In early 2022, Eminem, the 49-year old rapper, spent close to $462,000 to purchase a non-fungible token (NFT) of Bored Ape Yacht Club. He also bought the NFT that resembles him for 123.45 Ethereum, changing his Twitter avatar to a photograph of his “NFT self.” Put simply, an NFT is a form of digital art stored in a Blockchain, a digital ledger. In case the craze hasn’t been evident, other celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Jimmy Fallon, Grimes, and Tom Brady have also jumped on board. It’s been known that NFT as a stored unit is closely linked to Decentralized Finance (DeFi), as both mainly operate on the Ethereum Blockchain, where a wide range of financial and investment applications can be developed. Since rising tides could raise all ships in the same area, many companies that are already pioneers of the DeFi ecosystem, including WonderFi Technologies (NEO:WNDR) (OTCPK:WONDF), Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA), HUT 8 Mining Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT), Mobilum Technologies Inc. (CSE:MBLM) (OTC:MBLMF) and DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (TSXV:DMGI) (OTCQB:DMGGF), could see tremendous growth opportunities in 2022.
WonderFi Technologies (NEO:WNDR) (OTC:WONDF) is a technology company backed by Kevin O’ Leary that provides us with an easy gateway to DeFi. It was announced on January 4th, 2022, that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire First Ledger Corp., the parent company of Bitbuy Technologies Inc., a leading cryptocurrency platform and the first cryptocurrency marketplace in Canada. WonderFi’s acquisition and integration will make it a leading end-to-end platform for people seeking crypto and decentralized finance access. It also established WonderFi as the owner and operator of the first crypto marketplace license in Canada.
“The integration of WonderFi and Bitbuy is a huge step forward in our mission of democratizing finance through easy and secure access to DeFi and crypto,” said Ben Samaroo, CEO of WonderFi. “A licensed marketplace serves as a crucial gateway to the digital asset economy, and facilitates a robust end-to-end, unified client experience. The integration of Bitbuy’s product suite will accelerate and expand the reach and scope that WonderFi can offer to the market, and will drive long-term growth and value for the Company.”
Bitbuy, which is now one of North America’s leading crypto marketplaces, is a trusted execution platform that services more than 375,000 users, with over $4.4 billion transacted through the platform. In November 2021, Bitbuy became Canada’s first approved crypto marketplace and was ranked 9th in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ program, with 3,379% in revenue growth from 2017 to 2020 making it the highest-ranking crypto asset trading platform amongst the Fast 50 winners. In the 12 months ended September 30, 2021, Bitbuy generated over $31.0 million in revenue.
