CRYPTO FREEDOM? At the October opening of a new centre for crypto-anarchy, the Paralelni Polis in Slovakia, co-founder Pavol Luptak called for a return to the political vision that underpinned bitcoin at its inception – what he calls a "crypto renaissance."
Citing new surveillance infrastructures, relentless taxation, and the adoption of blockchain by state actors, Luptak and his associates are focused on the question of how to use decentralized technologies to liberate individuals from state control.
In their eyes, bitcoin and related cryptocurrencies cannot be distinguished from the political climate from which they arose – the cypherpunk movement, with its focus on privacy and individual liberty. By providing a radical alternative to the banking system, this vision stands apart from an industry that has, to some, become defined by the use of cryptocurrencies as speculative investments.
"We perceive cryptocurrency as a liberation tool," Luptak told CoinDesk. And it's the Paralelni Polis – which he calls a "freedom think-tank" – that aims to serve as a breeding ground for such ideas. Full Story
CONCEDING CONTROL: Chinese insurance giant Ping An, the firm behind the eTradeFinance blockchain, is modifying its platform to allow its participant banks more control over their customers.
The shift will require businesses utilizing the platform to sign up through member banks' web portals, rather than a central site, explained Frank Lu. Lu heads Ping An's fintech arm's blockchain division, OneConnect.
So far these member banks include HSBC, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas in Hong Kong, Bank of East Asia and the Hong Kong branches of all state-owned commercial banks in China.
The platform was implemented with the idea of enabling customers to secure financing more easily, but preventing them from borrowing more than their credit lines allow by going through multiple banks. Full Story
SLOW SHIFT: The concept of institutional custody for the crypto space has been floating around for months, but one of the world’s largest custodians does not feel the need to look into the space. State Street managing director Jay Biancamano, speaking at American Banker’s BlockFS last week, explained that his firm’s clients were not looking to custody any digital assets just yet.
"There is no sense of urgency on the part of our clients to move into these assets right now. When they do, we want to meet them there … There is a very high level of interest but no need to move because currently none of our clients are looking for us to house these assets in custody," he explained.
His remarks come in sharp contrast with groups like Fidelity Investments, Coinbase and BitGo, all of whom have been taking steps recently to offer custody solutions for cryptoassets. That being said, Biancamano noted that the company is still “a blockchain-friendly firm.” Full Story | 
