The US regulator's green light lets Bitnomial’s clearinghouse support prediction markets linked to crypto and economic events, expanding its regulated product and clearing offerings. Bitnomial Clearinghouse LLC received approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to clear fully collateralized swaps, enabling its parent company, Bitnomial, to launch prediction markets and offer clearing services to other platforms. According to Friday’s announcement, Bitnomial’s prediction market will cover crypto and economic events, alongside its existing Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto derivatives products. The contracts are designed to allow traders to take positions on outcomes, such as token price levels and macroeconomic data. The approval expands the umbrella of the trading products offered by Bitnomial. Based in Chicago, the company’s exchange and clearing arms offer perpetuals, futures, options contracts and leveraged spot trading. The company’s clearinghouse also supports crypto-based margin and settle...
Bitcoin mining hash price, a critical metric for determining profit margins in the industry, is hovering near record lows. Bitcoin mining companies are turning to renewable energy to reduce costs amid record-low hash price, a critical metric for miner profitability, which is below the $40 level that marks the breakeven point for mining operators. Hash price, which measures expected miner profitability per unit of computing power used to successfully add a block, is about $39.4 per petahash second per day (PH/s/day) at the time of this writing, according to mining data provider Hashrate Index. Sangha Renewables, a Bitcoin (BTC) miner and renewable energy company, energized a 20 megawatt (MW) solar-powered mining facility in Ector County, Texas, on Thursday, according to TheMinerMag. Read more
Ripple’s post-SEC rebound is drawing Wall Street backing, including a $40 billion valuation deal with downside protection— and some investors betting on XRP. It has been a long and arduous journey for Ripple. After emerging from a multiyear battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the blockchain-based payments and infrastructure company is pressing ahead with broad ambitions to unify custody, treasury and prime-brokerage services, each underpinned by blockchain technology and stablecoins. Despite the bruising legal fight and the reputational damage that came with it, Ripple has still managed to win over some of Wall Street’s biggest players. This week’s Crypto Biz looks at how Ripple secured a striking $40 billion valuation, and why some of its backers are quietly placing bets on an XRP (XRP) surge. Read more