Using hash rate as a betting platform again! Is FTX's unique contract marketing still effective?

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On May 12, it was reported by Binance Research that after the halving, the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has seen a significant increase in hash rate by over 130%, from 1.44E to 3.43E within two hours. According to Binance Research, ASIC specialized chips can mine any cryptocurrency with the same mining algorithm, allowing miners to immediately reallocate their computing power after the Bitcoin block reward halving. The reduction in mining profits due to the Bitcoin reward halving has prompted some Bitcoin miners to shift resources to Bitcoin Cash (BCH), resulting in a doubling of its hash rate.

As of today (the 15th), the hash rate of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has dropped to 2.38E, still showing a 65% growth. Meanwhile, the hash rate of Bitcoin has decreased from 137E to 87E, a decrease of over 36%. In terms of the hash rate lost by Bitcoin, it is much greater than the increase in hash rate of Bitcoin Cash. Even if it is true that some Bitcoin miners have shifted to Bitcoin Cash, they are still in the minority.

Historical data shows that the Bitcoin network experiences fluctuations in hash rate on a daily basis, and the exchange FTX has taken notice.

Betting on Everything! FTX Capitalizes on Halving Hype

FTX has previously introduced contract products related to the presidential election, "Shitcoin," and oil futures, and today (the 15th), it has launched a new contract product tied to the halving topic: "Hash Rate Futures." Settled in quarterly futures, this product, as announced, bases its contract price on the difficulty of each block within the quarterly cycle, as it is challenging to estimate actual hash rate.

Using Trending Products for Marketing

After Binance abandoned FTX's leveraged tokens, FTX opened USDT trading pairs and decided to capture the U.S. market. According to derivative market data website skew., the exchange is currently ranked seventh in terms of trading volume.

Looking at the exchange's data, the vast majority of trading volume is concentrated in Bitcoin perpetual contracts, while other more niche and topical special contracts have very low trading volumes.

Introducing attention-grabbing contract products has become a hallmark of FTX exchange. While it may help maintain brand visibility, looking at the trading volume competition over the past three months, FTX has not posed a threat to its competitors. The sustainability of this marketing approach and whether it is worth emulating may still be subject to debate.