NO PANACEA: In face of censorial corporations and governments, dissident protesters are testing bitcoin and other decentralized technologies – and learning of their limitations. While cryptos can be useful as a store of value, sources in Lebanon and Iran said being cut off from global exchange platforms means digital assets are rarely useful as currency. Full story
LIQUIDITY BOOST: Fidelity Digital Assets (FDAS), the young cryptocurrency trading business of a financial-services powerhouse, expects to sign its first exchange by the end of the year, according to its president, Tom Jessop. The move is expected to give FDAS access to a broader market and liquidity for smaller trades. Full story
MEANINGFUL MERGER? An acquisition of TD Ameritrade by Charles Schwab would change the landscape of the traditional brokerage industry – and it may have implications for the ongoing mainstreaming of cryptocurrency trading. The firms are reportedly in talks for a merger that would marry one of the few mainstream financial companies to embrace the crypto market with one whose stance is less clear. Full story
SLEUTHING CUTBACKS: Chainalysis laid off 39 employees Thursday, about 20 percent of its workforce in nearly every corner of the blockchain analysis firm. The downsizing will help put the five-year-old blockchain company on the “path to profitability,” Maddie Kennedy, director of communications, said. Full story
BAKKT TO THE FUTURES II: Bakkt is launching its Singapore-listed bitcoin futures contracts on Dec. 9, according to parent firm Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). The Bakkt Bitcoin Cash Settled Monthly Futures contracts will be listed on ICE Futures Singapore and cleared by ICE Clear Singapore, which are both regulated in the island-state. Full story
6-MONTH LOW: Bitcoin dropped to six-month lows below $7,000. The downtrend is looking strong, too, with a key technical indicator showing the strongest bearish bias since March. Minor corrective rallies cannot be ruled out as intraday indicators are reporting oversold conditions. That said, the bearish case will remain valid as long as prices are below $8,200. Full story
ROBOTICS UNBLOCKED: The Robotics Business Review thinks that the next stage of AI will incorporate blockchain. Columnist Juned Ghanchi said blockchain increases efficiency, security and profitability for AI systems that rely on multiple robotics systems. For instance, swarm robotics – where several physical robots “swarm” to perform a collective task – could use cryptographic techniques to secure data shared across the AI channels that synchronize the machine behaviors.
Dissidents' dissatisfaction