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Wyoming mayoral candidate wants to run capital city with AI bot

Victor Miller entered the race and now uses a nickname to distinguish himself from the “Virtual Integrated Citizen, The Official Robot” he says is on the ballot.

Victor Miller, a nonpartisan candidate running for the mayor of Cheyenne in the US state of Wyoming, has proposed running the city with an artificial intelligence bot sharing his namesake.

In a speech before a Cheyenne library on Aug. 16, Miller reportedly suggested that if elected to be the city’s mayor in November, he would launch an AI bot named “VIC” — “Virtual Integrated Citizen” — to take over running the local government. The mayoral candidate faces several challengers to his proposed campaign, including incumbent Patrick Collins.

According to the Washington Post, technology firm OpenAI shut down Miller’s account after he attempted to use its software for the VIC bot. The company’s policies prohibited “engaging in political campaigning or lobbying, including generating campaign materials personalized to or targeted at specific demographics.”

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Russian National Jailed for Funding Ukrainian Forces With Crypto

Solana ETF ‘still in play’ despite Cboe filing removal — VanEck exec

VanEck is still advocating for its Solana ETF with regulators, said Matthew Sigel.

Asset manager VanEck’s plans for a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) are “still in play” despite the removal of Cboe Global Markets’ regulatory filing proposing to list the fund on its exchange, according to an X post by Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital assets research.

“Some have noticed that the 19b-4 for the VanEck Solana ETF has been removed from the CBOE website,” Sigel said, adding:

On July 9, national securities exchange Cboe filed a request with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to list VanEck’s and 21Shares’ planned SOL (SOL) ETFs and asking the SEC to make a final decision by March. The filing is referred to as a 19b-4 and is distinct from the S-1s filed by issuers. 

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Russian National Jailed for Funding Ukrainian Forces With Crypto

No mention of crypto in the Democratic Party’s 2024 platform

The 91-page party platform is expected to be passed on Aug. 19 in a vote from the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

Contrary to weeks of messaging from the Harris-Walz 2024 presidential campaign and senior Democrat officials promising a crypto ‘reset’ pivoting from the anti-crypto policies of the Biden administration, the 2024 Democrat Party platform made no mention of cryptocurrencies or digital asset policy.

The 91-page party platform touched on everything from “corporate greed,” housing, and education, to US foreign policy and geostrategic power.

Cost-cutting was a recurring theme in the lengthy document, yet nowhere in the party platform were solutions to tackle the core issue of rising costs due to monetary debasement or austerity measures to control the spending of the US government, which currently has a staggering $35 trillion in debt.

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Russian National Jailed for Funding Ukrainian Forces With Crypto

Tokenized RWAs are ’a $30 trillion opportunity’ — Polygon exec

High-net-worth individuals and private equity funds will drive adoption, said Colin Butler.

Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) represent a $30 trillion market opportunity globally, Colin Butler, Polygon’s global head of institutional capital, told Cointelegraph in an interview.

Adoption will largely be driven by high-net-worth individuals dramatically increasing portfolio allocations to alternative assets — such as private credit — as tokenization brings liquidity and accessibility to historically illiquid asset classes.

“The idea is that there are $300 trillion in global assets, half of which—$100 trillion—are owned by individuals with net worths between $1 million and $30 million” whose portfolio allocations to alternative assets are often negligible, Butler said.

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Russian National Jailed for Funding Ukrainian Forces With Crypto

Franklin Templeton files S-1 for new crypto index ETF

Issuers are lining up for the next wave of cryptocurrency exchange-trade funds.

Asset manager Franklin Templeton is seeking to launch a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to as a one-stop-shop crypto portfolio, according to an Aug. 16 filing. 

The Franklin Crypto Index ETF will track the performance of the CF Institutional Digital Asset Index, which currently only comprises Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the filing said.

“The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing in the Digital Assets in approximately the same weights as they represent in the Underlying Index,” according to the filing, which says that the ETF may hold additional types of cryptocurrencies in the future.

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Russian National Jailed for Funding Ukrainian Forces With Crypto

Goldman Sachs, Capula, Avenir were biggest BTC ETF buyers in Q2 — CoinShares

The companies collectively purchased nearly $1.3 billion worth of Bitcoin ETF shares during the quarter.

Asset managers Goldman Sachs, Capula Management, and Avenir Tech emerged as the biggest buyers of Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the second quarter of 2024, according to an analysis by CoinShares Research shared with Cointelegraph. 

According to CoinShares’ review of quarterly 13F disclosures filed by large fund managers, the three investment firms collectively bought nearly $1.3 billion worth of BTC ETF shares.

Since launching in January, Bitcoin ETFs have seen enormous demand, aided in part by adoption by large financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley.

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Russian National Jailed for Funding Ukrainian Forces With Crypto

Goldman Sachs, Capula, Avenir were biggest BTC ETF buyers in Q2 — CoinShares

The companies collectively purchased nearly $1.3 billion worth of Bitcoin ETF shares during the quarter.

Asset managers Goldman Sachs, Capula Management and Avenir Tech emerged as the biggest buyers of Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the second quarter of 2024, according to an analysis by CoinShares Research shared with Cointelegraph. 

According to CoinShares’ review of quarterly 13F disclosures filed by large fund managers, the three investment firms collectively bought nearly $1.3 billion worth of BTC ETF shares.

Since launching in January, Bitcoin ETFs have seen enormous demand, aided in part by adoption by large financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley.

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Russian National Jailed for Funding Ukrainian Forces With Crypto

NYSE, Nasdaq withdraw 3 more requests for crypto ETF options rule changes

Activity keeps heating up around Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF options.

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) American and Nasdaq International Securities Exchange (ISE) withdrew three more requests for rule changes related to listing options on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to regulatory filings submitted after market close on Aug. 14 and Aug. 15. 

The withdrawals are the latest in a flurry of activity surrounding spot BTC and ETH ETF options in the United States. On Aug. 13, NYSE Arca withdrew another requested rule change intended to chart a path toward listing crypto ETF options.

Related: Expect Bitcoin ETF options to launch before 2025

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Russian National Jailed for Funding Ukrainian Forces With Crypto

Exclusive: Fireblocks granted New York charter for crypto custody

The charter allows Fireblocks to offer cold-storage custody to US clients.

Web3 infrastructure provider Fireblocks has been granted a New York state charter to custody cryptocurrency for clients in the United States, Fireblocks told Cointelegraph on Aug. 14. 

“As of this month, Fireblocks Trust Company, LLC has received its limited purpose trust company charter to engage in virtual currency business and will soon begin offering cold storage custody solutions powered by Fireblocks' technology to US customers,” Fireblocks told Cointelegraph in a statement.

In May, Fireblocks said it intended to “launch a limited-purpose trust company that is under the regulation of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)” called Fireblocks Trust Company that “will offer cold storage custody solutions to US clients.”

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Russian National Jailed for Funding Ukrainian Forces With Crypto

Low CPI print is fodder for Bitcoin to retest all-time highs — Grayscale research head

Bitcoin’s response to the CPI report was surprisingly muted.

Lower-than-expected core inflation in the United States is fodder for Bitcoin (BTC) to retest its all-time highs, Zach Pandl, Grayscale’s head of research, told Cointelegraph on Aug. 14. 

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported July Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on Aug. 14 showing annualized price increases for consumers of 2.9% — the slowest rate since 2021. That is “significant because it will allow the Fed to begin reducing rates,” Pandl said.

“Rate cuts are likely a necessary condition for sustained weakness in the US Dollar and fodder for Bitcoin to retest its all-time highs,” according to Pandl. “Fortunately for crypto investors, the incoming data may be a signal for lowering rates sooner rather than later."

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Russian National Jailed for Funding Ukrainian Forces With Crypto