THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: THE ULTIMATE BACKDOOR PROFIT …

1 THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: THE ULTIMATE BACKDOOR PROFIT PLAYS. By Teeka Tiwari THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: THE ULTIMATE BACKDOOR PROFIT PLAYS. By Teeka Tiwari Most people familiar with At its core, a blockchain is simply a decentralized, the blockchain know it as distributed online network. the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies. The internet is a great example of this type of network. No one owns the internet. And each That's true The blockchain's computer logged into the internet is a host.. main use has been to record crypto transactions. Even if you shut down one host, it won't shut But that's not the only thing it's capable of. down the entire system. It's a groundbreaking technology that we'll The blockchain works the same way. eventually use to record any type of transaction. For instance, you'll be able to sell your car, Today, the internet is a global network linking home, or even artwork on the blockchain.

2 That's millions of computers. There are over billion why some people are calling the blockchain the active internet users and billion websites. new internet. Everyone on the internet can communicate with Now, for most people, the blockchain is a difficult everyone else. concept to grasp. After all, it's a new technology. Think of the internet as an online postal service, But don't let that scare you. and the blockchain as an online financial Consider this services firm. Imagine you're back in 1970. And I tell you that Like the postal service, the internet exchanges more people would send mail electronically than communications between people. But it through mail carriers exchanges them much faster and more efficiently than the postal service. You'd probably think that was incredible, too. Or you'd think that I'm crazy.

3 Like a financial services company, the blockchain exchanges value between people. But it exchanges Fast-forward 50 years and today, people send value much faster and more efficiently than a bank. more mail over the internet than through the postal service. Today, we can instantly send text, voice, and video messages to anyone around the world with That's the thing about groundbreaking just a click of a button. technology. In the early stages, we don't always see how it'll change society. Soon, you'll be able to exchange something of value online as well like a stock certificate, land deed, So what exactly is the blockchain? or even a car title with just the click of a button. 1. So just like how the internet revolutionized how Italian banks owe each other. we exchange communications the blockchain will revolutionize how we exchange value.

4 Put it all together and the global blockchain technology market is projected to grow from $3. That's why the World Economic Forum has billion in 2020 to nearly $40 billion by 2025. projected that blockchain will store 10% of the world's GDP by 2027. That's $ trillion, based That's a compound annual growth rate of 67%. on today's global GDP. This is going to lead to an absolute explosion Based on those projections, we could see in the technology and a flood of institutional blockchain technology soar 295,762% over the money heading into this space. next seven years alone up from just $ billion. Now, I've already recommended several cryptos And the World Economic Forum isn't alone. that I believe will soar higher as a result of this Deutsche Bank also forecasts that by 2027, monumental shift. But there's also another way to blockchain systems will record transactions for play this trend.

5 About 10% of global GDP. If we think back to the rise of the internet, when Meanwhile, global investment bank RBC Capital most people think about the big winners, they think Markets estimates the blockchain ecosystem of companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook. could be worth up to $10 trillion within the next But for every Amazon, there's a behind the scenes . 10 to 15 years. company like Cisco that returned a lot more. Plus, the World Economic Forum predicts Cisco may no longer be a household name blockchain could disrupt $867 trillion in like Amazon or Facebook. But the routers traditional markets. it manufactured helped connect users and It's tough to wrap your mind around numbers companies around the world. And they were a big like but the important thing to take away is, factor in hastening the rise of the internet in the blockchain-based systems will impact businesses 1990s.

6 That's why Cisco was the decade's fifth- and our lives more than the internet itself. best stock and returned an amazing 67,491%. And Wall Street is taking notice That was 15 times better than Amazon during the decade. Morgan Stanley is rumored to be on the verge of making a huge $2 billion investment in the space. Or take Qualcomm, another behind the scenes . company. Its technology was critical for making Goldman Sachs has invested in eight blockchain sure our cell phones work by connecting them to startups to the tune of $955 million. cell networks. And it handed investors a return of more than 10,000% over the 1990s. Even the conservative life insurer, MassMutual, has now invested $100 million in blockchain. So rather than focusing exclusively on the top names associated with a technology, you can also Much of Italy's banking sector now runs on make incredible gains by investing in the picks Spunta, a blockchain network.

7 Spunta helps and shovels plays that help the tech gain traction. banks speed up the process of interbank reconciliation, which dictates how much money And I believe we have another opportunity like 2. that before us. That's why I've identified my top Today, the majority of ICE's revenues comes four picks and shovels plays in this report. from its exchanges. ICE regulates marketplaces for the listing, trading, and clearing of By investing in these plays right now, you are derivatives, commodities, foreign exchange, setting yourself up to ride the massive wave of equities, and ETFs. blockchain adoption that's directly ahead of us. But while it dominates the exchange business, So let's look at each one a bit more closely management isn't resting on its laurels. Pick No. 1: The King of Exchanges Over the last several years, the company diversified its revenue stream.

8 It recently made Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) owns 12 an $11 billion acquisition of Ellie Mae, a digital global exchanges, including the largest in the mortgage lending platform. That will allow the world the New York Stock Exchange. company to benefit from the digitization of the home financing process. It also provides markets for stocks, derivatives, interest rates, credit, foreign exchange, metals, In fact, in the second quarter of 2021, its and agricultural commodities. mortgage technology division's revenue jumped more than 600% from Q2 2020. ICE also owns Bakkt (pronounced backed ), which is shaping up to be a leading crypto The company's visionary CEO, Jeffrey Sprecher, exchange. We'll get more into that below. First, has been the driving force behind its growth and let's provide some background on ICE's business.

9 Innovation. Think of ICE like a global casino operator. Fortune once dubbed Sprecher as a disrupter par excellence. That's because he stands alone It takes a little piece of every trade on every as the leading force in modernizing the world's exchange it owns. Unlike a casino operator, exchanges in recent years from open-outcry pits though, it takes on no risk. When somebody wins, into super-efficient electronic marketplaces.. it's the loser who pays the winner. Sprecher spearheaded ICE's recent blockbuster ICE is there to ensure the buyers and sellers have project: Bakkt. It's a global platform for trading a market they can operate in. digital assets that launched in 2018. That's how ICE makes its money. It rakes in ICE partnered with several big guns on the trading fees from its primary exchange business.

10 Bakkt project, including Microsoft, Boston They might be pennies, half-pennies, and half Consulting Group, Starbucks, Fortress of half-pennies But they quickly add up. ICE Investment Group, Eagle Seven, and pulled in earnings of $ billion on $ billion Susquehanna International Group. in revenues over the last year. And Bakkt is continuing to build a secure The company is also a leading global exchange for platform where global institutions can store, commodities including futures contracts for oil, transact, trade, and transfer digital assets. natural gas, sugar, cotton, and coffee. For example, on the institutional trading product It handles nearly 80 million trades a year from side, Bakkt launched its one-day, physically commodity traders around the world. settled bitcoin futures contracts in September 3.