DeFi Technologies and HIVE Blockchain Technologies Complete Share Exchange

TORONTO, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - DeFi Technologies Inc. (the "Company" or "DeFi Technologies") (NEO: DEFI) (GR: RMJR) (OTC: RDNAF) is pleased to announce that further to its press release dated March 25, 2021, it has completed the share exchange transaction (the "Transaction") with HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd ("HIVE") (TSXV: HIVE) (OTCQX: HVBTF) (FSE: HBF). Pursuant to the Transaction, DeFi Technologies issued ten (10) million common shares of DeFi Technologies to HIVE in exchange for four (4) million common shares of HIVE. No finder's fees were paid in connection with the Transaction and all securities issued under the Transaction are subject to a four-month and one day statutory hold period.

In addition to the Transaction, HIVE and DeFi Technologies have created a partnership surrounding the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem with specific applications around Ethereum and Miner Extractable Value (MEV). The new partnership, which follows three months of discussions, will enable HIVE with a strategic stake in DeFi Technologies and a broader partnership surrounding the DeFi ecosystem with a specific focus on the Ethereum based MEV space and developments surrounding it.

MEV refers to the amount of profit miners can extract from reordering and censoring transactions on the blockchain. It has become an important issue over the past year as the DeFi space has grown from US$3B to US$71B in market capitalization. Of the $347.3M of Extracted MEV, 88% comes from DeFi activities (see graph below). As can be seen from data by Coin Metrics, over half of all ETH miner revenue currently comes from transaction fees. By partnering together to take on these activities, individuals get a more capital efficient market to play in, while distributing greater returns to miners for acting more altruistically.

Source: Flashbots.net

The DeFi sector has appreciated dramatically since 2020 and has reached a tipping point with institutional investors and large enterprises showing increased interest in the decentralised finance sector. In Q3 2020, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published guidance clarifying national banks can provide services to stablecoin issuers in the U.S. This and other interest from venture capital and financial institutions in the decentralized finance sector is a major step in widespread adoption of DeFi.

This new strategic partnership presents a significant opportunity to create more value per deployed mining infrastructure for HIVE by leveraging MEV applications. For DeFi Technologies, the partnership gives exposure to one of the largest miners of Ethereum, which is the backbone on which DeFi applications are built and thus serves as a critical component supporting the sector.

About DeFi Technologies:

DeFi Technologies Inc. is a Canadian company that carries on business with the objective of enhancing shareholder value through building and managing assets in the decentralized finance sector.

About HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.

HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. is a growth oriented, TSX.V-listed company building a bridge from the blockchain sector to traditional capital markets. HIVE owns state-of-the-art green energy-powered data centre facilities in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland which produce newly minted digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum continuously on the cloud. Our deployments provide shareholders with exposure to the operating margins of digital currency mining as well as a portfolio of crypto-coins.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information: 

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Transaction, the strategic partnership with HIVE and the potential for synergies and growth as a result of the partnership; the pursuit by DeFi Technologies of business opportunities; and the merits or potential returns of any such opportunities. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

THE NEO STOCK EXCHANGE DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE DeFi Technologies, Inc.