MON AM News: National coalition informing voters about where candidates stand on crypto; Data science fastest-growing certificate at UW-Madison

September 23, 2024

— The Stand with Crypto coalition, which recently stopped in Wisconsin as part of a swing state tour, aims to support domestic development of cryptocurrency and inform voters about where candidates stand on this currency.

The national nonprofit group launched a little more than a year ago and spent much of September traveling to Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. Its recent event in Milwaukee on Sept. 13th included a voter registration drive, speeches from both Republican and Democratic elected officials and others, and a musical performance from singer and songwriter Jessie Murph.

“We don’t endorse a particular candidate, but we are aimed at informing crypto advocates on where each political candidate stands on crypto,” coalition senior advisor Sabrina Siddiqui said in a recent interview.

The group’s website has a scorecard for every U.S. politician that tracks their voting record and any statements they have made related to cryptocurrency.

“Crypto is a new and emerging issue in the political side, and we’re trying to hold politicians accountable, and make sure that they understand the crypto voter is real, the crypto voter is bipartisan, the crypto voter is incredibly engaged,” she told WisBusiness.com.

About 640,000 Wisconsinites own some form of cryptocurrency, according to figures provided by the coalition.

This alternative form of currency uses encryption algorithms to operate outside of an authority such as a government or bank. Advocates say this allows for faster, easier transactions through a secure, decentralized framework. But the value of various cryptocurrencies can change quickly, and concerns have been raised about the substantial energy requirements for “mining” the virtual coins.

Siddiqui argues crypto advocates support politicians who “support clear rules of the road” for the technology.

“The core of the issue at hand, I would say for cryptocurrency, for bitcoin, is we don’t have clear regulations,” she said, adding the Securities and Exchange Commission has a hostile attitude toward crypto. “When you have kind of a hostile regulatory entity, and you don’t have clear regulation or rules, it’s hard for the technology to grow.”

She says the coalition’s “main fear” is that the technology will go overseas, taking jobs and opportunities with it. In hopes of avoiding that outcome, the group backs legislation to establish clear regulations for crypto. Siddiqui explained the technology isn’t limited to one industry, noting it has potential applications in health care, the arts, insurance and education, along with the financial sector.

When asked if the coalition is putting its efforts mostly toward the upcoming presidential race or legislative races, Siddiqui said “we’re focused on everything.” She said the group wants to let people know that crypto voters are “an important and new voting bloc.”

“We know that this voting bloc is the next generation of voters,” she said. “They tend to be younger, more people of color than your average voting population … They care about really specific issues, and they’re all looking for an overhaul of the financial system.”

— Data science has been the fastest-growing certificate program at UW-Madison in recent years as more students augment their majors with technology expertise.

The university recently released a list of the top five growing certificate programs, similar to a minor at other higher education institutions. Students are taking on certificates more often, with 4,210 undergraduate certificates awarded in the 2022-2023 school year, up from 1,544 a decade earlier.

Between 2019 and 2023, the data science certificate program has added 522 students, according to the rankings. Bret Larget, chair of the Department of Statistics and director of the Data Science Program, says students report data science skills have proved useful in landing internships and jobs after graduation.

“The data science certificate provides students with knowledge and skills in computer programming and data analysis, which supplement learning in a wide variety of subject areas across all of campus,” Larget said in a statement.

Other top certificates include: disability rights and services, which added 334 students since 2019; sports communications, up by 251 students; consulting, 196; and a summer program in business fundamentals, 188.

The last of these gives students a crash-course on finance, accounting, marketing management and other “key subjects,” according to Alexis Steinbach, assistant dean for undergraduate student affairs for the Wisconsin School of Business.

“This certificate allows students to make connections between the world of business and their specific fields of interests — gaining traction with various majors across campus,” Steinbach said.

See the release.

— Local officials in Milwaukee are allotting $2.5 million in funding for a $32 million affordable housing project that also includes office space and a cafe.

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the funding to redevelop the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center into a mixed-use project with 65 affordable housing units. It will include one-bedroom and three-bedroom units meant for families earning up to 60% of the county’s median income.

The project will also have a 17,000-square-foot office space for Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Services and a 1,500-square-foot first floor cafe.

The $2.5 million allocated by the board was previously earmarked for the demolition building, according to project details from the board. Funding for the project comes from low-income housing tax credits, historic tax credits and debt from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, as well as other sources, the release shows.

Second Vice Chair Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones says the project will “will pay dividends for years to come, both financially and environmentally.” The announcement notes the board was informed about the project’s “reliance on renewable energy sources” to reduce the cost of operations.

“This investment is strategic, and by choosing redevelopment over demolition, we are not only preserving an important piece of Milwaukee’s history but also investing in the future of our community,” Coggs-Jones said in a statement.

See more in the release.

— Children’s Wisconsin is now offering a new gene therapy treatment for kids who have severe sickle cell disease or transfusion-dependent thalassemia, a rare blood disorder.

The Milwaukee hospital this week announced it’s the only provider in Wisconsin to offer the Casgevy gene therapy, which is made from the patient’s own blood stem cells. It was recently approved by the FDA, according to the announcement.

These cells are genetically modified and returned through an infusion following a round of high-dose chemotherapy. Once reintroduced to the body, the cells produce a protein called fetal hemoglobin, which can help most patients “overcome the need” for blood transfusions while also addressing severe pain affecting sickle cell patients.

“Sickle cell disease is a painful, debilitating blood disorder that is inherited, and patients are diagnosed at birth on the newborn screen,” said Dr. Julie-An Talano, medical director of blood and marrow transplant at Children’s Wisconsin. “Given what we’ve seen so far of this therapy’s results, we’re optimistic that this therapy can decrease the severe acute events associated with the disease, especially acute painful events.”

The release notes about 1,200 people in Wisconsin have sickle cell disease, and 85% of those live in the southeastern region. A total of 117 infants were born in Wisconsin with sickle cell disease between 2016 and 2020, and Children’s Wisconsin’s sickle cell program currently cares for about 400 children with the disease.

In clinical trials leading to the FDA approval, Casgevy resulted in more than 93% of patients going at least 12 months without experiencing a “severe vaso-occlusive crisis” — a common painful complication of sickle cell disease, Talano notes.

“Additionally, 92 percent of patients with thalassemia were transfusion-free for more than 12 months after receiving Casgevy,” Talano said. “What’s more, this therapy is able to achieve these results with significantly fewer serious side effects than existing therapies.”

See the release.

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