News linked to both this project and an event.
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)
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)
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)
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.
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 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."