News

HK Investment Firm Pivots to Cannabis After 2018 Bitcoin Bear Market

Osato Avan-Nomayo · @OsatoNomayo | May 02, 2019 | 12:00

---

A Hong Kong-based blockchain investment firm is planning to take up a position in the cannabis market as a way of diversifying its Bitcoin investment portfolio.

Diversifying with Cannabis

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Hong Kong-listed Grandshores Technology plans to take up investment positions in cannabis stocks. This move comes as part of the company’s efforts to diversify its investment holdings which previously focused on the cryptocurrency and blockchain market.

On Monday (April 29, 2019), the company filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) a cooperation agreement with the Heilongjiang hemp research institute. The agreement sees both companies developing multiple varieties of medicinal hemp strains.

Explaining the importance of the partnership, Yao Yongjie, the co-chairman of Grandshores Technology, said:

Through our partnership with Heilongjiang hemp research institute, we have gained an advantage in accessing high-quality cannabis seeds, with high levels of CBD. We want to be a key supplier of industrial and medicinal cannabis and control that supply from the source.

Another HKEX filing shows Grandshores is also looking to acquire a 40 percent equity stake in Hangzhou Yupu Trading – a hemp trading company. Hangzhou Yupu Trading has a one-year, 1,600kg allocation for a specialized hemp plant from the Heilongjiang hemp research institute.

According to Yao, the company is serious about its foray into cannabis. Yao says by 2020, the company will decide on whether to focus most of its resources on the hemp industry rather than cryptocurrency investment positions.

The Intersection of Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Cannabis

Yao believes that 2020 will mark a watershed year for cannabis investment as the emerging asset class begins to mature. Bitcoin held off an 80 percent drop in 2018 and has continued to experience steady gains so far in 2019.

Commenting on the prospects of both markets, the Grandshores Technology chief opined:

Both blockchain and industrial cannabis are the future, and both are embraced by the younger generation. Grandshores Technology is a company that invests in the future and we are always on the search for new business growth opportunities.

However, like the crypto market, the cannabis scene is still grappling with a patchwork of loose regulations and government apathy. Several projects have come up in the last few years trying to revolutionize the industry with limited success thus far.

As previously reported by Bitcoinist, Paragon – a cannabis startup lost 96 percent of its post-ICO market capitalization.

Do you think cannabis is a suitable diversifier for firms with cryptocurrency investment portfolios? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Images via Bitcoinist archives, Shutterstock