Trusted News Since 1995
A service for global professionals
·
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
·
814,410,289
Articles
·
3+ Million Readers
XRP Healthcare, a company incorporated in Dubai, announced that it’s about to go public on the Canadian stock exchange. The business, established by a father-and-son team, entrepreneur Laban Roomes and footballer Kain Roomes, leverages the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the delivery of healthcare services in Africa.
The firm signed a letter of intent on May 14 for a reverse merger with AAJ Capital 3 Corp. The Strategic move allows XRP Healthcare to be listed on Canada’s TSX Venture Exchange.
Kain stated that the listing would allow their company to expand while underscoring their commitment to transparency and regulatory compliance. The deal valued the company at C$16 million ($11.5 million).
“This agreement is a strategic leap toward our vision of transforming healthcare in emerging markets,” said Kain. “We’re building a unified, tech-enabled platform across Africa—one that delivers real-world impact, scales responsibly, and positions XRP Healthcare as a category-defining public company.”
Meanwhile, Peeyush Varshney, CEO of AAJ Capital 3 Corp., expressed optimism about the Roomes’ letter of intent. He believes the reverse merger offers an excellent opportunity to enhance the quality of life of underprivileged communities with difficulty accessing healthcare products and services.
“XRP Healthcare offers a compelling opportunity to support a forward-thinking, technology-driven healthcare platform focused on underserved African markets,” stated Varshney.
The latest developments align with the company’s goal of going public by the third quarter of 2025, as disclosed last March.
XRP Healthcare was the brainchild of Kain. With the support of his father, Laban, the duo formulated the framework of a revolutionary healthcare platform that combines blockchain and AI.
The platform uses XRPL to facilitate cross-border payments, reduce administrative costs, and track medical inventory. In addition, it bridges pharmacies in Africa, starting with Uganda, to improve their access to each other.
Moreover, the platform utilizes XRP, the Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin, and its native token, XRPH, for efficient and fast transactions. Furthermore, it incentivizes users with discounts on medical products or rebates denominated in XRPH.
The next phase on the platform’s roadmap is to integrate AI under its proprietary XRPH AI app.
“We realized the AI app could be monetized by giving users instant free health advice and pharmacy discounts,” stated Kain. “It made sense to separate crypto functions clearly from healthcare-focused AI features to optimize both products.”
What’s your Reaction?
+1
1
+1
0
+1
1
+1
0
+1
1
+1
0
+1
0
Trusted News Since 1995
A service for global professionals
·
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
·
814,341,233
Articles
·
3+ Million Readers
Trusted News Since 1995
A service for global professionals
·
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
·
814,327,455
Articles
·
3+ Million Readers
Larger rivals and an activist hedge fund are stalking InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust IIP-UN-T and the $1.6-billion apartment owner is staying silent on their overtures.
Ottawa-based InterRent reported financial results Thursday, with a longer-than-normal gap after the end of the quarter, and the numbers were slightly better than analysts’ expectations.
However, InterRent’s executives surprised analysts by consistently declining to comment on activist Anson Funds’ push for a sale of the REIT, and on Wall Street asset manager Blackrock Inc.‘s steadily growing stake.
“An uncharacteristically tardy first quarter report, management information circular still yet to be filed combined with recent price action suggest to us that perhaps the market was anticipating news bigger than just a simple earnings update,” analyst Jimmy Shan at RBC Capital Markets said in a report.
“Given the number of investor questions we got on InterRent’s late reporting date, we suspect an expectation for ‘news’ on top of quarterly results was building,” analyst Mario Saric at Bank of Nova Scotia said in a report.
Anson went public in March with news it had built a 9-per-cent stake in InterRent, which owns 12,000 apartment units in 18 cities in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. In recent weeks, Blackrock increased its holding in InterRent by 80,000 units to 8.8 million units, and now owns a 6-per-cent stake worth roughly $100-million.
In recent months, InterRent’s board has turned down takeover proposals from a number of suitors, including Blackrock, according to three sources familiar with the REIT. The Globe and Mail agreed not to name the sources because they are not permitted to speak for the company.
On Friday, InterRent’s unit price closed at $11.64 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Mr. Shan said the REIT’s book value is $16.40 a unit.
InterRent’s board wants to avoid engaging in negotiations with a potential buyer when its units trade at a significant discount to their book value, according to one of the sources familiar with the REIT.
The price of InterRent units is up 15.7 per cent so far this year, partly because of takeover speculation. The benchmark S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index, by comparison, is up just 0.7 per cent year-to-date.
On Thursday, InterRent was the last domestic REIT to report quarterly results. The company highlighted $65.4-million of property sales, at prices above their book value. InterRent spent $49.5-million buying back its own units, “to address the disconnect between the intrinsic value of its units and their trading price,” it said in a press release.
InterRent chief executive officer Brad Cutsey said in a conference call on Friday that selling properties for more than their book value and using the cash to buy back units was a “no-brainer“ strategy with the REIT’s current valuation. Mr. Cutsey said the company had no further strategic initiatives to announce and declined to comment on questions about Anson’s activist campaign.
The REIT increased the rent it charged tenants by 5 per cent, year-over-year, and InterRent’s 96.9-per-cent occupancy rate was up slightly compared with the same period last year. Mr. Saric said: “Both occupied rent and occupancy exceeded our forecast.”
Potential InterRent suitors include Blackrock and Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, the country’s largest multifamily property REIT, with a $6.6-billion market capitalization, according to the sources. At least two of the country’s “Maple Eight” large pension funds have also looked at InterRent, the sources said.
Last year, Blackstone Inc., one of the world’s largest property investors, acquired Toronto-based apartment owner Tricon Residential Inc. for US$3.5-billion.
In 2022, Blackstone opened an office in Toronto and hired Jenny Lin to expand its domestic real estate platform. Ms. Lin previously served as chief investment officer for retirement-home chain Revera Inc. and held executive roles at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Blackstone owns approximately $18-billion of real estate in Canada.
Anson, a $3-billion fund manager with a track record for successful activist campaigns at REITs, is pushing for change at InterRent at a time when private equity funds are considering acquiring publicly traded residential property companies, on the theory that retail investors who own the bulk of REIT units are overly pessimistic about the outlook for the sector.
Across the real estate industry, REIT boards and executives are frustrated their portfolios are trading for well below their net asset value while the companies are consistently able to sell properties at significant premiums to these valuations, Adam Jacobs, Colliers Canada’s head of research, said in a recent report. He said more REITs are likely to be sold if the situation persists.
In late February, Mr. Cutsey announced plans to sell up to $250-million worth of properties over the next 12 months, which would generate up to $140-million in proceeds for the REIT. He said the money would be used to pay down loans and buy back units.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Blackstone Inc. as a 6 per cent shareholder in InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust. Blackrock Inc. owns a 6 per cent stake in InterRent REIT.
A U.S.-based crypto infrastructure solutions provider announced in a recent press release that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a venture-backed, Bermuda Monetary Authority-regulated issuer of a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin. The acquisition, which is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is reportedly designed to expand the acquiror’s stablecoin capabilities and its ability to service stablecoin adoption by traditional and crypto-native institutions.
In another acquisition announcement, a major U.S. fintech company has reportedly entered into an agreement to acquire a Toronto Stock Exchange-traded crypto trading platform in an all-cash transaction. According to a press release, the target company’s offerings, which include crypto trading, staking and custody services, are viewed as complementary to the acquiror’s business and will provide the acquiror with access to Canada’s growing crypto trading market. The acquisition is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in H2 2025.
A third recent press release announced that a global investment management firm has launched its first tokenized investment fund in partnership with a real-world asset tokenization-focused fintech company. The fund is designed to provide institutional and qualified investors with access to a blockchain-based alternative to money market funds backed by U.S. Treasuries and will offer 24/7 liquidity and real-time settlement. Access to the fund will initially be available to institutional and qualified investors on several well-known blockchains.
And in a final notable item, an institutional digital asset prime broker recently announced a strategic partnership with a cross-border banking group. Through the partnership, the prime broker will integrate the banking group’s enterprise-grade banking infrastructure and will gain access to a broad range of currency pairs, which will enable it to enhance the speed of cross-border settlement for its institutional clients.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
The institutional investor division of a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange recently published a report that provides its views on what it describes as bitcoin’s (BTC) rising significance in geopolitics. The report suggests that shifting dynamics in the global monetary system, including what it describes as “eroding investor confidence in the USD as a store-of-value and global reserve currency,” are creating an opportunity for BTC to become a “viable supranational unit of account for international trade.” The report also references recent international efforts to create strategic bitcoin reserves at the national level as being indicative of BTC’s growing political importance.
For more information, please refer to the following link:
A recent blog post by Coin Center, a crypto advocacy organization, addresses the implications for crypto of a proposed 5 percent remittance tax being considered by the U.S. Congress. According to the blog post, the current proposal would not apply to crypto transactions using self-hosted wallets and possibly may not apply to some transactions at trusted intermediaries. The blog post notes several unintended consequences of the proposal for the crypto sector, including with respect to privacy and regulatory arbitrage, and proposes various suggestions to address the issues identified.
For more information, please refer to the following link:
According to recent reports, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) “has determined not to proceed” on its prosecution of certain charges brought in May 2024 against two brothers who hacked the Ethereum blockchain and stole $25 million in a matter of seconds. Last month, the defendants reportedly sought to dismiss the charges based on a recent DOJ memo that in part instructs prosecutors to avoid “superimposing regulatory frameworks on digital assets.”
In enforcement news from Germany, according to recent reports, Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has seized $38 million in cryptocurrency from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder funds stolen in the $1.4 billion hack of the Bybit exchange. The action is reportedly the third-largest seizure of crypto funds by the BKA.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
According to reports, the smart contract for the Mobius token, a digital asset on the BNB Chain network, was recently hacked. The hackers reportedly stole $2.15 million in MBU tokens.
Another recent report provides investigative findings on Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language illicit marketplace that operates on a popular messaging application and that serves fraudsters in Southeast Asia, including those responsible for so-called pig-butchering scams. Among its findings, the report notes that the USDT stablecoin is the primary payment method for Xinbi Guarantee, with the market having received $8.4 billion in transactions to date.
In a final notable item, Solidus Labs recently published a report titled The 2025 Rug Pull Report: Rug Pulls and Pump-and-Dumps on Solana. According to the report, “approximately 98.7% of tokens on Pump.fun and 93% of liquidity pools on Raydium have exhibited characteristics of pump-and-dump schemes or rug pulls.” The report goes on to provide various findings on risks related to tokens that are launched and traded on the Pump.fun and Raydium platforms.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
[View source.]
eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
AI could diminish the power and influence boards have over organizations, according to a series of interviews conducted by Harvard Business Review. While it may seem routine to use AI applications so that board chairs can automate tasks like developing meeting agendas and forming board committees, HBR researchers wrote, that could actually lead to what HBR called “encroaching risk,” which happens when “the use of AI ends up weakening or eroding the board chair’s influence over power-conduit tasks.”.
The researchers interviewed 27 board chairs of companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with average assets of $9.04 billion and average revenues of $3.7 billion. Industries included industrials, energy, materials, real estate, IT, finance, consumer discretionary, and healthcare.
HBR identified three power-conduit tasks board chairs have: managing the agenda, summarizing the discussion, and reviewing board member performance.
“Leaving the task of creating the agenda to AI — based on, for example, how long each item has taken to discuss in the past — completely bypasses the chair’s strategic thinking,’’ HBR said. Chairs also use behind-the-scenes influence over the flow of information that AI can’t easily replicate. Summarizing discussions is something AI could easily do, “but it’s a powerful way for the chair to shape how the board understands things and the conclusions they reach.” In contrast, AI can miss nuances, such as what people don’t say or mood shifts, which an effective chairperson will pick up on by reading the room.
The technology is also not equipped to ensure the whole board is functioning well and has the right mix of skills and expertise.
Some leadership positions, such as board chairs and C-suite executives, could be most susceptible to encroachment from AI, the article maintains. It’s important to figure out who should shape the organization’s direction instead of just carrying out day-to-day operations.
Once strategic roles have been identified, “work with those individuals to pinpoint tasks that are central to their ability to exert influence — and therefore not good candidates for automation with AI,’’ HBR recommended.
The ability to define the company’s long-term mission and vision requires a deep understanding of market trends, social values, and the motivations of key stakeholders.
It’s important to craft clear policies for where AI can be used and when to maintain oversight by humans to ensure the technology supports strategic decision-making, rather than replacing it, HBR said.
While AI may offer suggestions for how to structure an agenda, the board chair should make the final decision. Similarly, AI may generate summaries of discussions, but the chair should review and enhance them to ensure they are in line with the board’s objectives.
The goal is to use AI to enhance automation rather than erode leaders’ influence. A recent PwC article also offers guidance for boards on the strategic use of AI to provide effective oversight and align with business objectives, while considering risks.
Galaxy Digital Inc. GLXY shares are trading higher Monday. The stock is seeing continued momentum following its uplisting to the Nasdaq on Friday.
What To Know: Galaxy Digital, founded by billionaire Mike Novogratz, began trading on the Nasdaq on Friday under the ticker symbol “GLXY.” The stock has traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange since 2020, as well as on OTC markets. Shares opened for trading at $23.50 on the U.S. exchange and rallied before pulling back and closing at $22.90.
The listing follows a lengthy and expensive process with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in which Novogratz went back and forth with regulators and spent more than $25 million, he told CNBC ahead of the company’s Nasdaq debut.
The company is focused on crypto and AI, “the two most exciting growth areas in markets,” according to Novogratz, who emphasized that U.S. markets offer 30 times more exposure than Canadian markets.
According to Bloomberg, Galaxy Digital is now in talks with regulators about tokenizing the company’s stock to allow for lending and trading on decentralized-finance applications 24 hours, seven days a week.
Novogratz described Galaxy as a dual business, combining data center infrastructure with a crypto platform. He said on Friday that the market is at the edge of institutional crypto adoption and Galaxy is prepared to scale with that demand.
The listing comes amid renewed interest in crypto-related companies with Bitcoin trading near all-time highs. Investors appear to be responding to the broader shift in sentiment and Galaxy’s access to deeper U.S. capital markets. The sharp rise in Galaxy’s share price reflects that optimism, with the firm now benefiting from higher visibility and investor access on a major U.S. exchange.
“If we had been in the U.S. markets those four years, we’d be a different company,” Novogratz reportedly said last week.
GLXY Price Action: Galaxy Digital shares were up more than 13% at the time of writing, but had fallen to around $24, up about 5.25% at the time of publication Monday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Read Next:
Photos: Shutterstock.
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Crypto-turned-colo firm Galaxy Digital has listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
The company is dual-listed as of May 16, keeping its original listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). Despite being based in New York, its public debut was made on the TSE in 2020 because its crypto-centric business unsettled American regulators.
Its share price on Nasdaq opened at $23.50.
CEO Mike Novogratz said during the company’s recent Q1 earnings call that the listing was pursued primarily because the US has “the deepest capital market in the world,” saying that the company’s growth had previously been driven by insufficient investing or trading profits, which had capped its growth.
Greater access to retail trading platforms, inclusion in market indices, and greater visibility were also cited as reasons.
Novogratz also told CNBC that the listing, which he described as “un-American, unfair [and] infuriating,” had taken four years and cost more than $25 million. It should be noted that the company had made its first filing in 2021 before the release of ChatGPT.
He cited Donald Trump’s election victory as a turning point, saying that “the flip got switched… the old regime knew the new regime was coming, and so they started to be much more supportive.”
Proof of the President’s friendliness towards crypto is abundant: since his inauguration, Trump has signed an order calling for the creation of a strategic crypto reserve, pardoned former executives of crypto exchange BitMEX, who had been convicted of violating the Banking Secrecy Act, and relaxed enforcement in the sector. Concerns about potential conflict of interest, particularly regarding his eldest son’s Bitcoin mining business, have arisen.
Ahead of its listing, Galaxy also settled a case with the New York attorney general over its promotion of Luna, a failed cryptocurrency, for $200m.
The company’s hunt for capital markets occurs as it looks to pivot its data centers away from cryptomining to AI workloads.
It was revealed in November 2024 that its flagship cryptomining data center, Helios in West Texas, would be optimized for AI workloads. AI cloud firm CoreWeave is set to occupy 393MW of capacity in the facility.
However, CFO Tony Paquette stated that the company does not expect to “generate revenue from [the data center segment] until sometime early in 2026.”
CIO Chris Ferraro also said that 1.7GW worth of projects were currently under study, with the average size of a potential facility varying from 100MW to 500MW.
Galaxy joins the ranks of crypto firms like Core Scientific, Hive Digital Technologies, and Northern Data, which have also pivoted into the data center business. While firms like Galaxy have maintained a hybrid model, some others, like CoreWeave, have abandoned their crypto roots in response to the AI boom.
Trusted News Since 1995
A service for global professionals
·
Monday, May 19, 2025
·
813,992,863
Articles
·
3+ Million Readers
