News Heat Trend
Franklin Templeton, with $1.79 trillion in AUM, explores regulatory exemptions for tokenized fund trading
Odaily News — Global investment management firm Franklin Templeton is exploring regulatory exemptions to allow tokenized money market funds and ETFs to trade through blockchain-based trading venues. On October 9, the company met with staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Crypto Task Force regarding legal issues including pricing, fees, and asset pools.The agenda included whether investors can exchange blockchain fund shares for tokenized National Market System (NMS) stocks through blockchain trading venues, and whether liquidity providers can charge service fees. The related issues involve pricing rules under the Investment Company Act and whether exemptions are needed.Regarding tokenized ETFs, Franklin Templeton also discussed pairing them with tokenized stocks, approved payment stablecoins, or tokenized money market funds, as well as whether liquidity pools need to obtain Investment Company regulatory exemptions. Its preliminary disclosure on September 30 listed assets under management at $1.79 trillion.Franklin Templeton's blockchain fund recordkeeping business began with the Franklin Onchain U.S. Government Money Fund launched in 2021. The BENJI token represents shares of the fund, and transferring tokens simultaneously transfers the corresponding shares, with transactions recorded and share ownership tracked by the Benji Technology Platform. (Bitcoin.com News)
Better Markets Says CFTC Is Unsuitable to Regulate Retail Crypto Trading
Odaily News: Nonprofit financial reform advocacy group Better Markets stated that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s plan to bring certain cryptocurrency trading and exchanges under its regulatory purview could give retail investors weaker protections than those under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The CFTC has solicited public comments on a framework for margin, leverage, or financing in retail crypto trading.Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy at Better Markets, noted that the CFTC lacks an investor protection mandate, and its statutory authority was originally designed to address fraud in leveraged precious metals trading, which does not justify making it the primary regulator of retail crypto trading. He also said the proposed framework could allow the kind of interrelated market participants that were seen as contributing to FTX's collapse.After the CLARITY Act stalled in Congress, the CFTC and SEC have continued to advance crypto policy under existing law. The CFTC plans to establish a new federal category to bring qualifying crypto trading platforms directly under regulation; the SEC, meanwhile, has proposed relaxing certain investment adviser custody rules, allowing limited tokenized trading of U.S. equities, and issuing new guidance on how securities laws apply to crypto assets. (Cointelegraph)
Kalshi Launches CFTC-Approved Spot Bitcoin Perpetual Futures, Trading Volume Reaches $5.5 Billion in First Two Weeks
Odaily News: Recent Bitcoin volatility has triggered a wave of leveraged long position liquidations. On August 22, hourly liquidations reached $529 million, with long positions accounting for $478 million; on August 23, an additional $84 million in crypto long positions were liquidated within one hour.Prediction market Kalshi launched the first spot Bitcoin perpetual futures contract approved by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on June 3, with liquidations reaching $5.5 billion in the first two weeks. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour stated that the product offers U.S. institutions regulated onshore perpetual contract trading.Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy at Better Markets, pointed out that perpetual futures are high-risk crypto products for retail investors, and the CFTC did not impose additional investor protections when approving them. Analysis account Qmo noted that there are significant Bitcoin long liquidation pools in the $62,000 to $67,000 range; trader Money Bunny disclosed that short liquidations reached $2.7 billion to $3.5 billion within 24 hours. (Forbes Digital Assets)
Wisconsin Warns That Trading Election Contracts May Result in Losing Voting Rights in the Same Election; Kalshi Says It Suppresses Voters
OdailyOdailyOdaily News: The Wisconsin Election Commission has stated that residents who purchase contracts related to a specific election on Kalshi or Polymarket may lose their eligibility to vote in that same election. The Commission also noted that knowingly voting without being eligible could constitute a Class I felony. The Commission unanimously approved a legal memorandum regarding prediction markets during a meeting on July 9, and issued a statewide notice on Tuesday. The restrictions apply only to the corresponding election and do not automatically affect a trader's voting eligibility in other unrelated elections. Benjamin Freeman, Head of Election Business at Kalshi, stated that the guidance is "clearly unconstitutional and unlawful," adding that the company has hundreds of thousands of users in Wisconsin alone. Robert DeNault, Head of Enforcement and Legal Counsel at Kalshi, said that election markets certified by the CFTC and offered on federally regulated exchanges are legal. A spokesperson for Polymarket stated that the company would respond to the Commission's claims through appropriate legal proceedings. Both companies argue that their products are tradable financial contracts, not gambling.
A crypto investor from South Dakota, USA, faces 29 charges for an alleged $20 million fraud scheme
U.S. prosecutors have disclosed that a federal grand jury has indicted Benjamin Paul Wiener, a crypto investor from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on 29 criminal charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft, involving approximately $20 million.According to the indictment, Wiener, 43, is accused of inducing investors, through false statements, to invest funds and digital assets into multiple companies under his control, with victims spanning South Dakota and Minnesota and involving dozens of investors. Prosecutors allege that after obtaining the funds, Wiener transferred assets through banks and cryptocurrency exchanges to conceal the source, ownership, and control of the funds, and used part of the money for personal expenses.Prosecutors further allege that when cash flow became tight or investors demanded redemptions, Wiener would recruit new investors and use the incoming funds to repay earlier investors, with the operation resembling a Ponzi scheme. It is reported that he utilized eight companies, including multiple LLCs, to carry out these activities.Additionally, Wiener is accused of fabricating documents and communication records in April 2025, and using another person's identity to fraudulently obtain a $1 million line of credit from a financial institution in Sioux Falls.Wiener appeared in court on July 10 and pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was released after posting bail. The trial is expected to begin on September 15. Under U.S. law, wire fraud and money laundering carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, bank fraud carries a maximum of 30 years, and aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of at least two years. The IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are jointly investigating the case. (The Block)
Investigative journalist: Polymarket's official founding narrative is inaccurate, with deep ties to Peter Thiel and Israeli interests
investigative journalist Whitney Webb has published a series of articles on the origins and ambitions of Polymarket, questioning its official founding narrative.Whitney Webb stated that Polymarket's official claim that "Shayne Coplan founded the company alone in 2020, starting it in a bathroom" is not true. She believes that Polymarket's origins can be traced back to an earlier company, TokenBnk, and that it is linked to a crypto company founded by the nephew and niece of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Webb also stated that Polymarket is essentially a product of Peter Thiel and his team's attempt to revive the Pentagon's early controversial project, the Policy Analysis Market (PAM). This project was previously cancelled due to controversy, and Polymarket can be seen as its "privatized rebirth."
Analyst: Bulls Remain in Control, Bitcoin Weekly Close Above $83K
Benjamin Cowen posted on X that Bitcoin's weekly close above $83,000 means bulls remain in control, and bears still need to prove that market control has shifted. Cowen stated that based on his past experience, adopting a dollar-cost averaging strategy in the second half of U.S. midterm election years is appropriate, a strategy that worked in both 2018 and 2022, and he hopes it will work again in 2026.
Analysis: BTC’s daily close below 83K is not yet sufficient to confirm a bear market; the burden of proof remains with bears.
According to crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen (@benjamincowen), a Bitcoin daily close below $83,000 is insufficient to confirm bearish dominance; "accepting" the range breakdown requires validation through multiple weekly closes. He emphasized that the burden of proof currently lies with the bears, not the bulls. Cowen previously noted that if Bitcoin truly falls back below the range, history could repeat itself in Q4 2026, as the market will always mislead investors with the "this time is different" narrative.
Analyst: BTC closed above its May high, but the rally remains far weaker than historical trends.
Analyst Benjamin Cowen (@benjamincowen) notes that BTC's closing price has broken through May highs, which is technically bullish, though it remains less than 1% away from that peak and prices are virtually unchanged. Historically, after breaking above the 50-week moving average (as in 2019 and 2023), BTC typically rallies 20% to 30% within one to two weeks. However, the gains in this cycle have been noticeably subdued, with the market widely attributing this to concerns over seasonal weakness and persistently rising yields. Cowen concedes that while he had previously forecast a Q4 downturn, BTC's sustained strength is leading him to reassess his projection, stating he will minimize subjective bias in future analyses and maintain a more open stance.
Kalshi Launches CFTC-Approved Spot Bitcoin Perpetual Futures, Trading Volume Reaches $5.5 Billion in First Two Weeks
Odaily News: Recent Bitcoin volatility has triggered a wave of leveraged long position liquidations. On August 22, hourly liquidations reached $529 million, with long positions accounting for $478 million; on August 23, an additional $84 million in crypto long positions were liquidated within one hour.Prediction market Kalshi launched the first spot Bitcoin perpetual futures contract approved by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on June 3, with liquidations reaching $5.5 billion in the first two weeks. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour stated that the product offers U.S. institutions regulated onshore perpetual contract trading.Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy at Better Markets, pointed out that perpetual futures are high-risk crypto products for retail investors, and the CFTC did not impose additional investor protections when approving them. Analysis account Qmo noted that there are significant Bitcoin long liquidation pools in the $62,000 to $67,000 range; trader Money Bunny disclosed that short liquidations reached $2.7 billion to $3.5 billion within 24 hours. (Forbes Digital Assets)
Bitcoin Approximately 69-73 Days Away from Cycle Bottom, Analysts and Institutions Disagree on Four-Year Cycle
According to BeInCrypto, crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen stated that Bitcoin is currently on day 1,363 of this cycle, while the past two cycles bottomed out on day 1,432 and day 1,436 respectively. Based on this, the bottom of this cycle is estimated to appear in October 2026, approximately 69-73 days from now. Cowen also pointed out that August and September have historically been seasonally weak periods for Bitcoin, with an average decline of about 10% in August during midterm election years. However, this prediction faces institutional-level skepticism. Fidelity pointed out that within months after Bitcoin hit an all-time high, one-year volatility touched a new low, a signal that never appeared in previous cycles; Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan believes that continuous inflows into spot ETFs and corporate balance sheet allocation demands have weakened traditional halving cycle patterns; Grayscale's 2026 outlook report also holds a similar view. Cowen, however, insists that although tops are becoming flatter, the bottom ranges of the four cycles have hardly shifted.
Trump insists on diplomatic solution to Iran issue, Netanyahu strongly opposes
According to the Wall Street Journal, US President Donald Trump had a tense and heated phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening. According to sources, Netanyahu strongly criticized the agreement aimed at ending the war with Iran during the call, while Trump defended the diplomatic process. Israel has long been skeptical about whether Iran will adhere to any agreement to dismantle its nuclear program and halt attacks on regional countries. According to insiders, Netanyahu reiterated these positions to Trump during calls on both last Sunday and Tuesday. However, Trump was not convinced. He told Netanyahu that he would continue to push for an agreement to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Trump also stated that if Iran fails to show greater flexibility in negotiations, it may face a new round of strikes. (Golden Ten)
Believe Founder Arrested, Faces Second-Degree Strangulation and Assault Charges
Odaily News According to public records from the New York Criminal Court, Believe founder Benjamin Pasternak was arrested on suspicion of second-degree strangulation and assault, with a court appearance scheduled for June 11. He was previously accused of involvement in a token exit scam scheme involving millions of dollars. The platform's native token BELIEVE is currently trading at approximately $0.00075, down over 99% from its all-time high of $0.3569 set in May 2025.
Polymarket trading volume exceeds $55 million, Eisenkot has a 55% chance of winning
a Polymarket contract on Israel's prime ministerial election has surpassed $55 million in trading volume, with Gadi Eisenkot at a 55% probability of winning and Benjamin Netanyahu at 29%. Eisenkot, a former Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and current leader of the Yashar party, is the subject of a contract on who will become prime minister following the parliamentary election on October 27, 2026.Traditional polling shows Eisenkot's bloc leading Netanyahu's bloc by 6 seats, but no single party currently holds a majority. The Israel Democracy Institute has called on the Central Elections Committee to treat prediction market odds as polling and to restrict the publication of related results before elections. (Bitcoin.com News)
Franklin Templeton CEO Criticizes Competitors' Tokenized Funds as "Lacking Substance"
According to CryptoBriefing, Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson stated at the TOKEN2049 Singapore conference that most competing tokenized funds on the market are merely "digital twins" of traditional products and do not truly leverage the efficiency advantages of blockchain. In contrast, Franklin Templeton's BENJI fund uses a public blockchain as its native ledger layer, supports per-second yield accrual, and incurs transaction costs of just $1.13 per trade, far lower than the approximately $150 typical of traditional methods.
Better Markets Says CFTC Is Unsuitable to Regulate Retail Crypto Trading
Odaily News: Nonprofit financial reform advocacy group Better Markets stated that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s plan to bring certain cryptocurrency trading and exchanges under its regulatory purview could give retail investors weaker protections than those under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The CFTC has solicited public comments on a framework for margin, leverage, or financing in retail crypto trading.Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy at Better Markets, noted that the CFTC lacks an investor protection mandate, and its statutory authority was originally designed to address fraud in leveraged precious metals trading, which does not justify making it the primary regulator of retail crypto trading. He also said the proposed framework could allow the kind of interrelated market participants that were seen as contributing to FTX's collapse.After the CLARITY Act stalled in Congress, the CFTC and SEC have continued to advance crypto policy under existing law. The CFTC plans to establish a new federal category to bring qualifying crypto trading platforms directly under regulation; the SEC, meanwhile, has proposed relaxing certain investment adviser custody rules, allowing limited tokenized trading of U.S. equities, and issuing new guidance on how securities laws apply to crypto assets. (Cointelegraph)
Goldman Sachs Connects $100 Billion Treasury Fund FTIXX to Lynq
Odaily News: Goldman Sachs' $100 billion treasury fund FTIXX has launched on Lynq as the first external fund, providing institutional digital asset companies with access to a traditional treasury fund.Unlike BlackRock's BUIDL and Franklin Templeton's BENJI, FTIXX will not be tokenized, with Lynq serving merely as a new distribution channel for the existing fund. Lynq clients can park cash in FTIXX between trades to earn yield until the funds are needed for other purposes. (CoinDesk)
Kalshi Launches CFTC-Approved Spot Bitcoin Perpetual Futures, Trading Volume Reaches $5.5 Billion in First Two Weeks
Odaily News: Recent Bitcoin volatility has triggered a wave of leveraged long position liquidations. On August 22, hourly liquidations reached $529 million, with long positions accounting for $478 million; on August 23, an additional $84 million in crypto long positions were liquidated within one hour.Prediction market Kalshi launched the first spot Bitcoin perpetual futures contract approved by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on June 3, with liquidations reaching $5.5 billion in the first two weeks. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour stated that the product offers U.S. institutions regulated onshore perpetual contract trading.Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy at Better Markets, pointed out that perpetual futures are high-risk crypto products for retail investors, and the CFTC did not impose additional investor protections when approving them. Analysis account Qmo noted that there are significant Bitcoin long liquidation pools in the $62,000 to $67,000 range; trader Money Bunny disclosed that short liquidations reached $2.7 billion to $3.5 billion within 24 hours. (Forbes Digital Assets)
RWA DeFi Deposits Surpass $3.98 Billion, 6x Growth in One Year
According to Cryptopolitan, data from the on-chain data platform DefiLlama shows that as of August 18, the active deposit size of Real World Assets (RWA) in DeFi protocols has reached $3.98 billion, representing an approximately 6-fold increase compared to $651 million a year ago; three years ago, this figure was only $12 million. The current total issuance of tokenized RWA is $34.55 billion, but the actual on-chain utilization rate is only about 11.5%. Of this, private credit accounts for over half of the active total with $2.13 billion, bonds contribute $799 million, and reinsurance contributes $406 million. In contrast, the utilization rate of tokenized treasury bonds is extremely low—BlackRock BUIDL issuance reaches $2.74 billion, but on-chain deployment is only $18 million, with a utilization rate of only 0.66%; Franklin Templeton BENJI utilization rate is zero. Analysis points out that such products are designed specifically for institutional cash management, where holders pursue treasury yields rather than lending capabilities; tokenization only improves settlement efficiency and does not convert them into collateral.
Related news
Polymarket trading volume exceeds $55 million, Eisenkot has a 55% chance of winning
a Polymarket contract on Israel's prime ministerial election has surpassed $55 million in trading volume, with Gadi Eisenkot at a 55% probability of winning and Benjamin Netanyahu at 29%. Eisenkot, a former Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and current leader of the Yashar party, is the subject of a contract on who will become prime minister following the parliamentary election on October 27, 2026.Traditional polling shows Eisenkot's bloc leading Netanyahu's bloc by 6 seats, but no single party currently holds a majority. The Israel Democracy Institute has called on the Central Elections Committee to treat prediction market odds as polling and to restrict the publication of related results before elections. (Bitcoin.com News)
Israeli Prime Minister proposes using cryptocurrency to counter potential sanctions, faces criticism from Israel's central bank and others.
According to Reuters, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced criticism from economists and political opponents after proposing the use of cryptocurrency to help Israel's economy withstand potential international sanctions. In an interview with Israel's Channel 10 last Friday, Netanyahu said he is preparing for scenarios in which Israel could face broader sanctions.
Netanyahu Calls for Plan to Use Blockchain to Counter Potential Financial Sanctions
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he has asked for a plan to be developed to use blockchain technology to help Israel cope with potential financial sanctions, warning that U.S. military aid will eventually come to an end.
Analyst: Bulls Remain in Control, Bitcoin Weekly Close Above $83K
Benjamin Cowen posted on X that Bitcoin's weekly close above $83,000 means bulls remain in control, and bears still need to prove that market control has shifted. Cowen stated that based on his past experience, adopting a dollar-cost averaging strategy in the second half of U.S. midterm election years is appropriate, a strategy that worked in both 2018 and 2022, and he hopes it will work again in 2026.
Analysis: BTC’s daily close below 83K is not yet sufficient to confirm a bear market; the burden of proof remains with bears.
According to crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen (@benjamincowen), a Bitcoin daily close below $83,000 is insufficient to confirm bearish dominance; "accepting" the range breakdown requires validation through multiple weekly closes. He emphasized that the burden of proof currently lies with the bears, not the bulls. Cowen previously noted that if Bitcoin truly falls back below the range, history could repeat itself in Q4 2026, as the market will always mislead investors with the "this time is different" narrative.
Franklin Templeton, with $1.79 trillion in AUM, explores regulatory exemptions for tokenized fund trading
Odaily News — Global investment management firm Franklin Templeton is exploring regulatory exemptions to allow tokenized money market funds and ETFs to trade through blockchain-based trading venues. On October 9, the company met with staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Crypto Task Force regarding legal issues including pricing, fees, and asset pools.The agenda included whether investors can exchange blockchain fund shares for tokenized National Market System (NMS) stocks through blockchain trading venues, and whether liquidity providers can charge service fees. The related issues involve pricing rules under the Investment Company Act and whether exemptions are needed.Regarding tokenized ETFs, Franklin Templeton also discussed pairing them with tokenized stocks, approved payment stablecoins, or tokenized money market funds, as well as whether liquidity pools need to obtain Investment Company regulatory exemptions. Its preliminary disclosure on September 30 listed assets under management at $1.79 trillion.Franklin Templeton's blockchain fund recordkeeping business began with the Franklin Onchain U.S. Government Money Fund launched in 2021. The BENJI token represents shares of the fund, and transferring tokens simultaneously transfers the corresponding shares, with transactions recorded and share ownership tracked by the Benji Technology Platform. (Bitcoin.com News)