When the curtain finally closes on 2018, it will likely be remembered as the greatest year in cannabis history. To our north, Canada cast aside nine decades of recreational marijuana prohibition and legalized adult-use weed. Although it'll take a few years for growing capacity to be fully ramped up, recreational legalization should add in the neighborhood of $5 billion in annual sales by early next decade. Meanwhile, in the U.S., a handful of states gave the green light to medical or...

In 2017, cryptocurrencies delivered what may go down as the single greatest year for any asset class in history. In just 12 months, the combined value of all virtual currencies rose from $17.7 billion to finish the year at $613 billion. That's a gain of better than 3,300%, and it's a return that traditional equity investors might have to wait decades to achieve. While there were numerous catalysts behind the ascent in cryptocurrencies last year, none stood out as being more responsible for...

In 2017, nothing was hotter than cryptocurrencies. Over a 12-month span, the aggregate value of digital currencies soared by almost $600 billion, which works out to more than 3,300% on a percentage basis. At the heart of it all was the emergence of blockchain technology. Blockchain takes center stage Blockchain technology is officially the digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger responsible for recording transactions without the need for a financial intermediary. But in plainer...

Last year, virtual currencies burst onto the scene and delivered returns that no investors had ever seen before – at least within a 12-month period. From beginning to end, cryptocurrency valuations soared by almost $600 billion, which worked out to a better than 3,300% increase in value. By comparison, the stock market averages a 7% annual return, inclusive of dividend reinvestment and when adjusted for inflation. In other words, virtual currencies knocked the socks off every other asset...

Cryptocurrencies simply couldn't be stopped in 2017, and blockchain technology is to thank for that. Blockchain is the digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger underlying most virtual currencies that's responsible for logging all transactions without the need for a financial intermediary, such as a bank. In other words, it's a new means of transmitting funds and/or logging information. Why the sudden need for blockchain? Blockchain is the vision of developers who believed that the...