Bernanke Joins Anthropic's AI Trust; Bitcoin Holders Suddenly Feel Vindicated 🏦

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who steered the U.S. central bank through the 2008 global financial crisis from 2006 to 2014, has joined Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust, the AI company announced Thursday. The independent oversight body holds the authority to appoint Anthropic board members and advises leadership on AI's societal impact. Bernanke becomes the Trust's fourth member alongside Neil Buddy Shah, Richard Fontaine, a former national security official in the George W. Bush administration, and Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, a former intelligence advisor to President Joe Biden.

Anthropic said Bernanke's track record studying financial crises would help the company evaluate AI's effects on workforces and the broader economy. "The potential of artificial intelligence is enormous, and so is the range of outcomes," Bernanke said in a statement. "How that potential plays out will depend, in part, on the institutions we build around it." His appointment arrives as investors and economists increasingly compare today's flood of AI capital to past speculative booms.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said earlier this year the chipmaker is likely finished making major investments in OpenAI and Anthropic as both firms approach potential public listings, fueling debate over whether AI valuations have reached bubble territory. The move also follows a turbulent period in Anthropic's relationship with the Trump administration. The Commerce Department last month temporarily subjected Anthropic's newest AI models to export controls before reversing course after the company introduced additional safeguards and reached an understanding with U.S. officials.

Separately, OpenAI released its new flagship model GPT-5.6 Sol to general users on Thursday, launching alongside two smaller siblings, Terra and Luna. The models had been kept as a preview restricted to about 20 trusted partners for two weeks by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The naming marks OpenAI's first departure from numeric versioning, with Sol, Terra, and Luna denoting capability tiers that can update on independent cadences.

Bernanke's legacy at the Fed remains contested. Economists credit his interventions with helping prevent a deeper collapse during the worst U.S. downturn since the Great Depression, while critics argue regulators failed to identify mounting housing risks before the crisis and have questioned policy choices made in its aftermath.