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@TFTC21@TFTC21

"You're seeing a clear shift in South America. Not just friendliness to the US, but less receptivity to Chinese ownership of local assets." @MartyBent and @JohnArnoldTen31 on the Monroe Doctrine playing out in real time, from Iceland to Brazil.

@TFTC21@TFTC21

TimechainIndex just dropped interactive Bitcoin transaction flow charts. Explore inputs, outputs, labels, and UTXO ages with live search and zoom. Address and transaction tracer coming next.

@TFTC21@TFTC21

"We should behave as if elliptic curve cryptography will eventually be broken and build new cryptographic primitives to head off that reality." @MartyBent and @JohnArnoldTen31 on the AI-breaks-Bitcoin FUD and why the right response is preparation, not panic.

@TFTC21@TFTC21

Stanford cryptographer Dan Boneh: "If the labs try their best models at our basic cryptographic assumptions and the models fail to break them, that will give us tremendous confidence that our assumptions are valid."

@TFTC21@TFTC21

"If you really got Iran on the ropes, got them down to last alternatives, there's a world where that optimizes for one final major kinetic push with nothing left to lose." @JohnArnoldTen31 on why celebrating prematurely is dangerous.

@TFTC21@TFTC21

The Ledger supply chain situation is expanding. After the discovery of a second compromised device at MediaMarkt, researchers have expanded their watchlist of potentially affected European retailers. Aqipa GmbH, an official Ledger distributor since August 2023 covering Germany and Austria, has been linked to the distribution chain. Other European retailers supplied by Aqipa, including Saturn, Fnac, and Boulanger, may also be at risk. So far, only CryptoBilis and MediaMarkt have been publicly linked to confirmed discoveries of compromised devices. No evidence yet that other retailers' inventory has been tampered with.

@TFTC21@TFTC21

New Anthropic research warns that "small AI models may be months away from being capable enough to self-replicate on commercial IoT devices" like smart ovens and TV boxes. In testing, a 9B parameter model got inference running on 8 of 9 hardware types. Researchers ran a 26B model distributed across 15 off-brand Android TV boxes bought for $55 each. "Unlike non-AI malware, it could figure out unfamiliar devices on its own." anthropic.com/research/self-…

@TFTC21@TFTC21

"There was going to be a moment of reckoning where the would-be middle powers were going to have to choose one side or another." @JohnArnoldTen31 on Europe being forced to pick between the US and China.

@TFTC21@TFTC21

China's CPC Central Committee and State Council published a policy document on October 9 calling for a national blockchain network as part of 19 measures to develop "new quality productive forces." The plan links blockchain to a unified computing power network, data markets, and industrial digitization, building on the state-backed BSN launched in 2020. The cryptocurrency ban remains in place. China wants the blockchain without the freedom. Permissioned, controlled, state-run. The digital panopticon gets another layer. english.www.gov.cn/policies/lates…

@TFTC21@TFTC21

"Their way of life, of building this building together, known as software, was now being deprecated." Jason Calacanis on the death of coding as we know it.

@TFTC21@TFTC21

"You can see where this is heading. This appears to be gaining traction and momentum, as you often see at the end of these massive debt cycles." -@JohnArnoldTen31 We discuss: ⚡ France's debt crisis ⚡ Europe turns on China ⚡ The Bitcoin security scare

@TFTC21@TFTC21

"We have seen a lot of hard working Australian Bitcoin businesses being debanked only for the reason for touching this space." Stormrake's Bisher Khudeira on Australia's debanking crisis and what's holding back the next wave of bitcoin adoption.

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The Commoner

Truth for the Commoner, every weekday. Money, machines, and the people trying to control both.

Independent writing by Marty Bent at TFTC since 2017. Money, markets, AI, energy and privacy, delivered free to your inbox.

Free, every weekday. Unsubscribe anytime using the link in each newsletter. By subscribing you agree to our Terms and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. Read recent issues.