The Predictive Market Space will launch its token sale on December 18th.

December 17: Orion Compute—founded by early Bitcoin investor Nick Rose—today announced its entry into large-scale Bitcoin mining and AI data center infrastructure development, with an initial focus on emerging markets boasting abundant low-cost energy. Orion Compute noted that as global AI data center investments accelerate, North America and Western Europe face rising electricity costs, grid congestion, and power supply risks. The firm plans to deploy computing infrastructure in regions with energy surpluses and low utilization rates to slash electricity costs and ensure uninterrupted power supply. In the short term, Orion Compute will prioritize projects in West Texas, U.S., before expanding to emerging economies once regulatory and infrastructure conditions mature. For its strategy, the company is using a phased deployment model: initially leveraging cost-effective AI hardware (like Nvidia A100 GPUs) to cut capital expenditures and optimize energy and operational systems; subs

December 17 — In the crypto space, the longstanding pain point—“acquiring new users is easy, retaining them is hard”—remains prominent. But prediction market platform Polymarket’s user retention far outperforms the industry average. Per a study by analytics firm Dune and market maker Keyrock, researchers tracked monthly cohorts of new active users to see if they stayed active traders in subsequent months. Among a sample of 275 crypto projects (networks, DeFi, wallets, trading apps), Polymarket boasts an average retention rate of over 85% across its protocol. The report notes that in markets relying heavily on frequent participation and liquidity, poor user retention typically signals “skin-deep” growth—and long-term active users remain rare in crypto. Analysis points to the key distinction between prediction markets and traditional crypto apps: their strong event-driven nature. Trading centers on real-world events (elections, sports, macroeconomic data), which keeps users co

Dec 17 (Reuters) — A sharp recent pullback in cryptocurrency markets has left investors more cautious, with high-leverage, high-valuation sectors hit hardest—pushing active risk management strategies into the spotlight. As investment tools proliferate, investors can tap the market via multiple avenues: direct holdings, spot ETFs, options/futures, mining firms, “Bitcoin reserve companies” (like Strategy), exchanges, and infrastructure players. But risk exposure varies drastically by approach, notes John D’Agostino, Coinbase’s Head of Institutional Strategy. The key, he says, is how investors use leverage and whether they hedge their positions. Bitcoin has dropped 36% since hitting a $126,223 high on Oct 6, and is now ~30% off its peak. Bitcoin reserve firms led by Strategy have seen steeper declines: Strategy’s stock is down 54% from Bitcoin’s October peak and 63% from mid-July. Japan’s Metaplanet and its peers are also under pressure. Lyn Alden points out these sectors previously

December 17 – HashKey Holdings Limited, a leading comprehensive digital asset firm in Asia (stock code: 3887.HK; “HashKey” or “the Company”), officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) main board today and held a ceremonial listing. Key officials from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and top figures in Hong Kong’s financial sector attended the event, including: - HKSAR Financial Secretary Paul Chan - Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) Chairman CK Chow - HKEX Group Chief Executive Nicolas Aguzin - Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Chairman Tim Lui - SFC Executive Director of Corporate Finance Mary Cai - Legislative Councillor Christopher Cheung - Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Ltd. Chairman Lee George Lam - Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Ltd. CEO Dr. George Tee HashKey Group Chairman and CEO Dr. Xiao Feng and HashKey Group Director Dr. Luo Weiding (Vice Chairman of the 14th Nat

On December 17, Binance Wallet announced the launch of Web3 Loan—its new on-chain lending feature—now live on the Web3 Earn page. Web3 Loan lets users directly tap into third-party protocols to borrow crypto, using their existing holdings as collateral. It’s integrated with Venus and supports over 40 assets. At launch, supported assets include: Collateral assets: BTCB, ETH, USDT, USDC, FDUSD, WETH Borrowed assets: USDT, USDC, BNB

On December 17, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) added four new entities to its "Suspected Virtual Asset Trading Platforms" list over the past two months. The newly added platforms—HKTWeb3, AmazingTech, 9M AI, and the Hong Kong Stablecoin Exchange—are all suspected of operating without a license. Among them, HKTWeb3 claimed on its website to have partnered with a licensed virtual asset trading platform recognized by the SFC, but this claim was debunked. The Hong Kong Stablecoin Exchange falsely stated it was co-founded by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (Joint Exchange), and Hong Kong Futures Exchange, though it has no connection to any of the three.