TAAL Distributed Information Technologies Inc. (CSE: TAAL) (FWB: 9SQ1) (OTC: TAALF) (“TAAL”) announces that through its wholly owned subsidiary, Taal Technologies SEZC, it has purchased all of the issued and outstanding shares of WhatsOnChain Limited (“WhatsOnChain”) enhancing TAAL’s technology portfolio and accelerating TAAL’s strategy as a leading provider of enterprise blockchain infrastructure services.
WhatsOnChain owns proprietary Bitcoin SV blockchain explorer technology developed by its founders who created the first-ever BSV block explorer to provide data in an easy and user-friendly manner. A blockchain explorer is a browser for the blockchain, similar to how web browsers like Maxthon or Google Chrome are used for browsing internet web pages. BSV users rely heavily on blockchain explorers to track their transactions. Having an open-source BSV explorer is what makes BSV transparent and immutable, and providing public access to the BSV ledger allows for a decentralized, trustless, and scalable system to ensue.
The WhatsOnChain team comprises software engineering and development entrepreneurs Liam Missin, who has over 15 years of software engineering and corporate experience at SAP and nChain, Muhammad Waqas Raza, who has 10+ years of software development experience and a Masters degree in Advanced Software Engineering with Distinction from the University of Leicester, and Simon Ordish, who has 20+ years of software engineering and executive-level experience. Simon Ordish, the Company’s co-founder, said, “Our team is excited to be joining TAAL in our current capacities, and we look forward to contributing to the growth and transformation of the blockchain industry.”
TAAL has purchased WhatsOnChain for $2MM GBP, which purchase price was paid through the issuance of 1,739,882 TAAL common shares (the “Consideration Shares”), with a share value of $1.97 established by the volume-weighted average price of the shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange for the 10 (ten) consecutive trading days up to and including September 9, 2020. The three co-founders of WhatsOnChain have agreed to lock up agreements pursuant to which, in addition to the 4-month hold pursuant to applicable securities laws, one-half of the Consideration Shares will be locked up for a one year period and the remaining Consideration Shares will remain locked up, subject to release only upon the achievement of certain development milestones by WhatsOnChain over a period of five years. Any Consideration Shares which remain unreleased at thereafter will be redeemable by TAAL for nominal consideration.
Support and services for enterprises using WhatsOnChain’s open-source software and proprietary server components in conjunction with TAAL’s services will create a new revenue-channel that will help to differentiate TAAL from its competitors. TAAL anticipates several additional features, which will be useful for enterprise users, such as customized tools and APIs, to become available for purchase in future updates to WhatsOnChain’s software.
“With the acquisition of WhatsOnChain, TAAL can provide an incredibly innovative blockchain platform that enables users to capitalize on the opportunity of the BSV blockchain,” said TAAL CEO Jerry Chan. “TAAL welcomes the WhatsOnChain team and users, commits to supporting WhatsOnChain’s technology leadership in the BSV market, and will soon unleash its capabilities in enterprise industries which, when coupled with TAAL’s blockchain computing infrastructure and transaction processing, will unlock a world of possibilities.”