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Sir Elton John and former prime ministers Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have joined an outpouring of tributes from the political and entertainment worlds to the husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway, Derek Draper.

The 56-year-old former political adviser has died after several years of serious health complications due to coronavirus.

Sir Tony Blair paid tribute to Draper for his qualities as a professional and as a man.

“I am so sad to hear the news about Derek. My heart goes out to Kate and their children William and Darcey,” Sir Tony said.

“He was a tough sometimes ruthless political operative, a brilliant adviser and someone you always wanted on your side.

“But underneath that tough exterior he was a loving, kind, generous and good-natured man you wanted as a friend.”

Sir Tony added Draper was “an important part of the New Labour story, at the centre of things right at the beginning”.

Gordon Brown added he will remember Draper as “brilliant, creative and multitalented”.

Meanwhile, Sir Elton John sent his “love and thoughts” to Garraway.

In response to her post on Instagram announcing the death, the musician wrote: “So sorry to hear of this news, Kate. Love and thoughts to you and your family x.”

Draper attended the Rocket Man’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert at London’s O2 Arena in April after being invited along with Garraway as the guests of honour.

Read more:
Larger than life legacy in politics won’t be forgotten

Kate Garraway, with her husband Derek Draper and her parents Gordon and Marilyn Garraway, after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity by the Prince of Wales during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, Berkshire. Picture date: Wednesday June 28, 2023.
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Kate Garraway, with her husband Derek Draper and her parents Gordon and Marilyn Garraway, after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire

Fellow Good Morning Britain host Charlotte Hawkins also shared her sympathies with Garraway.

Alongside a photo of Draper and Garraway which Hawkins posted to Instagram, she wrote: “Such desperately sad news about Derek.

“It’s been an incredibly tough time for all the family & Kate has been so strong throughout all this – please send her your love & prayers so she knows we’re all here for her.”

Garraway confirmed her “darling husband” had died and she had been “by his side holding his hand throughout his last long hours” earlier today.

She said he suffered a heart attack in early December, adding that “the damage inflicted by COVID… led to further complications”.

Among the thousands of replies were tributes from Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid, singer Alesha Dixon and Line Of Duty actress Vicky McClure.

“Our whole hearts are with you,” Reid wrote.

McClure added: “So so sorry to hear this Kate. Sending all my love to you and your family xxx.”

Presenter and comedian Alan Carr posted: “Oh Kate that’s so awful. Sending you so much love and the deepest condolences.”

Meanwhile, fellow ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly described Garraway as an “astonishing woman” who did her husband “proud”.

Garraway “has been so strong and brave,” she wrote on Instagram.

“Thoughts with her and her children and family. She was right by his side until the end and did him proud. An astonishing woman,” Kelly added.

Draper’s prominence in the Labour Party in the 1990s also led former Number 10 director of communications, Alastair Campbell, to pay tribute to him.

He said he was a “huge character, a giver not a taker, and had so much more to give before COVID took its toll”.

ITV boss Kevin Lygo, meanwhile, said ITV workers are “desperately saddened” to learn of Draper’s death.

“Everyone that has worked with Kate at ITV over the past few years are desperately saddened to hear this terrible news,” he said in a statement.

“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with Kate and Derek’s family and we will continue to offer our support in any way we can at this very difficult time.”

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VanEck to launch Avalanche ecosystem fund

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VanEck to launch Avalanche ecosystem fund

VanEck to launch Avalanche ecosystem fund

VanEck plans to launch a private digital assets fund in June targeting tokenized Web3 projects built on the Avalanche blockchain network, the asset manager said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph.

The VanEck PurposeBuilt Fund, available only to accredited investors, aims to invest in liquid tokens and venture-backed projects across Web3 sectors, including gaming, financial services, payments, and artificial intelligence. 

Idle capital will be deployed into Avalanche (AVAX) real-world asset (RWA) products, including tokenized money market funds, VanEck said.

The fund will be managed by the team behind VanEck’s Digital Assets Alpha Fund (DAAF), which oversees more than $100 million in net assets as of May 21. 

“The next wave of value in crypto will come from real businesses, not more infrastructure,” Pranav Kanade, portfolio manager for DAAF, said in a statement.

VanEck to launch Avalanche ecosystem fund
RWAs are among crypto’s fastest-growing segments. Source: RWA.xyz

Related: Tokenized stocks could top $1T in market cap — Execs

Thematic crypto funds

VanEck’s PurposeBuilt Fund is the latest in a series of funds from the asset manager and rivals designed to offer exposure to projects and companies in fast-growing segments of Web3. 

On May 14, VanEck launched a new actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) to invest in stocks and financial instruments providing exposure to the digital economy.

In April, VanEck launched another ETF investing in a passive index of companies operating in the crypto space. 

Asset managers such as VanEck are requesting the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) permission to list upward of 70 crypto ETFs. 

The wave of ETF filings is in response to US President Donald Trump softening the agency’s regulatory stance toward crypto after Trump took office in January.

VanEck to launch Avalanche ecosystem fund
Avalanche TVL as of May 21. Source: DefiLlama

Avalanche RWA ecosystem

Avalanche has emerged as a hub for real-world assets (RWAs) and other institutional-oriented crypto projects.

Its interrelated networks, called subnets, allow institutions to run Ethereum-style smart contracts in a controlled environment. On May 16, Solv Protocol launched a yield-bearing Bitcoin token on the Avalanche blockchain, targeting institutional investors

Avalanche has around $1.5 billion in total value locked (TVL) as of May 21, according to data from DefiLlama. 

“We’re seeing a shift away from speculative hype toward real utility and sustainable token economies,” John Nahas, chief business officer at Ava Labs, said in a statement.

Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions — Sky Wee

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US lawmaker reintroduces bill amid pushback on Trump’s crypto ties

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<div>US lawmaker reintroduces bill amid pushback on Trump's crypto ties</div>

<div>US lawmaker reintroduces bill amid pushback on Trump's crypto ties</div>

A Democratic representative in the US Congress will support a blockchain bill at a time when many left-leaning lawmakers are blocking crypto-related pieces of legislation due to concerns with President Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest.

In a May 21 notice, Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer said he had reintroduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, a bill that “solidifies that digital asset developers and service providers that do not custody consumer funds are not money transmitters.”Emmer, a Republican, said Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres would co-lead the bill, making it a bipartisan effort in Congress.

“The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act reflects a thoughtful, bipartisan effort to get digital asset policy right,” said Torres. “While similar language was voted down in markup last Congress, we took that feedback seriously and returned with a smarter, sharper framework that protects innovation without compromising oversight.”

Cryptocurrencies, Law, Politics, Congress
Reintroducing the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act on May 21. Source: Tom Emmer

Representatives of advocacy organizations, including the Crypto Council for Innovation, Solana Policy Institute, Digital Chamber, Coin Center, DeFi Education Fund and Blockchain Association, said they would support the proposed blockchain regulatory bill. It was unclear whether Emmer and Torres had a majority of votes in the House of Representatives for the legislation to pass.

Torres has supported many bills and policies favorable to the crypto industry since assuming office in 2021. Together with Emmer, he has led the Congressional Crypto Caucus to advance crypto-friendly policies in the House since March.

A bipartisan blockchain bill amid memecoin concerns?

Other Democratic House members, including Representative Maxine Waters, have suggested they intend to block any legislation related to crypto and blockchain until Republicans address Trump’s connections to the industry, such as his family’s stake in World Liberty Financial and his TRUMP memecoin. The president is planning to host a dinner with up to 220 people holding the most significant amounts of his memecoin on May 22.

Related: Interest groups, lawmakers to protest Trump’s memecoin dinner

Cointelegraph reached out to Torres’ office for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

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Interest groups, lawmakers to protest Trump’s memecoin dinner

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<div>Interest groups, lawmakers to protest Trump's memecoin dinner</div>

<div>Interest groups, lawmakers to protest Trump's memecoin dinner</div>

Democratic leaning organizations and members of Congress have announced plans to protest what they describe as the sale of access to the office of the US president, in reference to Donald Trump’s memecoin dinner on May 22. The event’s attendees are said to have collectively spent over $100 million for the chance to meet with the US president.

Since Trump’s memecoin project, Official Trump (TRUMP), announced that its top 220 tokenholders would have an opportunity to apply for an exclusive dinner with the president, many leaders in the crypto industry and US lawmakers have criticized the event, saying Trump was opening his office to potential bribery and corruption.

The memecoin dinner prompted some Democratic lawmakers to withdraw support for crypto-related legislation in Congress, including the market structure and stablecoin bills.

“Trump collecting gifts from foreign governments is unconstitutional,” a spokesperson for the consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, which is planning to protest near the memecoin dinner on May 22, told Cointelegraph. “Collecting foreign government investments through his memecoin is not much better. American foreign policy should not be for sale.”

Washington, Politics, Donald Trump, Memecoin
Source: Public Citizen

Crypto industry figures such as Tron founder Justin Sun, Kronos Research chief investment officer Vincent Liu, Hyperithm co-CEO Oh Sangrok, and Synthetix founder Kain Warwick are among the tokenholders expected to attend the dinner at the Trump National Golf Club outside Washington, DC. The memecoin project said all applicants had to pass a background check and could not be from a “[Know Your Customer] watchlist country.”

Related: Democrats seek suspicious activity reports linked to Trump crypto ventures

Public Citizen, in partnership with progressive political organization Our Revolution, will hold a rally near the golf club, which Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley is expected to attend. In addition, the Arlington and Loudoun Democrats will be hosting a separate event to urge US officials to “hold [Trump] accountable,” and Democratic leadership in Congress has scheduled two press events on May 22 ahead of the dinner.

“Americans cannot and will not accept President Trump’s view that positions of power exist only to benefit the holder of that power,” Ryan Ruzic, chair of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee, told Cointelegraph. “We have a moral responsibility to speak out against corruption, whatever the result may be.”

Pushback on TRUMP memecoin affected crypto legislation

Some lawmakers initially cited the memecoin dinner and the Trump family’s involvement with the crypto platform World Liberty Financial in opposing passage of the GENIUS Act, a bill to regulate payment stablecoins. World Liberty Financial began issuing its own USD1 stablecoin in March, prompting concerns about Trump’s conflicts of interest. However, the legislation passed a key procedural vote in the Senate on May 19 with support from Democrats, setting the bill up for debate in the chamber.

“Many senators, myself included, have very real concerns about the Trump family’s use of crypto technologies to evade oversight, hide shady financial dealings, and personally profit at the expense of everyday Americans,” said Sen. Mark Warner in a statement before the May 19 vote, adding: “But we cannot allow that corruption to blind us to the broader reality: blockchain technology is here to stay.”

Senator Chris Murphy, who voted against advancing the GENIUS Act, called for bipartisan support in amending the bill to specifically bar a US president from issuing stablecoins. He also called on the White House to release a complete list of attendees to the memecoin dinner, suggesting that some or all of them would “try to get something from the president” in exchange for purchasing the tokens.

Murphy and Senator Elizabeth Warren will attend a press event with representatives for Public Citizen on May 22. California Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the US House Financial Services Committee, announced a separate press conference for the same day, with plans to introduce a bill to “block Trump’s memecoin and stop his crypto corruption, once and for all.”

As of May 21, the exact number of attendees to the dinner was unknown. A smaller group of 25 tokenholders also qualified to apply for “VIP tour” and reception — presumably at the White House — with Trump, but the complete list of those planning to attend was also unknown at the time of publication.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

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