Nigeria has temporarily approved the operation of two cryptocurrency exchanges.

According to The Block, on August 28th, Osprey Funds, the initiator of Osprey Bitcoin Trust (OBTC), has reached an agreement with Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) and Bitwise Asset Management. BITB will acquire all assets of OBTC fund. In March of this year, Osprey stated that it was considering other strategic measures such as selling or merging with Bitcoin ETF. Osprey must complete the sale or merger before September 1, 2024, otherwise it will liquidate OBTC. As part of this transaction, OBTC shareholders will receive BITB shares as part of the OBTC liquidation distribution. For existing BITB holders, their shares will not change and the operation of BITB will not change. Prior to BITB's acquisition of OBTC, Bitwise had already acquired ETC Group, a cryptocurrency ETP issuer headquartered in London, on August 19th. Data shows that BITB's assets account for 4.69% of the Bitcoin spot ETF market.

According to a recent study by the University of Toronto and the University of Miami, individuals who own cryptocurrency are more likely to display traits of narcissism and psychopathy. The study surveyed 2,001 American adults, with 30% of respondents reporting owning cryptocurrency. Additionally, crypto ownership was linked to belief in conspiracy theories, use of alternative and fringe social media, and an aversion to authoritarianism. However, the authors of the study cautioned against drawing strong political conclusions from these findings. Another study found that while many cryptocurrency enthusiasts are known for their libertarian views, those polled tended to identify as Democrats and hold more liberal political views. The researchers suggest that future studies should examine global trends in distrust, populism, and cynicism towards established institutions to better understand their causes.

According to CoinDesk, investment bank Architect Partners has reported that the Bitcoin mining industry is currently in a consolidation phase, triggered by the halving event in April of this year.The report emphasizes that mining companies are seeking large, scalable data center capacity and access to low-cost electricity and capital. The Bitfarms plan to acquire Stronghold Digital Mining is a typical example of recent M&A trends. The report's authors believe that hostile takeovers are not common in talent-dependent technology and financial services industries, but the Bitcoin mining industry is different, with its core assets being physical facilities, power resources, and widely available computing equipment. However, this trend towards consolidation contradicts the original intention of Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto, who hoped that anyone could participate in mining without concentration of computing power. The impact of the centralization of the mining industry is still to be observed.

On August 27th, according to Fortune, startup company Space and Time, which is supported by Microsoft, successfully raised $20 million in Series A funding. The leading investors include Framework Ventures, Lightspeed Faction, Arrington Capital, and Hivemind Capital. Founded by Scott Dykstra and Nate Holiday, Space and Time is committed to applying the immutability of blockchain to AI technology, aiming to solve identity verification and deepfake prevention problems in the AI field. This funding will help the company further develop its software solution that combines AI and blockchain.

Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited has released an unaudited interim performance announcement for the six months ended June 30, 2024. The announcement revealed that Guotai Junan was the first to launch structured notes linked to virtual asset spot exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the Hong Kong market, adding a new element to its diversified product services. It also actively responded to the Hong Kong government's new capital investment entrant scheme (CIES). Guotai Junan said that the Hong Kong government has actively promoted policies and measures to promote local economic development, attract investment, and the market expects the IPO market to gradually regain momentum. At the same time, local regulation is expected to accelerate the landing of regulatory measures for virtual assets, which is conducive to the launch of diversified products.

Binance Academy has stated that as of August 2024, EIP-3074 has not yet been launched on the Ethereum mainnet, but is expected to be released along with the Pectra upgrade by the end of 2024. EIP-3074 aims to make Ethereum transactions more secure and user-friendly by introducing AUTH and AUTHCALL operations. These changes can significantly enhance our interaction with Ethereum and open the door for more complex and powerful applications in the DeFi field.

On August 28th, according to the Hong Kong Economic Times, in response to the recent financial product reform and innovation promoted by Hong Kong's financial regulatory agencies, BOCI Securities Limited has begun asset allocation and is currently actively promoting virtual asset futures ETFs.

GaiaNet CEO and co-founder Matt Wright discusses the two camps in the debate over decentralized artificial intelligence. The first camp prefers a controlled software environment, while the second believes in open and liberal ideals.Wright supports the second camp, stating, "I don't believe in controlling these systems. I think we should guide them properly, and all we can really do is provide secure fences and appropriate dialogue. These systems should not be managed by individuals or governments, and the technology should not be supervised by those who do not use it. On the other hand, Web3 and Ethereum have implemented appropriate on-chain governance. Tokenized entities manage systems in a more democratic way based on their degree of participation."Wright states, "We are now at a critical moment, where institutional recognition of cryptocurrency ETFs as asset classes is incredible, allowing their clients to easily enter the field. Obviously, this will bring a lot of liquidity to the field. The Ethereum community should welcome this attention and make it more focused on developers and construction."Matt Wright is the CEO and co-founder of GaiaNet, an artificial intelligence infrastructure project aimed at decentralizing current AI agent software.