Ripple Leads $25M Funding Round for Bitnomial
Date: 2024-10-16 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: BUSINESS
On October 15, Bitnomial announced the completion of a $25 million funding round led by Ripple, the developer of the XRP cryptocurrency. The investment comes as the platform prepares for the public launch of its new product, Botanical, which will offer users the ability to trade perpetual futures.
According to a press release from the company, Botanical will provide access to trading perpetual futures, traditional futures, and options. The platform is currently in closed testing, but its full launch will be in strict compliance with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Bitnomial is registered with the CFTC and operates as a futures broker through its division, Bitnomial Clearing, LLC.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse noted that Bitnomial is ushering in a new era in the regulated derivatives market. According to him, the company aims to bring trading models previously common outside the US to the US derivatives industry, which opens up significant opportunities to create a legal market for digital assets like XRP.
Garlinghouse also added that Bitnomial plans to use Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD for settlement. In this regard, Ripple has already partnered with several exchanges and platforms that will support RLUSD when it launches.
On the regulatory front, Bitnomial has filed a lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its continued classification of XRP as a security. For its part, Ripple has filed a cross-appeal in response to the SEC’s actions related to the XRP status case.
Recall that in July 2023, a US court ruled that XRP is not a security and secondary sales on exchanges do not constitute investment contracts.
