Top SOL treasury company Forward Industries has appointed Ryan Navi as chief investment officer to oversee the execution of the company’s Solana-focused treasury strategy.
According to Monday’s announcement, Navi will handle sourcing and structuring capital markets opportunities and direct how Forward Industries uses its staking and validator infrastructure to support the accumulation of (SOL), Solana’s native token.
Navi joins Forward Industries after leading digital-asset investments at ParaFi Capital and previously serving as a principal at investment company KKR, where he focused on liquid and distressed credit strategies. He began his career in investment banking at Citi.
Forward Industries, which pivoted from a global design company serving medical and technology companies to launch its treasury strategy in September, is among the companies betting on SOL tokens as part of a crypto treasury strategy.
Top 10 Solana treasury companies. Source: CoinGecko
According to CoinGecko data, Forward currently holds 6,910,568 SOL valued at about $863.5 million, which amounts to slightly more than 1% of the total SOL in circulation.
In October, the company launched its first institutional-grade validator node on the Solana blockchain, expanding its presence in the ecosystem.
Forward authorized in November a $1 billion share repurchase program, allowing the company to buy back shares through open-market purchases, block trades or privately negotiated transactions.
Several Solana-focused treasury companies debuted this year, and some saw their share prices jump sharply following their launch announcements.
In August, shares of Sharps Technology jumped over 96% after the company announced its pivot from a medical device maker to focus on accumulating Solana’s native token.
However, as the price of SOL has fallen by over 30% the past month and is currently trading around $125 per token, many of these companies’ stock prices have reflected the drop.
Solana Co. (HSDT), the second-largest SOL-focused digital asset treasury, declined by nearly 37% over the past 30 days, while shares of DeFi Development Corporation (DFDV) plunged 40% over the same period.
Trading activity in Ether futures has surpassed that of Bitcoin on the Chicago-based CME Group, marking a notable shift in the digital asset derivatives market and fueling speculation that Ether may be entering a long-anticipated “super-cycle” — a sustained, multi-year period of accelerated growth driven by rising adoption.
In a recent CME video, Priyanka Jain, the exchange’s director of equity and crypto products, said Ether (ETH) options are currently exhibiting higher volatility than Bitcoin (BTC) options. Rather than deterring participation, she said, the increased volatility has attracted traders and helped drive growth in Ether futures activity.
“This heightened volatility has served as a powerful magnet for traders, directly accelerating participation in CME Group’s Ether futures,” Jain said. “Is this Ether’s long-awaited super-cycle, or merely a catch-up trade driven by short-term volatility?”
The rotation was especially pronounced in July, when the so-called flippening saw open interest in Ether futures overtake that of Bitcoin futures on the exchange for the first time.
While Bitcoin and Micro Bitcoin futures still account for the largest share of activity when measured by US dollar value, Jain said the broader trend is clear: Market participation in Ether-linked products is expanding rapidly.
Ether, Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market came under renewed selling pressure on Monday, extending a volatile period that has capped a difficult month for the sector. The move appeared to follow a coordinated wave of de-risking at the end of November.
Commenting on the sell-off, market analyst CTO Larsson said traders cut exposure immediately after the monthly close.
“People reduced exposure at exactly 00:00 UTC, because the monthly candle closed bad,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ether treasury companies — corporations that made holding ETH on their balance sheets a core business strategy — have seen the value of their holdings decline sharply. Companies such as SharpLink and Bit Digital are now underwater on their ETH positions, according to data from CoinGecko.
The Bitcoin mining industry has entered what may be its most severe economic downturn in its 15-year history, with even large publicly traded operators struggling to break even amid collapsing mining revenue and rising debt, according to TheMinerMag.
In its latest report, TheMinerMag said miners are operating in the “harshest margin environment of all time,” as hashprice — the revenue earned per unit of computing power — has fallen from an average of about $55 per petahash per second (PH/s) in the third quarter to roughly $35 PH/s, a level the publication characterized as a structural low rather than a temporary dip.
The deterioration followed a sharp correction in the price of Bitcoin (BTC), which fell from a record high near $126,000 in October to below $80,000 in November.
Under these conditions, cost-per-hash has emerged as a revealing metric for miners. It highlights how efficiently miners convert electricity and capital into raw computational output and exposes a widening gap between average operators and only the most efficient survivors.
The data shows that new-generation mining machines now require more than 1,000 days to recoup their costs — a growing concern, given the next Bitcoin halving is roughly 850 days away.
Bitcoin mining costs across major publicly traded miners. Source: TheMinerMag
“Balance sheets are reacting” to the deteriorating economics, TheMinerMag said, pointing to CleanSpark’s recent decision to fully repay its Bitcoin-backed credit line with Coinbase as a sign of the industry’s broader shift toward deleveraging and liquidity preservation.
The slide in Bitcoin prices and the resulting pressure on hashrate have coincided with a broader sell-off across traditional markets, delivering a one-two punch to publicly listed mining companies.
The MinerMag’s third-quarter report flagged a “sharp drawdown in mining equities since mid-October,” with losses accelerating across the sector.
MARA stock’s year-to-date performance. Source: Yahoo Finance
MARA Holdings (MARA) has been among the hardest hit, down roughly 50% from its Oct. 15 closing high. CleanSpark (CLSK) has declined 37% over the same period, while Riot Platforms (RIOT) has dropped 32%. Shares of HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE) have suffered the steepest decline, plunging 54% from their October peak.
South Korean lawmakers are pressing financial regulators to deliver a draft stablecoin bill by a deadline set for later this month, as disagreements over the role of banks continue to stall progress.
According to a Monday report by a local news outlet, Maeil Business Newspaper, South Korea’s ruling party sent a “last-minute notice” to financial regulators to submit a stablecoin regulatory framework draft by Dec. 10.
Kang Joon-hyun, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, said, “If the government bill does not come over within this deadline, we will take a drive through legislation by the secretary of the political affairs committee.” If it is delivered in time, he expects the bill will be discussed at the extraordinary session of the National Assembly in January 2026.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) later issued a statement saying “no decision had been finalized regarding the formation of a consortium for issuing a KRW-denominated stablecoin.” The regulator confirmed that stablecoin regulation was discussed on Monday during a ruling party–government consultation, and both sides agreed to prepare the government bill as quickly as possible.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission headquarters in Seoul. Source: Wikimedia
Despite earlier reports, “no concrete decision has been made on matters such as allowing a consortium in which banks hold 51% or more of equity,” the FSC said. The news follows late November reports that South Korea is likely to end the year without a framework for locally issued stablecoins, amid ongoing disputes over the role of banks in stablecoin issuance.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) and other financial regulators clashed over the extent of banks’ involvement in issuing Korean won-pegged stablecoins. The central bank expected banks to own at least 51% of any stablecoin issuer seeking regulatory approval in the country, while regulators want a more diverse ecosystem.
A BOK official said at the time that banks “are already under regulatory oversight and have extensive experience handling Anti-Money Laundering protocols,” making them a good option for a stablecoin issuer.
Sangmin Seo, the chair of the Kaia DLT Foundation, told Cointelegraph in late October that the central bank’s argument for banks leading a rollout “seems to lack a logical foundation.” He argued that a better solution would be to establish clear rules for issuers instead. He added:
“It would be even more valuable if the Bank of Korea could provide guidelines on how these risks can be mitigated and what qualifications are required for an issuer to be regarded as trustworthy.“
This was discussed again during Monday’s meeting, with an official from Kang’s office saying that the ruling party was “looking for a point of contact, considering both the stability of the BOK’s monetary policy and the industrial innovation emphasized by the [FSC]”.
HashKey Holdings, the parent company of one of Hong Kong’s biggest licensed crypto exchanges, moved a step closer to a public listing, according to new filings from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).
On Monday, the HKEX published a 633-page post-hearing information pack for HashKey Holdings. The document was published at the request of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and the local financial regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
A post-hearing information pack is only published after HKEX’s listing committee formally clears an applicant at the listing hearing. In other words, without explicitly stating it, this document indicates that HashKey has moved closer to listing on the exchange and is progressing toward its initial public offering (IPO).
At the same time, the document stressed that the deal is not yet finalized. “The listing application referred to in this document has not yet been approved; the HKEX and the SFC may accept, return, or reject the public offering and/or listing application.”
This is standard HKEX disclaimer language and does not contradict HashKey’s approval. Instead, it refers to the listing being dependent on completing the offering documents.
Hong Kong Exchange trade lobby in 2007. Source: Wikimedia
HashKey’s IPO is likely to attract significant attention
The news follows early October reports that HashKey was aiming for an IPO and a listing in Hong Kong this year. At the time, the report was largely based on rumors, citing anonymous sources with purported knowledge of the matter.
HashKey is Hong Kong’s top crypto exchange with a 24-hour volume of nearly $108 million at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko data. The information pack also listed the world’s top bank, JPMorgan, and local financial institutions Guotai Junan International and Haitong International as joint sponsors for the listing.
Interest in the offering is likely high, considering that in mid-February, China-based Gaorong Ventures reportedly invested $30 million in HashKey, granting it unicorn status. The pre-money valuation of the investment was purportedly almost $1.5 billion, but reports cited unidentified sources that could not be independently verified.
This was followed by reports in late October that Chinese technology giants, including Ant Group and JD.com, had reportedly suspended plans to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong due to regulatory concerns. On Saturday, the People’s Bank of China — mainland China’s central bank — said after a meeting with 12 other agencies that “virtual currency speculation has resurfaced,” reiterating that “virtual currency-related business activities constitute illegal financial activities,” in line with its 2021 ban on crypto trading and mining.
Japanese government bond yields have jumped to their highest level in decades, prompting some analysts to speculate that it could be behind the recent crypto market sell-off on Sunday.
Japan’s 10-year government bond yield hit 1.86% on Monday, its highest level since April 2008, according to MarketWatch.
Yields in the 10-year bonds have almost doubled in Japan over the past 12 months. Japan’s two-year bond yields also hit 1% for the first time since 2008.
While 1.86% is not a substantial yield from government bonds, it is significant because it marks a shift, as Japan has had a very low interest rate environment for decades, with negative or close to zero rates prevailing for the most part, and a very stable bond market.
This has encouraged institutional investors around the world to borrow low-interest Japanese yen to buy higher-yielding, riskier assets, in a strategy known as the “Yen Carry Trade.”
“Trillions borrowed in yen, deployed into US Treasurys, European bonds, emerging market debt, risk assets everywhere,” explained economics author Shanaka Anslem Perera, who said, “That anchor is now breaking.”
Japan’s 10-year bond prices hit their highest level since 2008. Source: MarketWatch
Japan’s bond yield hike is bad timing for US
Japanese institutions hold approximately $1.1 trillion in US Treasury securities, and is the largest foreign position, explained Perera.
“When domestic yields rise from nothing to nearly 2%, the math changes. Capital that flowed outward for decades faces pressure to repatriate.”
The timing couldn’t be worse for the United States, as it comes when the Federal Reserve terminates quantitative tightening, and when the US Treasury requires record issuance to finance $1.8 trillion deficits, he stated.
“When the world’s creditor nations stop funding the world’s debtor nations at artificially suppressed rates, the entire post-2008 financial architecture must reprice.”
Analysts warn of possible flight to safety ahead
This could impact the cryptocurrency market in several ways. Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies typically thrive in an era of ultra-loose monetary policy and low interest rates globally.
When Japan provided an abundance of cheap money through the carry trade, some of that capital flowed into riskier assets, such as crypto and US tech stocks.
If that liquidity reverses and flows back to Japan, there will be less speculative capital available for crypto markets.
“Crypto is usually the first place where all of this shows up. It sits at the highest end of the risk spectrum, so even small shifts in liquidity lead to sharp moves,” said DeFi market analyst “Wukong.”
If global bond markets reprice violently, investors typically flee to safety first, resulting in a sell-off of all risk assets as people scramble for cash and liquidity.
White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has fired back at The New York Times over a report detailing how his government advisory role could benefit his investments and his close associates.
Sacks said in a post to X that despite having “debunked in detail” the Times’ reporting over the past five months, the outlet continued to publish the article on Sunday about his supposed conflicts of interest.
“Today they evidently just threw up their hands and published this nothing burger,” Sacks wrote. “Anyone who reads the story carefully can see that they strung together a bunch of anecdotes that don’t support the headline.”
Sacks is a co-founder and partner at the venture firm Craft Ventures, and his special government employee role at the White House has drawn scrutiny in the past, with Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren saying in May that he is “financially invested in the crypto industry, positioning him to potentially profit from the crypto policy changes he makes at the White House.”
Before he became crypto czar, Sacks and Craft divested over $200 million in crypto and crypto-tied stocks, at least $85 million of which Sacks owned, but Sacks retained an interest in several illiquid investments of “private equity of digital asset-related companies.”
Sacks retains 20 crypto investments, The Times reports
The Times reported that its analysis of Sacks’ financial disclosure found he has retained 708 tech investments, 449 of which are AI-related and 20 are tied to crypto, all of which could benefit from the policies Sacks supports.
In one example of a perceived conflict in Sacks’ role, the outlet stated that Craft Ventures is invested in the crypto infrastructure company BitGo, which offers a stablecoin-as-a-service.
BitGo filed to go public in September, with regulatory filings showing Craft owned 7.8% of the company.
The Times noted that Sacks was a major backer of the stablecoin-regulating GENIUS Act, which was signed into law earlier this year. Many crypto commentators said this would boost the use and uptake of the tokens by institutions.
Other examples noted by the Times involved Sacks’ and Craft’s ties to companies involved with AI, which have skyrocketed in value as the White House and Wall Street bet on the technology’s potential.
The Times noted that Sacks’ ethics waivers, shared in March, stated he would sell his interests in AI and crypto; however, they don’t disclose when he sold the assets and do not detail the value of his remaining investments.
NYT created “bogus narrative,” says Sacks
In his X post, Sacks shared a letter to the Times sent by his lawyers at Clare Locke accusing the outlet of setting out “to write a hit piece” and giving their reporters “clear marching orders” to find conflicts of interest.
Sacks added it was “very clear how NYT willfully mischaracterized or ignored the facts to support their bogus narrative.”
Sacks’ spokesperson Jessica Hoffman told the Times that he has complied with rules for special government employees, and the Office of Government Ethics said that Sacks should sell his investments in certain types of companies but not others.
Sacks’ role as a special government employee is limited to 130 days, and in September, Democratic lawmakers questioned whether he had exceeded the number of days allowed with his appointment.
However, Sacks reportedly carefully manages the days he spends as a special government employee to ensure that he stays under the limit.
This week, cryptocurrency markets staged a long-awaited recovery, following four consecutive weeks of downside momentum.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) price reclaimed the $90,000 psychological mark on Wednesday, bringing some much-needed relief for Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) holders, who were once again back in profit as BTC traded above the key $89,600 flow-weighted cost basis of ETF buyers.
Bolstering investor sentiment, Cathie Wood, the CEO and chief investment officer of ARK Invest, said the company’s $1.5 million Bitcoin bull market price prediction remained unchanged, pointing to billions in returning liquidity following the end of the US government shutdown.
The crypto market recovery followed a sharp increase in expectations of interest rate cuts in the US, with odds rising by 46% in a week. Markets are pricing in an 85% chance of a 25 basis point interest rate cut at the US Federal Reserve’s Dec. 10 meeting, up from 39% a week before, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
However, Bitcoin is still facing the worst November in seven years, as the world’s first cryptocurrency is down about 17% on the monthly chart, despite the month averaging 41% historic Bitcoin returns, according to blockchain data provider CoinGlass.
Cathie Wood says ARK’s $1.5 million Bitcoin bull price hasn’t changed as markets eye rally
Equities and cryptocurrency markets may be setting up for a year-end reversal as liquidity improves and US monetary policy turns more supportive following the end of the record government shutdown.
Improving market conditions will be driven by the increasing liquidity, which has already returned $70 billion into markets since the end of the US government shutdown, with another $300 billion expected to return over the next five to six weeks as the Treasury General Account normalizes, according to investment management company ARK Invest.
Another potential catalyst will arrive on Dec. 1, when the US Federal Reserve is scheduled to end its quantitative tightening program and pivot toward quantitative easing, a shift that involves bond-buying to lower borrowing costs and stimulate economic activity.
“With liquidity returning, quantitative tightening (QT) ending December 1st, and monetary policy turning supportive, we believe conditions are building for markets to potentially reverse recent drawdowns,” wrote Ark in a Wednesday X post.
The current “liquidity squeeze” limiting the upside of the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence markets is set to “reverse in the next few weeks,” wrote Cathie Wood, the CEO and chief investment officer of ARK Invest, in a Thursday X post.
Earlier in April, ARK Invest predicted a 2030 Bitcoin (BTC) price target of $1.5 million in the company’s “bull case,” and a $300,000 price target in the “bear case.”
Bitcoin price target for 2030. Source: Ark-invest.com
Despite the recent crypto market correction and stablecoins subtracting from Bitcoin’s role as a safe-haven asset, the bullish price target remains unchanged.
“The stablecoins have accelerated, taking some of the role away from Bitcoin that we expected,” but the “gold price appreciation has been far greater than we expected,” explained Wood during a webinar on Monday, adding:
“So net, our bull price, which most people focus on, really hasn’t changed.”
Webinar by Cathie Wood, the CEO and chief investment officer of ARK Invest. Source: Ark-funds.com
UK takes “meaningful step forward” with proposed DeFi tax overhaul
The UK has floated a new tax framework that eases the burden on decentralized finance (DeFi) users, with deferred capital gains taxes on crypto lending and liquidity pool users until the underlying token is sold, which the local industry has welcomed.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) proposed on Wednesday a “no gain, no loss” approach to DeFi that would cover lending out a token and receiving the same type back, borrowing arrangements and moving tokens into a liquidity pool.
Taxable gains or losses would be calculated when liquidity tokens are redeemed, based on the number of tokens a user receives back compared to the number they originally contributed, according to the proposal.
Currently, when a user deposits funds into a protocol, regardless of the reason, the move may be subject to capital gains tax. In the UK, capital gains tax rates can vary from 18% and 32%, depending on the action.
Tax framework a “positive signal” for UK crypto regulation
Sian Morton, marketing lead at the crosschain payments system Relay protocol, said HMRC’s no gain, no loss approach is a “meaningful step forward for UK DeFi users who borrow stablecoins against their crypto collateral, and moves tax treatment closer to the actual economic reality of these interactions.”
“A positive signal for the UK’s evolving stance on crypto regulation,” she added.
Maria Riivari, a lawyer at the DeFi platform Aave, said the change “would bring clarity that DeFi transactions do not trigger tax until you truly sell your tokens.”
“Other countries facing similar questions may want to take note of HMRC’s approach and the depth of research and consideration behind it,” she added.
DWF Labs launches $75 million fund for “institutional phase” of DeFi
Crypto market maker and Web3 investment firm DWF Labs says it is investing up to $75 million in decentralized finance projects that could support institutional adoption.
The company shared its announcement via X on Wednesday, saying the fund will support projects with “innovative value” propositions that can scale to support large-scale adoption.
“The initiative will target blockchain projects building dark-pool perpetual DEXs, decentralized money markets, and fixed-income or yield-bearing asset products, […] areas the firm believes are poised for major growth as crypto liquidity continues its structural migration onchain,” DWF Labs said.
“DeFi is entering its institutional phase,” he said, adding: “We’re seeing real demand for infrastructure that can handle size, protect order flow, and generate sustainable yield.”
The fund will focus on projects built across Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and Solana, as well as Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 Base.
Alongside capital injections, DWF Labs will also offer support in ways such as “TVL and crypto liquidity provisioning, hands-on go-to-market strategy and execution support,” access to partnered exchanges, market makers, infrastructure providers and institutions in crypto.
Balancer community proposes plan to distribute funds recovered from hack
Two members of the Balancer protocol community submitted a proposal on Thursday outlining a distribution plan for a portion of the funds recovered from the protocol’s $116 million November exploit.
About $28 million from the $116 million heist was recovered by white hat hackers, internal rescuers and StakeWise — an Ether (ETH) liquid staking platform.
However, the proposal covers only the $8 million recovered by white hat hackers and internal rescue teams, while the nearly $20 million retrieved by StakeWise will be distributed separately to its users.
Balancer community proposal to distribute recovered funds. Source: Balancer
The authors proposed that all reimbursements should be non-socialized, meaning that funds would be distributed only to the specific liquidity pools that lost the funds and paid out on a pro-rata basis according to each holder’s share in the liquidity pool, represented by Balancer Pool Tokens (BPT).
Reimbursements should also be paid in-kind, with victims of the hack receiving payment denominated in the tokens they lost to avoid price mismatches between different digital assets, according to the authors.
The Balancer hack was one of the “most sophisticated” attacks in 2025, according to Deddy Lavid, the CEO of blockchain cybersecurity company Cyvers, highlighting the need for crypto user safety as security threats continue to evolve.
Nasdaq-listed Enlivex plans $212 million RAIN token play with ex-Italian PM onboard
A Nasdaq-listed biotech firm is raising $212 million in a late-cycle pivot into crypto, planning to buy the token of a decentralized prediction market even as other digital-asset treasuries (DATs) struggle to stay afloat.
Enlivex Therapeutics (ENLV), a clinical-stage macrophage reprogramming immunotherapy company, said on Monday it plans to raise $212 million through private investment in public equity, selling 212 million shares at $1 each. The price represents an 11.5% discount to Friday’s close, according to the company’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company plans to invest the majority of the $212 million in Rain (RAIN), the utility token behind the Rain decentralized prediction market on the Arbitrum network, marking the first corporate strategy centered on a prediction market token, according to a Monday announcement shared with Cointelegraph.
“We see prediction markets as one of the most exciting emerging sectors in the blockchain space,” with “exceptional” long-term growth potential, Shai Novik, executive chairman at Enlivex Therapeutics, told Cointelegraph.
“By entering now, we benefit from a first-mover advantage in a fundamentally strong category.”
When asked about the reason for choosing the Rain protocol, Novik said that its “decentralized” architecture stood out, as it serves as a “scalable model which supports global access and growth.”
Enlivex expects to complete its Rain purchases within 30 days of the offering’s close.
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the green.
The SPX6900 (SPX) memecoin rose over 43% as the week’s biggest winner, followed by the Layer-1 blockchain Kaspa’s (KAS) token, up 39% during the past week.
Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama
Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.
Greenidge Generation Holdings, a Bitcoin (BTC) mining company, disclosed that a fire broke out at its mining facility in Dresden, New York, where it co-hosts operations with mining company NYDIG.
The fire broke out on Sunday due to an “electrical switchgear failure,” forcing the company to de-energize the entire facility, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
The fire did not damage the mining rigs, and the company said it would resume normal operations within a “few weeks,” without providing specific dates.
Greenidge disclosed the fire at the Dresden, New York, facility in a recent SEC filing. Source: Greenidge
Greenidge’s Dresden site generates 106 megawatts of natural gas energy to power its mining operations and machines co-hosted with NYDIG, according to TheMinerMag.
The downtime caused by the fire showcased the challenges of commercial mining operations, which operate on thin margins and must weather supply chain issues, high energy costs, equipment failures, dwindling block rewards, and regulatory hurdles to remain profitable.
The latest headwinds to hit the mining industry are straining miners even more
Hashprice, a critical metric for miner profitability that measures expected profits per unit of computing power, dropped to about $35 petahashes per second (PH/s) in November as BTC plunged to lows of about $80,000.
For context, mining operations typically become unprofitable around the $40 PH/s level. The hash price is back to about $39 PH/s at the time of this writing, according to Hashrate Index.
Bitcoin mining hash price August-November 2025. Source: Hashrate Index
Stablecoin issuer Tether confirmed it shut down its mining operations in Uruguay on Tuesday, citing surging energy costs as the main reason for the exit.
The company was also in a dispute with a local state-owned energy provider over $4.8 million in unpaid energy bills and fees.
The officials are probing whether Bitmain’s application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), the hardware used to mine proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies, could be remotely accessed and used for espionage.
Bitmain is a Chinese company that has about an 80% market share of mining hardware, and any potential ban could make things even more challenging for the mining industry.
Several crypto-linked stocks climbed on Friday as prediction-market odds of a December rate cut surged to 87% on Polymarket, the highest level this month.
Three US-listed Bitcoin miners led the rally, with Cleanspark, Riot Platforms and Cipher Mining all rising in the session and showing double-digit gains over the past five days.
Probability of a US rate cut in December. Source: Polymarket
Yahoo Finance data showed Circle, the issuer of USDC, jumped nearly 10% in early trading, while Michael Saylor’s Strategy and Coinbase notched more modest increases at the time of writing.
Bitcoin (BTC) was also up around 7% on the week, after dropping to around $82,000 on Nov. 21, according to CoinGecko data.
Much of the volatility in prediction-market pricing this month has been driven by comments from Federal Reserve officials.
On Oct. 29, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said a December cut was “not a foregone conclusion,” a remark investors took as hawkish — which means the Fed could delay rate cuts and keep conditions tight. Polymarket odds slipped from 89% the day before to as low as 22% by Nov. 20.
Sentiment shifted on Nov. 17 after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said the central bank should consider cutting rates next month, arguing that “the labor market is still weak and near stall speed” and that inflation is now “relatively close” to the Fed’s 2% target.
Prediction markets, such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which enable bettors to wager on the outcomes of real-world events, have expanded their reach and influence this year.
On Nov. 13, Polymarket inked a multi-year agreement with TKO Group Holdings to serve as the official prediction-market partner for the Ultimate Fighting Championships and Zuffa Boxing. The partnership came shortly after it partnered with North American fantasy sports operator PrizePicks.
The same month, Kalshi raised $1 billion from Sequoia Capital and CapitalG, pushing its valuation to $11 billion, according to a TechCrunch report citing a person familiar with the deal. The new round followed a $300 million raise in October.
On Nov. 19, rumors emerged that Coinbase is developing its own prediction-market platform after tech researcher Jane Manchun Wong posted screenshots of an unreleased site. Wong’s images indicated the product would be offered through Coinbase Financial Markets and backed by Kalshi.
On Wednesday, Robinhood said prediction markets have quickly become one of its fastest-growing revenue drivers, with more than one million users trading nine billion contracts since the product launched in March through a partnership with Kalshi.
