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Four blockchain-based metaverse projects generated more than $100 million worth of virtual land nonfungible token (NFT) sales last week, according to data from DappRadar.
A Tuesday post from the decentralized application analytics firm reported that between Nov. 22 and Nov. 28, activity was “booming” on The Sandbox, Decentraland, CryptoVoxels and Somnium Space with a combined $105.8 million worth of trading volume among them from more than 6,000 traders:
“Undoubtedly, Metaverse land is the next big hit in the NFT space. Outputting record sales numbers and constantly increasing NFT prices, virtual worlds are the new top commodity in the crypto space.”
The Sandbox represented the lion’s share of volume for the week with $86.56 million, Decentraland accounted for $15.53 million, while CryptoVoxels and Somnium Space generated $2.68 million and $1.1 million, respectively. All four of these metaverse projects are built on the Ethereum blockchain, although projects on other chains such as Solana are beginning to gather pace, too.
DappRadar noted that “the wave of attention towards virtual worlds like The Sandbox and Decentraland started with Facebook’s rebranding to Meta.”…read more.
Returns on GICs and “high-rate” savings accounts have been in general decline for decades. Investors in these low income-generating products now face an uphill battle as inflation accelerates, with countries printing money at an astounding rate. Real inflation numbers are difficult to peg, though we’re convinced that money earning under 3-4% is losing the war.
Investors have rationally responded to low rates and inflation by piling into equities and real estate, pushing each to new heights. This has left many in the enviable albeit somewhat confounding position of having an incredible year financially in the midst of a pandemic.
The question many of this group are asking is “What do I do now?” It’s an important question, though an increasingly difficult one to answer with confidence in the current economic environment. Stock market volatility is making investors hesitant to go all-in at current valuations. Low interest bearing GICs and savings accounts are often a non-starter for the reasons above. Investing in private mortgage funds, commonly referred to as MICs, has been part of the answer for many.
A mortgage fund lends money (secured against real estate) to borrowers that may not qualify for conventional bank financing. Typically, borrowers from mortgage funds pay higher interest rates than they would with a bank. As a result, mortgage funds are often a temporary solution until the borrower can qualify for a lower-rate mortgage.
For investors, mortgage funds have the potential to generate higher income than most fixed income products such as GICs, often targeting returns of 6% or higher. Distributions are typically made quarterly or monthly.
Another attractive characteristic of mortgage investing is defensive positioning. Holding the debt on a property typically carries lower risk than investing in the equity of that property. This is because equity is the first money to be lost if there is a market downturn, giving investors more peace of mind in today’s economic climate.
There are over 200 private mortgage funds to choose from in Canada and many factors can influence their risk and return. These may include the type of property lent against, loan-to-value ratios, the composition of mortgages (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), the quality of the borrower, and the calibre of the fund’s team, just to name a few.
Hawkeye Wealth has extensively researched numerous private mortgage funds to provide investors with vetted options at little to no additional cost, saving them time and helping them invest with confidence.
To learn more about investing in mortgage funds, how to assess risk and return, and how to participate if interested, you can watch Hawkeye Wealth’s recorded webinar and access an investor package here.
- James Thorne took a contrarian view at last year’s World Outlook Financial Conference forecasting the S&P 500 Index would hit 4500 in 2021, a 20% gain – as of today it’s up almost 23%!
- Ryan Irvine’s 2021 WOFC Small Cap Portfolio is up 114.5% – you read that right 114.5%.
- Mark Leibovit said to buy the dip in Tesla at $555, it’s now trading at $1200!
- Josef Schachter missed his oil price forecast, but it doesn’t matter when you get the stocks right. For example, he recommended Bonterra, Paramount and Yangerra – and sold them earlier this year for 179%, 361% and 147% gains respectively.
Those are obviously great results, but that’s why we search out and invite some of the top analysts in the English speaking world to the World Outlook Financial Conference. Obviously past performance is not a guarantee of future success but the consistent results we’ve achieved over the years have not been by accident. Our analysts have been chosen precisely because they have strong track records.
Whether you’re interested in stocks, precious metals, energy, real estate, economic trends or currencies we bring in the top analysts to the Conference to cover them all.
The 2022 conference will once again be entirely online. Unfortunately, there is still too much uncertainty for us to confidently produce a full-scale live event, and respondents to our recent poll made it clear they are not fully comfortable with the tight spaces of the Conference facility, the mask mandate and other barriers to travel and participation. On the plus side, we received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the broadcast and on-demand video format – and can promise you even better quality in 2022.
And of course, this ensures we can offer exclusive interviews and presentations with forecasters from around the world like Martin Armstrong, Greg Weldon, Mark Leibovit and many more. As an added bonus, for the first time we will be bringing experts in Fintech, de-centralized finance and crypto currencies to the Conference. The sector is booming, should you be involved?
An Exclusive Early Bird Offer – $50 Off AND You Can Join Us in Your Pajamas Again
You’ll be able to watch the conference broadcast at its regular times starting Friday afternoon, February 4th through to Saturday afternoon February 5th – AND you’ll also be able to watch it again and again whenever you’d like – on demand, anytime, from anywhere with an internet connection.
And of course, we have an online/on-demand “ticket” Early Bird offer for you. If you purchase your 2022 Conference access pass before November 26th you will get $50 off, a 20% discount – I’m thinking the best $199 you’ll spend this year.
I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity. The level of volatility and the violence of the moves in all markets necessitates taking advantage of the best possible research and analysis available. While financial programs and conferences often feature cheerleaders for a variety of products or industries, we focus on top flight independent analysis. Periods of historic change provide incredible opportunities and incredible danger. Join us in February to find out what they could be.
For more information on the Conference and to purchase your broadcast / on-demand video access pass CLICK HERE
The European Union sold its first ever green bond to record demand on Tuesday, taking its first step to potentially become the biggest issuer of environmentally-friendly debt with a record-sized deal.
The 15-year green bond raised 12 billion euros ($13.9 billion) and received more than 135 billion euros of demand, the European Commission said, making it the largest green bond launch and the highest level of demand for a green bond sale to date.
The bond, which will finance member states’ environmentally beneficial projects as part of the bloc’s COVID-19 recovery fund, is the first step for the EU – which aims to be carbon-neutral by 2050 – towards becoming a leading force in the fast-growing green debt market.
Thirty percent of the EU’s up-to 800 billion euro COVID-19 recovery scheme, which gives grants and loans to member states until end-2026, will fund environmentally beneficial projects…read more.
Total U.S. household net worth — the value of all assets minus liabilities — jumped by $5.8 trillion to a record $141.7 trillion at the end of June, according to a report from the Federal Reserve released Thursday.
The value of corporate equities rose $3.5 trillion to $47 trillion in the second quarter and the value of real estate rose a record $1.2 trillion to $38.4 trillion, the Fed said in its quarterly report on the financial accounts of the United States.
Balances in currency, checking accounts, savings accounts and money-market funds rose by $200 billion in the second quarter to a record $17 trillion. Cash holdings of households have risen by $4.3 trillion since the beginning of 2020…read more.
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Inside Edge Pro Contributors
Greg Weldon
Josef Schachter
Tyler Bollhorn
Ryan Irvine
Paul Beattie
Martin Straith
Patrick Ceresna
Mark Leibovit
James Thorne
Victor Adair