Mr. Frank Holmes reports

U.S. GLOBAL INVESTORS ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN HIVE BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES LTD. WITH FRANK HOLMES BECOMING CHAIRMAN OF BOARD

U.S. Global Investors Inc. has entered into a strategic investment in Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. U.S. Global Investors has exposure to 17 million shares of Hive.

Frank Holmes, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors, has been appointed as the non-executive chairman of the board of directors of Hive.

Hive Blockchain Technologies commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol HIVE effective at the open on Sept. 18, 2017. This follows the completion of a $16.5-million equity financing, as announced on Sept. 7, 2017, and the closing of the acquisition from Genesis Mining Ltd. of a state-of-the-art GPU-based (graphics processing unit) blockchain data centre in Reykjanes, Iceland, and formation of a strategic partnership with Genesis, as announced on Sept. 15, 2017. Genesis is the world's largest cryptocurrency mining firm.

"According to CoinDesk, 28 of the top 30 banks are now engaging in blockchain proof of concepts. Goldman Sachs has even said that 'the blockchain could disrupt ... everything,'" said Mr. Holmes. "We are excited to be part of this unique opportunity in the cryptocurrency space and having a first-mover advantage in bringing it to investors. Hive is creating new coins, with the goal of selling a portion of these and then banking the rest in order to manage this opportunity in a fast-growth industry."

Hive commenced mining operations and began accumulating cryptocurrency on Sept. 15, 2017, following closing of the transaction.

"Blockchain technology has the potential to fundamentally change and lower transaction costs. Hive's partnership with Genesis provides immediate exposure to operating margins of cryptomining and a growing portfolio of coins. That makes this a unique global company out of the gate," said Mr. Holmes. "In addition, The Economist reported that annual revenues earned by the banking system for processing payments were at $1.7-trillion in 2014, which was 2 per cent of global GDP [gross domestic product] at the time. Bankers are moving fast to prevent disruptive technology from Uber-izing their business just as cab companies are fighting back against ride-hailing apps."

Harry Pokrandt will serve as president, chief executive officer and a director of Hive, while Marco Streng, co-founder and chief executive officer of Genesis Group, will be an adviser to Hive. Joining Mr. Holmes and Mr. Pokrandt on the board of directors is Bjoern Arzt, Tobias Ebel and Olivier Roussy Newton.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2018, U.S. Global Investors, through its wholly owned subsidiary, U.S. Global Investors (Canada) Ltd. (USCAN), purchased 10 million shares of Hive (approximately $2.4-million (U.S.)). In addition, USCAN purchased shares of a fund managed by its 65-per-cent-owned subsidiary, Galileo Global Equity Advisors Inc. The Galileo Partners fund purchased seven million shares of Hive. These shares are restricted and not available for resale until January, 2018.