Ripple Leads $25M Round for Crypto Derivatives Platform Bitnomial
Ripple, the blockchain company behind the cryptocurrency XRP, has led a $25 million funding round in Bitnomial, a US-based digital assets derivatives exchange and brokerage platform. The investment represents one of the major moves by Bitnomial in the lead-up to launching its perpetual futures trading platform, Botanical, which looks to change the crypto derivatives trading landscape in the United States.
Bitnomial to Expand into Regulated Derivatives Market
Bitnomial operates under the CFTC, meaning their offerings will need to consider stringent U.S. laws. Public launching of the platform will introduce users to a suite of products that include perpetual futures, traditional futures, and options trading. This is a quantum leap in offering a fully compliant environment for traders looking to invest in digital asset derivatives in the U.S. market.
The Botanical platform is in closed beta and is designed to provide advanced trading tools that are in conformity with regulatory standards; thus, it has become a key player in the growing regulated crypto derivatives market. Further, Bitnomial’s CFTC registration as a futures commission merchant also includes Bitnomial Clearing, LLC, hence adding an extra layer of security for users.
Ripple’s Role and Vision
The CEO at Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, showed excitement about how Bitnomial is shaping up in the changing of the regulated derivatives landscape. He said: “Bitnomial does represent a very unique opportunity for its fresh approach to bring these offshore trading models onto the U.S. market.” Garlinghouse emphasized that building a compliant derivative market for digital assets such as XRP was important, and Bitnomial was well-placed to lead such a market.
Bitnomial is paving the way for a regulated digital asset derivatives market,” said Garlinghouse, underlining Ripple’s confidence in the growth potential of the platform.
Integration with Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin
This is perhaps more interesting: the plan Bitnomial has for the future regarding the integration of Ripple’s imminent stablecoin, RLUSD, into settlement processes. This would further streamline Bitnomial’s offerings, boosting the service’s overall liquidity and efficiency. Ripple also listed a number of exchanges and platforms as partners for the RLUSD stablecoin, placing Bitnomial in an advantageous position within this growing ecosystem.
Regulatory Challenges and Legal Battles
That said, the road to progress for Bitnomial is not devoid of its share of regulatory obstacles. Most recently, the firm filed a lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission over the latter’s classification of XRP as a security. Ripple, fighting the SEC, kept going with the case after winning in court this year when it was ruled that XRP, in secondary sales, did not classify as securities.
While Bitnomial treads the same path of regulatory compliance, Ripple is ceaseless in its advocacy for XRP; thus, the proof of a mutual dream of ultimate transparency and compliance stands as one in the digital asset market.
