Ten European financial institutions have launched Regulated Layer One (RL1), a jointly owned blockchain cooperative designed for regulated financial markets and tokenized assets. 

On Tuesday, the group announced that RL1 had been established as a European Cooperative Society in Luxembourg and had begun operations with founding members including ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Chartered Investment, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, SC Ventures and Seturion. 

RL1 said each member will have equal decision-making rights over the network’s governance and development.

The private, permissioned network is based on infrastructure developed by German fintech Secure Worldwide Interbank Asset Transfer (SWIAT), which has now transferred ownership of the network to the cooperative. 

SWIAT said the platform has processed more than 50 transactions worth over 700 million euros (about $808 million) during three years of production use.

The blockchain is designed to support institutional use cases including digital money, tokenized bonds, collateral and blockchain-based settlement. RL1 said the shared network could reduce fragmentation caused by financial institutions operating separate distributed ledger systems. 

Former SWIAT Managing Director Henning Vollbehr will lead RL1. KfW and L-Bank will continue supporting the initiative, while RL1 said it is in discussions with additional institutions, including NatWest, about joining the network. 

Related: CoinShares debuts Bitcoin mining ETF in Europe entrance

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Everyone covering the prediction market legal war has been watching states. The more dangerous case is being argued in the Ninth Circuit by three California tribes under a different statute entirely, and at oral argument this month a judge told Kalshi’s lawyer that its contracts sound like a bet.

The prediction market industry has spent two years describing its legal problem as a fight with the states, and the coverage has followed: Nevada, New Jersey, Massachusetts, a dozen gaming regulators issuing orders, appellate arguments over whether federal derivatives registration preempts state police powers. That framing has produced a blind spot, and it is a large one. The most consequential case now pending against Kalshi was brought by three small California tribes, it runs on an entirely different federal statute, and at oral argument in the Ninth Circuit this month the panel appeared considerably less friendly to the exchange than the district court had been, with one judge saying flatly that the contracts sound like a bet subject to Native American gambling laws and another suggesting it would not be unreasonable to exclude tribes from the federal framework the industry is relying on. Sixty-plus federally recognized tribes have filed amicus briefs across the related proceedings. A Brookings analysis calls the sector an existential threat to Indian gaming. And virtually none of this has been covered in the crypto press, which has been reading the state docket. This piece corrects that, because the tribal front asks a question the state cases do not, and the answer reaches further.

The case

The facts are narrow, and the theory is not.

Blue Lake Rancheria, Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, and Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians sued Kalshi in California federal court in 2025, arguing that its sports event contracts function as unlicensed sports betting accessible on tribal lands, in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Their argument, as their counsel framed it at argument, turns on location: the moment a user opens the platform while physically on a reservation, the tribes contend, Kalshi is conducting Class III gaming on Indian lands without the tribal ordinances, compacts, or regulatory approvals that federal law requires of anyone doing so. They sought declaratory judgment and injunctive relief.

Kalshi’s response is textual and, at the district level, it worked. Its counsel argued that the exchange is not a party to any compact or set of secretarial procedures, that those documents govern what the tribes themselves may offer, not what an independent federally regulated exchange may make available online, and that IGRA has never previously been deployed against an unrelated private company in this way.

District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied the preliminary injunction in November. Her reasoning is worth precision because it defines the appeal. She found that secretarial procedures are functionally equivalent to compacts under IGRA, a point favorable to the tribes, but concluded that the relevant provisions did not prohibit Kalshi’s conduct, since the documents address internet games offered by the tribes and are silent about outside companies. She then held that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act governed the disputed transactions, and that statute’s definition of a bet or wager excludes transactions conducted on an entity registered under the Commodity Exchange Act, which placed Kalshi within the exclusion. She further concluded that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission holds exclusive jurisdiction to determine what qualifies as a covered contract.

That chain of reasoning is the industry’s entire defense in compressed form: we are a registered derivatives exchange, the statutes carve us out, and the agency that licenses us decides what we may list.

Advertisement

The Ninth Circuit, this month

Appellate panels do not decide from the bench and questions are not rulings, but the tenor of argument was materially different from the district court’s disposition.

The panel pressed Kalshi’s counsel on why the contracts are not simply bets. One judge stated directly that they sound like a bet subject to Native American gambling laws. Another suggested it would not be unreasonable to exclude tribes from federal oversight in this area, which, if it became the holding, would carve a sovereignty exception into precisely the preemption argument on which the sector’s American operations rest.

Counsel for the tribes pressed the point that ordinances cannot be separated from the compacts and secretarial procedures, because those agreements require gaming to comply with the tribes’ regulatory frameworks, and that IGRA would offer little protection if an outside company could conduct unauthorized gaming on tribal lands while escaping suit merely because its name appears in none of the governing documents.

Advertisement

The panel gave no timeline. The underlying district court case is stayed pending the decision. And the hearing followed a separate Ninth Circuit argument earlier this year in Nevada’s enforcement attempt against Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com, where the same court was similarly skeptical of the preemption arguments, which means one appellate circuit is now weighing two distinct challenges to the same legal foundation.

Why this is not the state fight

The distinction matters and is easy to miss, because both sets of cases involve sports contracts and the same defendants.

The state cases ask whether federal registration under the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gaming law, a classic federalism question about whether Congress displaced state police powers. The tribal cases ask something different: whether one federal statute, the Commodity Exchange Act as amended in 2010, silently displaced another federal statute, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, along with the compacts negotiated under it. That is not federal-versus-state. It is federal-versus-federal, with a sovereign third party whose rights derive from treaties, statutes, and a body of law that courts have historically read protectively.

The argument that gives this its force was put sharply in international gaming law commentary: if the CFTC’s position prevails, then when Congress amended the Commodity Exchange Act in 2010, it silently erased decades of Indian gaming law without a single reference to tribes or to IGRA anywhere in the text. Courts are generally reluctant to find implied repeals, and especially reluctant where Indian law is concerned, given the canon that ambiguities are construed in favor of tribes. Kalshi’s counter is that its position requires no repeal at all, because the exchange is simply not conducting gaming under IGRA’s definitions, and that the tribes’ theory would make any nationally available financial product a per-jurisdiction licensing question the moment a user carried a phone across a boundary.

Advertisement

There is a third federal thread running in parallel: the Sixth Circuit is separately considering whether these contracts qualify as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, a definitional question with implications for everything above. Three circuits, three theories, one product.

What is actually at stake

For the tribes, the stakes are the bargain that Indian gaming rests on, and the arithmetic behind it is why the language has hardened.

Under IGRA, tribes negotiate compacts with states that grant exclusivity over certain gaming in exchange for regulatory compliance and, in many states, substantial revenue sharing. That exclusivity is the consideration; it is what tribes purchased with decades of negotiation and what funds government services, healthcare, education, and infrastructure across Indian Country. If federally licensed exchanges may offer functionally identical sports wagering nationwide, including to users on reservations, without negotiating a compact or complying with IGRA, then the exclusivity tribes bargained for has been rendered worthless without anyone renegotiating anything. The Indian Gaming Association’s chairman put the functional argument plainly: open the app and you see the same bets offered in every legal sportsbook. A Brookings analysis by a legal scholar described the development as an existential threat to American Indian gaming.

The response has been organized, not rhetorical. Tribal organizations and more than sixty federally recognized tribes have filed amicus briefs across the relevant cases. At this year’s Indian Gaming Association convention, leaders described a parallel path of litigation and federal lobbying, pressing Congress to require the CFTC to enforce its own rules and arguing that the agency has permitted gambling to operate under a financial label. And California’s broader tribal coalition has reaffirmed plans for a 2028 ballot initiative for tribally led sports betting, framed partly as a response to prediction markets operating in what they characterize as a regulatory gray area.

Advertisement

NEW: 🇺🇸 CFTC Chair Michael Selig says the agency will no longer sit idly by while overzealous states undermine federal jurisdiction over prediction markets.

CFTC files friend-of-the-court brief supporting @cryptocom pic.twitter.com/dBTPnTIQPB

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) February 17, 2026

For the industry, the stakes are equally direct. Sports contracts generate the majority of retail prediction market volume, a Massachusetts court found nearly seventy percent of Kalshi’s volume tied to sports when it moved to block the app there in January, and an adverse tribal ruling would not merely add a compliance burden. It would introduce geographic carve-outs into a product whose entire architecture assumes nationwide uniformity under a single federal license, in a country with hundreds of reservations.

The honest reading

Both sides hold a genuinely strong argument, which is why this is being litigated in three circuits instead of settled.

Advertisement

The tribes’ best case is not the functional similarity to sportsbooks, appealing as that framing is to a panel. It is the implied-repeal problem: a 2010 amendment to a commodities statute, containing no mention of tribes, should not be read to nullify a 1988 statute and the compacts negotiated under it, particularly given the interpretive canon favoring tribes. That is a structural argument about how Congress legislates, and it does not depend on characterizing event contracts as gambling at all.

Kalshi’s best case is not the sportsbook comparison’s inadequacy either. It is Judge Corley’s chain: UIGEA expressly excludes transactions on CEA-registered entities from its definition of a bet, the compacts and procedures govern what tribes may offer rather than what third parties may, and Congress assigned the CFTC exclusive authority over what counts as a covered contract. Each link is textual, and textual arguments travel well in appellate courts.

What neither side can claim is that the current arrangement was designed. Nobody in 1988 or 2010 contemplated a federally licensed exchange offering yes-or-no contracts on football games to a phone sitting on a reservation, and the courts are being asked to allocate an authority that Congress never consciously assigned. That is the honest description of every question in this sector, and the tribal case is simply the version where the party with the strongest historical claim to the disputed ground was not at the table when the statute that may override it was written.

The exclusion that decides the case

One statutory provision is doing more work in this litigation than any argument either side has made, and it deserves its own examination because it was written for an entirely different purpose.

Advertisement

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, passed in 2006 to attack offshore online poker and sports betting by cutting off payment processing, defines a bet or wager and then carves out exceptions. One of those exceptions covers transactions conducted on an entity registered under the Commodity Exchange Act. The purpose in 2006 was mundane: Congress did not want a statute aimed at internet gambling to accidentally sweep in the legitimate commodity futures markets, where contracts on future prices are a normal financial activity, and so it excluded regulated derivatives venues from the definition. Nobody drafting that exclusion contemplated a CFTC-registered exchange offering contracts on football games to retail customers, because no such thing existed or was seriously proposed.

Twenty years later, that carve-out is the load-bearing element of the district court’s ruling in the tribal case, and functionally the strongest single sentence in the industry’s legal position. If transactions on a CEA-registered entity are not bets or wagers under federal internet gambling law, then a federally licensed exchange listing sports contracts is not conducting internet gambling as Congress defined it, whatever it resembles in practice.

The reasoning is textually sound and it is also a textbook example of a provision applied far outside the circumstances that produced it.

Which is why the tribes’ implied-repeal argument and this exclusion are really the same fight from opposite ends. The industry says two federal statutes, read together, plainly exclude it from gambling law. The tribes say those statutes were never written with prediction markets or Indian gaming in mind, and that reading an incidental carve-out to nullify a negotiated sovereign framework attributes to Congress an intention it never formed. Appellate courts resolve exactly this kind of dispute by choosing between text and purpose, and the Ninth Circuit’s questions this month suggested at least some appetite for the second. That choice, more than any characterization of what an event contract feels like to a user, is what the panel is actually deciding.

Advertisement

What to watch

The Ninth Circuit’s opinion. No timeline was given, and the panel’s questions ran against the exchange. A reversal returns the case to Judge Corley for reconsideration and immediately raises the possibility of geographic carve-outs; an affirmance largely closes the tribal theory and strengthens preemption across the board.

The Sixth Circuit’s swaps question. Whether these contracts are swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act is upstream of everything, and a ruling there could reshape both the tribal and state cases before either concludes.

Congressional lobbying. Tribal organizations are pressing Congress directly, and tribal interests have historically been effective when compact rights are threatened. Any legislative language addressing tribal lands specifically, whether in the pending sports-contract bill or elsewhere, would be the fastest route to resolution.

The 2028 California initiative. A tribally led sports betting measure would change the competitive landscape in the largest state regardless of how the litigation ends, and its drafting will reveal how tribes intend to coexist with, or exclude, federally licensed event contracts.

Advertisement

One last observation for readers following the broader sector. The three legal challenges now running against prediction markets, the state preemption cases, the tribal sovereignty cases, and the Sixth Circuit’s swaps definition question, look like three versions of one dispute and are actually three separate bets on how a single ambiguity gets resolved. The ambiguity is that Congress created a category, event contracts on a federally licensed exchange, without deciding whether that category displaces the gambling law built around the same activity by states and tribes over decades. Each set of plaintiffs has picked the doctrine most favorable to their position, and the industry’s defense is identical in all three: we are a registered derivatives venue, the statutes say what they say, and the Commission decides what we may list.

The consequence is that the sector’s legal exposure is not additive but structural. A loss in any one forum does not merely add a compliance requirement; it proves that the federal registration defense has a limit, and every other plaintiff then argues for their own version of that limit. Which is why the industry’s compliance build, its data partnerships, and its political spending are all running in parallel rather than sequentially, and why the coming months matter more than the volume charts suggest. The category is not waiting for one verdict. It is waiting to learn whether its foundational legal claim survives contact with three different sovereigns at once.

Disclaimer: This article is for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. It describes pending litigation whose outcome is unknown, and characterizations of oral argument reflect contemporaneous reporting rather than rulings. Nothing here predicts any judicial result. Always do your own research. Information is accurate as of July 27, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is suing Kalshi, and on what theory?

Blue Lake Rancheria, Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, and Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, three California tribes, argue that Kalshi’s sports event contracts constitute unlicensed Class III gaming conducted on tribal lands under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, because users can access the platform while physically located on reservations without Kalshi holding any tribal authorization.

Advertisement

What did the district court decide?

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied the tribes’ preliminary injunction in November. She found secretarial procedures functionally equivalent to compacts under IGRA but concluded the relevant provisions did not prohibit Kalshi’s conduct, since they address gaming the tribes offer and are silent about outside companies. She also held that federal internet gambling law excludes transactions on Commodity Exchange Act registrants and that the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over covered contracts.

What happened at the Ninth Circuit?

The panel heard argument this month and questioned Kalshi closely, with one judge stating the contracts sound like a bet subject to Native American gambling laws and another suggesting it would not be unreasonable to exclude tribes from federal oversight in this area. No ruling issued from the bench and no timeline was given, and the district case remains stayed.

How is this different from the state lawsuits?

Different statutes and different sovereigns. The state cases ask whether federal derivatives registration preempts state gaming law, a federalism question about state police powers. The tribal cases ask whether the 2010 amendments to the Commodity Exchange Act silently displaced the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 and the compacts negotiated under it, which is a federal-versus-federal question involving tribal sovereignty.

Why do tribes consider this existential?

Because exclusivity is the consideration in the IGRA bargain. Tribes accepted regulation and, in many states, substantial revenue sharing in exchange for exclusive gaming rights that fund government services across Indian Country. If federally licensed exchanges can offer functionally identical sports wagering nationwide, including on reservations, without compacts, that bargained-for exclusivity is effectively voided without renegotiation.

Advertisement

How organized is the tribal response?

Considerably. More than sixty federally recognized tribes have filed amicus briefs across the related cases, tribal organizations described a parallel litigation and lobbying strategy at this year’s Indian Gaming Association convention, and California’s tribal coalition has reaffirmed plans for a 2028 ballot initiative for tribally led sports betting in response to prediction markets.

What is the strongest argument on each side?

For the tribes, the implied-repeal problem: a commodities amendment mentioning neither tribes nor IGRA should not be read to nullify a 1988 statute and its compacts, especially given the canon construing ambiguity in favor of tribes. For Kalshi, the textual chain the district court accepted: federal internet gambling law excludes CEA registrants, the compacts govern tribal conduct and not third parties, and the CFTC holds exclusive definitional authority.

What would an adverse ruling mean for the industry?

Potentially geographic carve-outs in a product built for nationwide uniformity under one federal license, across a country with hundreds of reservations. Sports contracts generate the majority of retail volume, with one court finding nearly seventy percent of Kalshi’s volume tied to sports, so the commercial exposure is substantial regardless of how compliance would be implemented. This is educational analysis, not legal or investment advice.

Advertisement

Core Scientific has reported a sharp rebound in its second-quarter financial performance as its data-center colocation business—built to support artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC)—continues to drive results after the miner’s shift away from a Bitcoin-only model.

In earnings released Tuesday, the company said Q2 revenue rose to $164.2 million, compared with $78.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Colocation revenue made up the overwhelming majority of that figure, climbing to $136.7 million from $10.6 million, while gross profit increased to $70 million from $5 million.

Key takeaways

• Core Scientific’s revenue more than doubled in Q2, with colocation now the dominant earnings engine.
• AI- and HPC-oriented infrastructure appears increasingly central to the company’s profit trajectory, as gross profit jumped alongside colocation revenue.
• Despite strong topline growth, Core Scientific posted a large net loss driven largely by a non-cash accounting impact tied to warrant valuation.
• The company’s newly announced AMD partnership could support up to 2.5 GW of leasable capacity, with initial multi-site agreements beginning in 2027.

Revenue surge driven by colocation, not mining

The company’s results highlight how quickly Core Scientific’s operating profile has changed. According to the earnings figures, colocation revenue—rather than mining-related activity—accounted for $136.7 million of the quarter’s total $164.2 million. In the year-ago period, colocation contributed only $10.6 million, underscoring the scale of the pivot and the speed at which the business ramped.

Gross profit also rose substantially, reaching $70 million from just $5 million. While revenue growth alone can sometimes reflect mix effects or transitional capacity, the gross profit jump suggests Core Scientific’s shift is beginning to translate into a more favorable economics profile for its core infrastructure operations.

Core Scientific is no longer positioning itself as a pure-play Bitcoin miner. Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph noted that it generates the bulk of its revenue from colocation services while holding a comparatively small Bitcoin treasury of fewer than 1,000 BTC, based on industry data compiled by bitcointreasuries.net.

The net loss: accounting effects, not necessarily cash stress

Even as revenue and gross profit climbed, Core Scientific still recorded a $1.15 billion net loss. The company attributed the result primarily to a non-cash accounting charge connected to the rising value of outstanding warrants as its share price increased.

This matters for readers because the market often interprets net losses as immediate operational distress. Here, the earnings disclosure frames the loss as largely accounting-driven rather than a direct signal that the business is consuming cash faster than it generates it. In the context of a company transitioning to longer-term infrastructure contracts, that distinction can influence how investors evaluate near-term headlines versus underlying demand and contracted capacity.

Following the earnings release, Core Scientific’s shares reportedly fell by more than 4%, trimming its year-to-date gains—an indication that some investors may have focused on the net loss headline before digging into what drove it.

An AMD deal aims to lock in large-scale AI compute capacity

Alongside its quarterly results, Core Scientific announced a partnership with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). AMD designs CPUs and AI-oriented graphics processors that compete with other major chip vendors.

The agreement is structured to support up to 2.5 gigawatts of leasable data-center capacity. The initial phase is anchored by 15-year agreements covering 530 megawatts across multiple US sites starting in 2027, with the ability to expand over time.

Core Scientific said the broader AMD partnership could generate more than $14 billion in contracted base revenue. The company also stated that its total leased customer power capacity is now roughly 1.1 GW, representing more than $24 billion in potential contracted revenue.

From an investor perspective, this type of power-and-capacity contracting is often viewed as a way to stabilize revenue in infrastructure businesses, especially when the demand side is tied to large compute requirements from AI training and inference workloads. For traders and equity holders, the key question becomes how quickly these longer-dated commitments translate into actual utilization and incremental margins—especially as the market moves from “plans” to “running load.”

Broader AI data-center competition signals shifting priorities across crypto infrastructure

Core Scientific’s quarter and its AMD partnership arrive as other infrastructure providers tied to the crypto era also expand into AI compute. Earlier this month, IREN disclosed $2.8 billion in cloud contracts with AI developers. Separately, Hut 8 unveiled a $9.8 billion lease agreement with an unnamed customer for capacity at its AI data campus.

Set against those moves, Core Scientific’s results look less like a standalone turnaround story and more like part of a sector-wide reallocation of resources. Bitcoin mining companies that secured data-center assets and power access during the mining buildout are increasingly competing on hosting, leasing, and compute-adjacent services rather than relying solely on block rewards.

Still, uncertainty remains. While contracted capacity figures and partnership announcements can support a longer-term growth narrative, the market continues to watch for execution details: how fast customers ramp usage, whether contracted power translates into sustained gross margins, and how balance-sheet dynamics—such as the accounting treatment of warrants—can affect headline profitability.

Investors should watch Core Scientific’s next reporting period for two things: whether the revenue mix continues to lean further into colocation and how management’s guidance and utilization metrics evolve as AMD-linked capacity approaches the initial 2027 ramp-up window.

Ten European financial institutions have formed a new jointly owned blockchain cooperative called Regulated Layer One (RL1), positioning it as a permissioned network for tokenized assets and regulated market infrastructure.

RL1 announced that it has been established as a European Cooperative Society in Luxembourg and has started operations with founding members including ABN AMRO, Cecabank, Chartered Investment, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, DekaBank, DZ BANK, LBBW, Natixis CIB, SC Ventures and Seturion. The group says governance will be shared, with each member holding equal decision-making rights over the network’s development.

Key takeaways

• RL1 is launching as a Luxembourg-based European Cooperative Society with 10 founding financial institutions.
• The network is permissioned and aimed at institutional use cases such as tokenized bonds, collateral, and settlement.
• RL1 is built on infrastructure originally developed by German fintech Secure Worldwide Interbank Asset Transfer (SWIAT), now transferred to the cooperative.
• SWIAT reports more than 50 transactions worth over €700 million during three years of production use.
• Additional institutions are being discussed for membership, including NatWest, as RL1 begins operations.

A cooperative model for regulated blockchain infrastructure

RL1’s launch reflects a broader push among banks and other regulated players to build shared blockchain rails that can integrate with existing compliance and oversight frameworks. By organizing the network as a cooperative, RL1 is attempting to shift control away from single-operator models and toward governance shared across member institutions.

The founding structure matters for investors and market participants because governance can directly affect roadmap priorities—such as which tokenized asset standards are supported, how settlement workflows are designed, and how risk controls are maintained. RL1 says each member will have equal decision-making rights, signaling that the network is meant to evolve through collective agreement rather than unilateral changes.

From SWIAT-built infrastructure to RL1 ownership

RL1’s technical foundation traces back to infrastructure developed by German fintech Secure Worldwide Interbank Asset Transfer (SWIAT). According to the cooperative, SWIAT has transferred ownership of the network to RL1, marking a clear step from an originating build phase into an operator-and-governance phase under the cooperative structure.

SWIAT also provided performance context from its production use period, stating that the platform processed more than 50 transactions totaling over €700 million (about $808 million) across three years. While that figure is not presented as a measure of network scale in terms of daily volume or active users, it does frame the initiative as having moved beyond prototypes into live transaction processing before the cooperative launch.

Use cases designed for tokenization and settlement

RL1 says the blockchain is intended to support institutional workflows tied to digital money and tokenized financial instruments. The cooperative highlighted use cases including tokenized bonds, collateral management, and blockchain-based settlement.

One theme RL1 emphasizes is reducing fragmentation in distributed ledger efforts. Financial institutions have historically pursued separate DLT systems, often leading to interoperability challenges and duplication of integration work. RL1 argues that a shared network among regulated participants can mitigate those issues by giving members a common infrastructure layer for tokenized settlement-related activities.

For market participants, that framing matters because interoperability and shared settlement are frequently cited barriers to wider adoption of tokenized assets. A network that centralizes governance and standards among a defined group of regulated institutions can shorten the path to operational alignment—though it cannot eliminate the need for external integrations where assets or counterparties sit outside the network.

Leadership and expansion plans

RL1 named Henning Vollbehr, formerly Managing Director at SWIAT, as its leader. The cooperative also said that KfW and L-Bank will continue supporting the initiative, indicating the project retains institutional backing as it transitions into ongoing operations.

RL1 is also looking outward: the group said it is in discussions with additional institutions about joining the network, including NatWest. That expansion effort will likely be a key indicator of whether RL1 can grow beyond the initial consortium and increase its usefulness as a settlement and tokenization venue for more participants.

Going forward, readers should watch how RL1’s cooperative governance translates into concrete product decisions—especially around asset types, settlement rules, and interoperability with external systems—alongside whether the membership talks broaden participation beyond the founding banks.

Core Scientific shares fell after the Bitcoin miner agreed to provide AMD with up to 2.5 gigawatts of data center capacity for artificial intelligence deployments starting in 2027.

AMD secures up to 2.5 GW from Core Scientific

Core Scientific and AMD have signed an agreement covering up to 2.5 GW of data center capacity for customers deploying the chipmaker’s AI systems.

Capacity will become available from 2027, according to a joint announcement from the companies. Core Scientific and AMD will also work together on the physical design of the infrastructure needed to support high-density computing workloads.

Planned deployments will use AMD Instinct graphics processing units, EPYC processors, and the company’s ROCm software platform. The announcement did not disclose the financial value of the agreement or identify the end customers expected to use the capacity.

Unlike a standard hardware order, the arrangement pairs AMD’s computing products with Core Scientific’s power and data center infrastructure. The scale of the agreement could make AMD an important customer and commercial partner as Core Scientific converts more of its sites from crypto mining to AI computing.

AMD will also receive market-priced warrants allowing it to purchase Core Scientific common stock. The warrants remain subject to commercial conditions, and the companies did not disclose the potential size of AMD’s resulting stake.

Core Scientific accelerates its shift from Bitcoin mining

Core Scientific built its business around Bitcoin mining but has increasingly redirected capital and power capacity toward high-density data center services.

As previously reported by crypto.news, the company sold 2,385 Bitcoin earlier in 2026 to provide liquidity during the transition. BitcoinTreasuries data shows that Core Scientific still holds 848 BTC.

The company continues to generate revenue by mining crypto for its own account and providing hosting services to other miners. However, it is repurposing its remaining facilities for colocation services capable of supporting power-intensive AI systems.

The AMD agreement places Core Scientific among several publicly traded Bitcoin miners pursuing AI infrastructure contracts. Limited access to large sites with substantial power connections has made miners’ existing facilities attractive to cloud providers and AI developers.

MARA recently expanded its AI infrastructure footprint through the acquisition of a site in Texas. TeraWulf also signed a 20-year data center agreement with Anthropic earlier in July.

Hut 8 and IREN announced separate multibillion-dollar AI infrastructure deals last week. Hut 8 signed a second 15-year lease worth $9.8 billion at its Beacon Point campus in Texas, while IREN disclosed $2.8 billion in new multiyear AI cloud contracts.

CORZ reverses its premarket gain

CORZ initially rose more than 5% in premarket trading after the AMD agreement was announced. The stock reversed direction after the opening bell and fell more than 4% as a broader equity market sell-off weighed on trading.

Core Scientific shares have now declined more than 12% over the past week. Despite the latest pullback, the stock remains up over 40% since the start of 2026 as investors assess its transition from Bitcoin mining to AI infrastructure.

The reversal indicates that investors are weighing the agreement’s long-term capacity against near-term execution costs and market conditions. The companies did not disclose expected revenue, construction spending, deployment stages, or a timetable for bringing the full 2.5 GW online.

For U.S. investors, AMD’s warrants introduce a potential dilution consideration if the chipmaker exercises its right to buy CORZ shares. The commercial conditions and number of shares covered will determine the eventual effect on existing holders.

Execution becomes the next test for Core Scientific

Core Scientific must now prepare its facilities for deployments scheduled to begin in 2027. Its progress will depend on power availability, construction timelines, customer demand, and the capital required to convert former mining sites.

Investors will also watch for disclosures covering the agreement’s financial value, deployment schedule, and warrant terms. These details will help determine how quickly the AMD partnership could replace declining reliance on Bitcoin mining revenue.

The wider shift among miners is increasing competition for AI tenants and financing. Core Scientific’s 2.5 GW agreement gives it substantial contracted demand, but future results will depend on how much capacity is delivered and how profitably the company operates it.

Cloud mining platforms gain popularity in 2026 as investors seek simpler ways to access Bitcoin, DOGE, and LTC mining without expensive hardware.

Want to participate in Bitcoin mining in 2026 but don’t want to buy expensive mining rigs? Then cloud mining platforms remain one of the simplest and most worry-free options. 

Nowadays, more and more investors are entering the market through free cloud mining platforms, easily participating in mining mainstream cryptocurrencies such as BTC, DOGE, and LTC without needing to build their own equipment or bear high electricity and maintenance costs.

However, while there are many platforms on the market, only a few are truly worth considering. A good cloud mining platform should not only have a clear and transparent profit mechanism, but also a stable data center, an automatic payment system, and a sufficiently secure operational background.

Based on the market trends and platform characteristics in 2026, SHRMiner, BitFuFu, IQMining, Binance Cloud Mining, and CCG Mining are the five platforms that deserve close attention.

1. SHR Miner: The most noteworthy cloud mining platform in 2026

For those who are looking for a service that balances security, flexibility, and beginner-friendliness, SHRMiner is a very popular choice. Launched in 2018 and headquartered in the UK, SHRMiner operates over 100 large-scale renewable energy mining farms in the US, UK, Russia, Switzerland, Iceland, Virginia, Georgia, Vancouver, Canada, and other locations, utilizing renewable energy sources such as hydropower and wind power to enhance mining efficiency.

The platform supports mining mainstream cryptocurrencies such as BTC, LTC, and DOGE. Users do not need to purchase any hardware; they only need to select a suitable contract to start. Its contract coverage is extensive, with a comprehensive range of entry-level and premium packages to suit users with different budgets.

SHRMiner Core Advantages:

Register to receive a $15 bonus and free mining experience.

• Zero learning curve: No technical skills, hardware, or complicated operations required — just click to start mining.
• Supports daily automatic settlement, with no transaction fees or maintenance costs.
• Uses advanced ASIC mining equipment, connected to green energy, improving operational efficiency.
• Provides SSL encryption and DDoS protection.
• Provides a real-time earnings dashboard, allowing users to track their earnings anytime, anywhere.
• Supports multiple contract types including BTC, LTC, and DOGE.

SHRMiner gained popularity in 2026 primarily because it was suitable for beginners to quickly get started while also supporting more advanced users for flexible configuration. Its overall performance was well-balanced, from the initial user experience to contract scalability.

2. BitFuFu: A professional platform backed by Bitmain

BitFuFu has garnered significant market attention due to its association with Bitmain. This type of platform is particularly attractive to users who value mining rig resources and hardware expertise. BitFuFu is suitable for investors seeking a more mature mining service system.

3. IQMining: A key focus for long-term contract users

IQMining has been operating for several years and is characterized by offering longer-term mining contracts. For users who prioritize long-term planning over short-term volatility, IQMining is a common choice.

4. Binance Cloud Mining: Integrated trading and mining

The biggest advantage of Binance Cloud Mining lies in its ecosystem integration. Users can manage mining and asset transfers directly within their Binance accounts, eliminating the need for frequent platform switching. This is especially convenient for existing Binance investors.

5. CCG Mining: A key platform in the European market

CCG Mining offers a comprehensive range of services, including cloud mining, mining rig sales, and hosting. It enjoys considerable brand recognition in the European market and is suitable for users looking to explore diverse mining services.

Why are more and more people choosing cloud mining in 2026?

Compared to traditional mining rigs, the biggest advantages of cloud mining are:

• No need to purchase expensive equipment
• No need to bear high electricity bills
• No need for technical maintenance knowledge
• Quick start after registration

Some platforms also offer free trials and reward mechanisms. For ordinary users, this model is obviously more convenient and more suitable for low-barrier entry into the crypto market.

Conclusion: Which cloud mining platform is worth paying attention to in 2026?

From an overall user experience perspective, SHRMiner remains one of the most competitive platforms in 2026. It excels in platform transparency, mining process, settlement efficiency, and beginner-friendly features, while supporting multiple cryptocurrencies including BTC, LTC, and DOGE, making it highly versatile.

Of course, for those who prioritize exchange integration, Binance Cloud Mining will be more convenient; for those who value long-term stable contracts, IQMining and CCG Mining are also good options.

In general, when choosing the best cloud mining platform, it is recommended to focus on the platform’s background, security mechanisms, contract flexibility, and actual user experience. For users looking to start their free cloud mining journey in 2026, prioritizing a transparent, secure platform with clear settlement is a safer bet.

In short, for those who are looking for a cloud mining platform that balances transparency, flexibility, and ease of use in 2026, SHRMiner is a wise choice.

For more platform information, service details, and cloud computing solutions, please visit the official platform or download the mobile application.