr. Eliscu, DMG gains a board member who will help oversee the Company’s continued transformation, while guiding it to focus on key long-term drivers of valuation. Mr. Eliscu currently works as Head of Finance for DSP Concepts, and he is an experienced Blockchain and technology industry veteran, with experience at Bitfury as well as having advised a number of Blockchain start-ups. Mr. Eliscu is also a former equity research analyst for UBS, having provided investment coverage of the semiconductor industry to institutional investors. Mr. Eliscu has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Mr. Eliscu’s experience makes him ideal to chair the Board’s Audit Committee.
The Company also announces that it has granted 200,000 stock options with an exercise price of $2.49 to Mr. Eliscu for a three-year term.
Terra Clean Energy Pool
As previously disclosed on March 26, 2021, DMG and Argo Blockchain Plc will provide further updates on the Terra Pool as developments and progress occurs.
About Marathon Digital Holdings Inc.
Marathon is a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies, with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets.
About DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc.
DMG is a vertically integrated blockchain and cryptocurrency company that manages, operates, and develops end-to-end digital solutions to monetize the blockchain ecosystem. DMG’s businesses are segmented into three main divisions: data centre operations, data analytics and forensics and developing enterprise blockchains. DMG’s data centre operations focus on earning revenues from block rewards and transaction fees by mining primarily bitcoin as well as providing hosting services for industrial mining clients entirely powered by renewable energy. DMG’s data analytics and forensic services provide technical expertise software products such as Blockseer Pool, Mine Manager and Walletscore, as well as working with auditors, law firms, and law enforcement organizations. DMG’s permissioned blockchain technology is focused on developing enterprise software for the supply chain management of controlled products. DMG’s strategy is to become the domain experts across the business verticals it focuses on. DMG’s environmentally committed management team includes seasoned crypto experts, forensic & financial professionals and blockchain developers with deep relationships throughout the industry.
Future changes in the Bitcoin network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hashrate may materially affect the future performance of DMG’s production of Bitcoin, and future operational results could also be materially affected by the price of Bitcoin and an increase in hashrate mining difficulty.
For more information on DMG Blockchain Solutions visit: www.dmgblockchain.com
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Sheldon Bennett, CEO, COO & Director
For further information, please contact:
DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc.
Email: investors@dmgblockchain.com
Web: www.dmgblockchain.com
For Media Inquiries:
Jules Abraham, Head of Public Relations
CORE IR
917-885-7378
julesa@coreir.com
Investor Relations Contact:
CORE IR 516-222-2560
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service 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.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. Statements about the DCMNA and its expected outcomes, plans and benefits, other Bitcoin mining companies joining the DCMNA Pool, Marathon’s expected hashrate, updates and progress on the Terra Pool, price of bitcoin, plans and intentions, other potential transactions, acquisition of customers, product development, events, courses of action, and the potential of the Company’s technology and operations, among others, are all forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding looking wording such as “may”, “expect”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “believe” and “continue” or the negative thereof or similar variations. 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 the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions; the ability to manage operating expenses, which may adversely affect the Company’s financial condition; the ability to remain competitive as other better financed competitors develop and release competitive products; regulatory uncertainties; access to equipment; market conditions and the demand and pricing for products; the demand and pricing of bitcoins; security threats, including a loss/theft of DMG’s bitcoins; DMG’s relationships with its customers, distributors and business partners; the inability to add more power to DMG’s facilities; DMG’s ability to successfully define, design and release new products in a timely manner that meet customers’ needs; the ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; competition in the industry; the impact of technology changes on the products and industry; failure to develop new and innovative products; the ability to successfully maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights and defend third-party claims of infringement of their intellectual property rights; the impact of intellectual property litigation that could materially and adversely affect the business; the ability to manage working capital; and the dependence on key personnel. DMG may not actually achieve its plans, projections, or expectations. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, the ability to successfully develop software, that there will be no regulation or law that will prevent the Company from operating its business, anticipated costs, the ability to secure sufficient capital to complete its business plans, the ability to achieve goals and the price of bitcoin. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
The securities of DMG are considered highly speculative due to the nature of DMG’s business.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, failure to obtain regulatory approval, the continued availability of capital and financing, equipment failures, lack of supply of equipment, power and infrastructure, failure to obtain any permits required to operate the business, the impact of technology changes on the industry, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company’s ability to operate, secure equipment, and hire personnel, competition, security threats including stolen bitcoins from DMG or its customers or from the DCMNA, consumer sentiment towards DMG’s products, services and blockchain technology generally, decrease in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, failure of other Bitcoin mining companies to join the DCMNA, failure to develop new and innovative products, litigation, increase in operating costs, increase in equipment and labor costs, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, government regulations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.