Transphorm’s GaN Products Meet Crypto Mining Power Supply Units Performance Requirements

Transphorm’s GaN Products Meet Crypto Mining Power Supply Units Performance Requirements

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) – Las Vegas Sands Corp., the world’s largest casino operator by market value, agreed to sell its properties in Las Vegas to Apollo Global Management Inc. and Vici Properties Inc. for $6.25 billion, refocusing the company on its successful Asian resorts and other potential opportunities in the U.S.Apollo will run the properties, which will be owned by Vici, a real estate investment trust, the companies said in a statement Wednesday. The Venetian, Palazzo and related convention facilities in Vegas contributed less than 15% of the company’s revenue in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit.Sands rose as much as 2.8% to $66.77 in New York trading, while Apollo gained 2% to $50.90 and Vici was up 2.3% to $29.12. Sands China Ltd. shares were little changed as of 10 a.m. in Hong Kong.Sands signaled last year that it no longer viewed Las Vegas, its home turf, as a priority when it tapped advisers to solicit interest in the properties. The company has identified over $5 billion in capital spending plans at its resorts over the next five years, most of it focused on Macau and Singapore, which generated 85% of its revenue in 2019.“This company is focused on growth, and we see meaningful opportunities on a variety of fronts,” Sands Chief Executive Officer Robert Goldstein said in the statement. “Asia remains the backbone of this company and our developments in Macau and Singapore are the center of our attention.”The company is also weighing a role in the fast-growing field of online gaming, something its late founder, Sheldon Adelson, shunned on moral grounds. Adelson died in January.Apollo, a private equity giant, is betting on a fast comeback for America’s gambling mecca as the pandemic plays out. It’s planning to market the high-end resort more specifically to gamblers and offer consumer tie-ins through some of the other companies in its portfolio. Also, the resort could serve as a focal point for the fast-growing business of sports betting in the U.S.The investment “underscores our conviction in a strong recovery for Las Vegas as vaccines usher in a reopening of leisure and travel in the United States and across the world,” Apollo Partner Alex van Hoek said in a statement.Apollo has made a number of investments in gambling businesses recently, including Great Canadian Gaming Corp., one of that country’s largest casino companies, and European lottery operator Sazka Group.Apollo, along with TPG, was also the owner for a number of years of Caesars Entertainment Corp., which the firms took private in a $30.7 billion leveraged buyout at the top of the market in 2008. The company struggled for years under its debt load before the investors sold out. Vici was spun off to Caesars debt holders in a restructuring.Seller FinancingUnder the terms of the deal, funds affiliated with Apollo will acquire the operating assets and liabilities of the Las Vegas business for about $2.25 billion, including $1.2 billion in seller financing. Vici will purchase the real estate and related assets of the Venetian for about $4 billion in cash.The sale of the Vegas properties would mark Sands’ exit, for now, from the U.S. gambling industry. The Venetian, Palazzo and Sands Expo Convention Center are all connected along the city’s famous Strip. However, they were already a small and shrinking part of the company, and the Las Vegas convention business has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus and related restrictions on large gatherings.The money from a sale could allow the company to fund other development opportunities. Sands dropped out of the competition to build a casino in Japan last year due to terms that executives described as unfavorable. But the company has expressed interest in building in New York, which may consider an increase in the number of casinos it allows. Texas is considered another potential growth market, although some prominent legislators there have repeatedly signaled their opposition to casino legalization.Sands is the only major U.S. operator without a nationally focused online or sports betting business. Goldstein, its CEO, has been holding talks with potential partners, something that could be more of a focus with the cash proceeds from the sale.Keeping HeadquartersSands intends to keep its corporate headquarters in Las Vegas. The Adelson family, now led by Sheldon’s widow, Miriam, will also maintain a presence through their ownership of the city’s largest newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Miriam’s son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, is the president of Sands.The company may consider resuming its dividend, stock buybacks and debt retirements, particularly once its business in Asia picks up. Sands is financing $1.2 billion of Apollo’s purchase price with a six-year note that begins at 1.5% interest and rises to 4.25% after three years, according to people familiar with the terms.Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acted as financial adviser to Las Vegas Sands in the latest deal. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal adviser.Sheldon Adelson was a big believer in the concept of resorts that linked meeting space for business travelers with casinos. A lifelong entrepreneur who made his first serious fortune in the trade-show business, he built the Sands convention center and its connected hotels, later copying the formula overseas. But he was also capable of parting ways with his developments, as he did in the past with the Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes in Las Vegas and a casino in Pennsylvania.The current deal will “pay tribute to Mr. Adelson’s legacy while starting a new chapter in this company’s history,” Goldstein said.(Updates with China Sands shares in third paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

India’s largest crypto exchange crossed $2 billion in trading volumes in Feb

NEW DELHI: India’s top cryptocurrency exchange nearly doubled its trading volumes month-on-month in February, despite fears of a government-imposed ban on crypto assets. According to a tweet by Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX, the largest crypto exchange in India, the company hit $2.3 billion in trading volumes on 21 February. Volumes were at $1.4 billion on 21 January, and at $500 million as on 20 December.

WazirX has been growing fast 🚀

A major reason for our growth is YOU.

Volume growth:

Dec 20 - $500M

Jan 21 - $1.4B

Feb 21 - $2.3B

Thank you for placing your trust on us.

We’ll continue to work hard & serve all our customers.

We’re growing & learning#IndiaWantsCrypto — Nischal (WazirX) ⚡️ (@NischalShetty) March 3, 2021

Also Read | How citizen data led India’s covid battle

The future of crypto trading in India has been in question since the Budget session began in February. The Indian government was expected to bring a bill that bans “private cryptocurrencies" in the country, and lay framework for the creation of a digital rupee. While the definition of private cryptocurrencies wasn’t clear at the time, experts believed that the bill will make it illegal to buy, sell or deal in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies in the country.

At the same time though, interest in crypto trading grew, thanks to big moves made by global companies. Billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla announced that it has invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, while payments provider Mastercard said it would start accepting cryptocurrencies on its network from this year.

WazirX had earlier told Mint that it took the company 11 days to hit the billion-dollar mark in February, while its total for January was $1.84 billion.

“Crypto is a global phenomenon. The moment a Tesla spends $1.5 billion, your wealth in India has increased. Most of your investments are very local, but in crypto, anyone anywhere in the world can affect your wealth. People in India have been joining based on all of this positive news that’s been coming," Shetty had told Mint.

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Is the Crypto Bull Market Over? - CityAM

by Dr Chris Kacher

Has the Bitcoin bull market ended? Bitcoin has lost -26.3% and Ethereum -36.5% from peak-to-trough in the current correction prompting some to suggest the bull market is over.

My metrics suggest we are not even half way through this bull cycle.

To keep things in perspective, the market cap of cryptocurrencies in the last bull run achieved an aggregate value of just under $1 trillion. It currently stands at around $1.5 trillion. From the chart below, this crypto bull market is still in the early stages, if the market value of the whole cryptospace is any guide.

Further, the image below shows Bitcoins that have been moved over various time frames. The Bitcoins that moved last within a month or less as illustrated by orange and red shows there tend to be three stages of buying in each bull cycle. We just completed stage 1.

In addition, record levels of Bitcoin have been moving off exchanges as many are becoming long term ‘HODLers’ of Bitcoin as major institutions, banks, corporations, HNWIs, and even governments are waking up to the massive utility and onboarding of blockchain technologies including Bitcoin and Ethereum. This crypto bull market is far from topping out.

Retail and institutional FOMO combined with a serious supply shortage due to companies such as Grayscale and PayPal buying up Bitcoin should propel crypto valuations beyond $10 trillion. Corporations are using BTC to reduce the impact of falling fiat from seemingly limitless quantitative easing.

Further, DeFi is being used by Bitcoin to earn high yields. Anyone can also use BTC as collateral to avoid having to sell BTC to tap its value through collateralized loans, a nice way to sidestep capital gains tax on their Bitcoin while continuing to ride it higher. The amount of Bitcoin used for this purpose strongly adds to its supply shortage.

In consequence, the prediction I made in my keynote speech at the Geneva WealthTech event in 2017 of Bitcoin reaching $1,000,000 by the end of 2023 still stands. Based on S2F and other metrics, the current bull market should run through to at least late 2021 before the bubble, once again, blows apart, black swans notwithstanding.

Prime metrics reset

A number of other Bitcoin oversold metrics have reset or bottomed which, in prior corrections, often occurred near price lows in Bitcoin.

SOPR (spent output profit ratio) shows the number of Bitcoin that are in profit. Whenever it dips below the white line in the chart below, then traders/investors are selling Bitcoin at a loss on average which tends to curb selling.

The last two times SOPR dipped close to or below this white line was early September 2020 and mid-Jan-2021. Both were price lows for Bitcoin.

Also keep in mind that Bitcoin typically corrects 30-40% in bull markets as it did a few times in 2017, as shown in the annotated chart below. The annotations are my notes thus the image below is just a screen shot of a much more comprehensive in-house study thus the ‘user-unfriendly’ text in the image.

I cite various fundamentals and technicals as driving forces behind significant price moves. I have done this going back to 2011 for Bitcoin and 2015 for Ethereum as well as for alt coins.

Each time Bitcoin undergoes a correction of typically -25% to -40%, investors often give up as mainstream media dogpiles onto the FUD, marking a significant floor in Bitcoin each time.

My Bitcoin metrics are currently showing diminished selling from Bitcoin F2 miners, one of the largest mining pools, as well as a slowing of Bitcoins moving onto exchanges which also suggests less selling pressure.

Both of these metrics have been largely responsible for the recent sell-off in Bitcoin. They also contributed to the selling in January when Bitcoin had a steep correction, though I cite other reasons, as shown in the annotated chart below.

Bitcoin currently has decent technical support between the 40k and 42.5k price levels. The image below shows a high concentration of bids, as noted by the lighter coloured bars.

Other factors include support from Bitcoin’s 50-dema, double Fibonaccis, and the top of the prior base, all around this 40-43k range.

The chart below shows a seven day moving average of the number of Bitcoin entering exchanges. Large inflows are bearish since a spike in Bitcoin moving onto exchanges tends to be sold but also often marks major floors in Bitcoin after the selling completes.

The supply shortage of Bitcoin has been discussed in my prior reports and is well illustrated in the image below. This is due to major institutions buying up Bitcoin including PayPal, Grayscale, and Square as well as large hedge funds and corporations.

The whale map below shows areas of accumulation or distribution by whales, typically wallets holding at last 1,000 BTC. The blue bubbles are the sum total of whale transactions. We see that whales have been accumulating Bitcoin in the mid-$40k range.

So the case seems solid that the crypto bull run is far from over. Eventually, the bubble will likely burst once again, but each time since 2011, my metrics have moved me to safety within a couple weeks or less from the peak, and sometimes nearly to the day. Stay tuned.

Dr Chris Kacher, nuclear physicist PhD turned stock+crypto trading wizard / bestselling author / blockchain fintech specialist / top 40 charted musician. Co-founder of Virtue of Selfish Investing and Hanse Digital Access.

Dr Kacher bought his first Bitcoin just over $10 in January-2013. His metrics have called every major top & bottom in Bitcoin since 2011. He was up in 2018 vs the median performing crypto hedge fund at -46% (PwC) and has since achieved returns in excess of gains in Bitcoin and Ethereum with risk spread across more than 30 top performing alt coins.

Virtue of Selfish Investing Crypto Reports

https://twitter.com/VSInvesting/ & https://twitter.com/HanseCoin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriskacher/