28. January 2021 | 10:57 CET
Evotec, BIGG Digital Assets, Varta - Watch out for the next wave!
The cryptocurrencies are correcting with a violent fluctuation range. After prices of just under USD 42,000, bitcoin is currently at just over USD 30,000. Where do things go from here? Will the prices fall into the bottomless pit again as they did at the end of 2017, or is it just a longer pause to the next higher move this time. The fact is that bitcoin has come of age. Thus, even institutional investors such as hedge funds and family offices are liking the virtual currency.
time to read: 2 minutes by Stefan Feulner
Author
Stefan Feulner
The native Franconian has more than 20 years of stock exchange experience and a broadly diversified network.
He is passionate about analyzing a wide variety of business models and investigating new trends.
The right timing
The management of blockchain company BIGG Digital Assets had perfect timing. On January 8, 2021, the day of bitcoin's all-time high to date, the Canadians announced the implementation of a capital increase in the amount of CAD 12 million. Here, 24 million share certificates are to be issued at a price of CAD 0.50 and a half warrant with a term of 24 months and a strike price of CAD 0.70. In addition, there is an option to increase the offering by an additional CAD 1.8 million until January 28, 2021. The Company intends to use the proceeds to expand its Bitcoin holdings and grow Netcoins. Netcoins is the proprietary programmed trading platform for cryptocurrencies.
Management's goal is to make Netcoins the first regulated crypto trading platform in Canada. The registration application has been in progress for months. A positive outcome from the authorities should push BIGG Digital into much higher territory. The valuation could also be raised by the long-awaited IPO of industry giant Coinbase. The Block Crypto’s current valuation sees Coinbase's stock market value at USD 70 billion, with issuance volume expected to be 250 million shares.
Regulation on the horizon
The second pillar of BIGG Digital Assets besides Netcoins is the Blockchain Intelligence Group division with the QLUE software programmed in-house. Here, suspicious money transactions are tracked and traced. With greater forensic depth, it investigates where the relevant funds come from, where they are transferred to, and the profiles of the bodies involved. Customers of the software include law enforcement agencies, banks and stock exchanges. Long-term contracts were signed this year with US Homeland Security and the US Department of Justice. The stock of the Canadians is correcting at the moment like the entire crypto market. After the stock reached its high of EUR 0.42 in mid-January, you can currently pick up the paper at EUR 0.25. Fundamentally, BIGG Digital Assets is on more than solid footing.
Order from the highest authority
Now Evotec is also in the big game in the fight against the Coronavirus. Through its US subsidiary, the Group has now received an important multi-million-dollar order from the US Department of Defense to produce antibodies against the Covid-19 disease. The contract for the US subsidiary, Just, which also includes other antibodies, is worth just under USD 29 million. As part of the agreement, the US Department of Defense will have access to manufacturing capacities for monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and the new production facility over a period of seven years. Evotec had only acquired the US company, which previously operated under Just Biotherapeutics, in 2019.
The highest price of the millennium
Evotec shares shot up to a new "millennium high" of just under EUR 43 on the back of the positive news, driven by alleged short-sellers who had to close their positions in a panic. However, the short squeeze seems to have already ended, with Evotec shares trading at a moderate level again yesterday afternoon at EUR 34.50, a gain of almost 5%. The name short squeeze is currently on everyone's lips due to the GameStop share's price impulses. Also, at the battery Company Varta, short-sellers have weighed on the price for a long time. These have now been flushed out with full force. Since mid-January, the battery company's share price has risen from EUR 110.60 to EUR 155.50 yesterday.