Vanguard, the $10 trillion asset manager long resistant to Bitcoin, is preparing to open its brokerage platform to third-party digital asset ETFs, according to reporting by Alex Lari. The move marks a sharp shift from Vanguard’s policy of blocking access to spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in 2024 by rivals Fidelity and BlackRock. “They’re being very methodical in their approach, understanding the dynamics have been changing since 2024,” a source familiar with the firm’s plans said. Analysts point to three drivers: growing client demand, regulatory clarity, and the outsized success of existing funds. Spot Bitcoin ETFs now manage more than 1.3 million BTC and have attracted $140 billion in inflows. While Vanguard does not plan to launch its own product, following Schwab’s model, CEO Salim Ramji’s ties to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust have fueled expectations of further digital asset integration.
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Wences Casares, the Argentine entrepreneur known for his work in early bitcoin, has published a personal essay arguing that Bitcoin offers a safeguard against systemic financial failures. Reflecting on his childhood in Patagonia, where his family lost its savings multiple times due to currency devaluations, inflation, and bank confiscations, Casares wrote: “Bitcoin may help protect your future. I wrote this essay to explain why and how.” He positions Bitcoin as the first system that is “open, free, and fair,” contrasting it with government-controlled money that can be frozen or inflated. Casares forecasts Bitcoin’s role as a “supranational metacurrency” within 10 to 20 years, potentially serving as a global reference point like meters or kilograms. He predicts adoption by up to two billion people and prices exceeding $1 million per coin. His essay outlines multiple pathways for exposure, from ETFs to self-custody wallets, emphasizing both accessibility and sovereignty.
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A new study from researchers at UC Berkeley and the Allen Institute for AI challenges the long-held assumption that large reasoning models require lengthy chains of thought to achieve strong results. In Reasoning Models Can Be Effective Without Thinking, Wenjie Ma and colleagues introduce a prompting method called “NoThinking” that bypasses explicit reasoning steps. Tested on seven benchmarks, including math contests, theorem proving, and coding, NoThinking used 2–5× fewer tokens while often outperforming traditional “Thinking” methods under low-budget settings. On AMC 2023, for instance, NoThinking achieved 51.3 accuracy with 700 tokens compared to 28.9 for Thinking. “Despite removing the thinking box—a core component of modern reasoning models—NoThinking remains surprisingly effective,” the authors wrote. By combining parallel scaling and best-of-N selection, the approach further cut latency by up to ninefold. The work suggests future reasoning systems could deliver faster, cheaper, and equally reliable performance without explicit deliberation.
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On the latest Citadel Dispatch, host Matt Odell and return guest Seth for Privacy examined the shifting terrain of Bitcoin privacy, custodial risk, and user tools. The episode opened with Odell highlighting the UK’s move toward digital IDs, which he called “quite dark.” Much of the discussion centered on CoinJoin options following the Samurai Wallet arrests. Seth expressed cautious support for Ashigaru’s Whirlpool fork, though he noted the trust assumptions of any centralized coordinator. Odell countered that Wasabi, with its open coordinator model and liquidity from operator “Crew,” is currently the most reliable option despite persistent taint concerns. The pair then explored Cupcake, Cake Wallet’s new app that repurposes old smartphones as air-gapped signers. Seth emphasized its value for activists and global south users who cannot import hardware wallets, while Odell praised its open-standards compatibility. Broader topics included Monero’s reorg vulnerability, the trade-offs of ARC and Spark for Lightning self-custody, and the promise of silent payments.
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