Arkham launches points program to woo derivatives traders
2024-11-15

Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence has started a points program to woo traders to its newly launched a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, according to a Nov. 14 announcement.
Traders can earn points from trading spot crypto and perpetual futures contracts, Arkham said. The program will last for 30 days and points will be convertible to Arkham’s native token, ARKM. 
On Nov. 6, Arkham launched a digital assets derivatives exchange. The exchange will reportedly target retail traders and compete with existing platforms such as Binance. 
Arkham’s exchange integrates Arkham’s research and features live on-chain audits and proof-of-reserve (PoR), Arkham said in a post on the X platform.
It is not available to people in the United States, Arkham said.
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The crypto market surged following Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential election, as many believe his win will benefit the industry, Cointelegraph Research said.
Bitfinex researchers anticipate a “new wave of hope” entering crypto markets following Trump’s election win as federal agencies to adopt a less hostile stance on crypto.
Crypto derivatives products are proliferating, including on established exchanges such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The activity has largely been driven by retail traders.
Crypto derivatives trading volume exceeded $3 trillion in September, up from approximately $1.5 trillion one year prior, according to a report by CCData. 
On Sept. 29, CME’s Bitcoin Friday Futures (BFF) debuted in what the derivatives exchange dubbed the “most successful crypto futures launch ever.”
In 2022, Coinbase Derivatives Exchange launched in the United States, bringing crypto futures to Coinbase’s tens of millions of American users.
On Oct. 8, Crypto.com’s North American derivatives exchange, Nadex, listed derivatives contracts tied to memecoins including Pepe (PEPE) and Floki Inu (FLOKI).
It also listed derivative products tied to Dogelon Mars (ELON) and BONK, according to Oct. 7 Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filings. 
Arkham is best known for offering a popular tool for tracking blockchain transactions and identifying the entities associated with various crypto wallet addresses.
It raised $12 million from investors including Sam Altman, the founder of ChatGPT maker OpenAI.