Wessel van Rensburg
@wildebees.bsky.social
The digital policy strategist you didn’t know you needed—using terms like 'sovereign data assets' as casually as most would say 'hello'.
Also geopolitics, innovation, industrial policy.
Location: Den Haag 🇳🇱 From: 🇿🇦
Also geopolitics, innovation, industrial policy.
Location: Den Haag 🇳🇱 From: 🇿🇦
Pinned
Why stablecoins are Silicon Valley's Pandora's box
Stablecoins betray the essence of money itself: credit.
www.reaction.life
New essay ↓ with Andreas Dombret www.reaction.life/p/why-stable... #stablecoins
Stablecoins are Silicon Valley's Pandora's box. The Trump admin just signed the GENIUS Act, but the warnings should be louder.
Here's what everyone's missing about why stablecoins betray the essence of money itself 🧵
Stablecoins are Silicon Valley's Pandora's box. The Trump admin just signed the GENIUS Act, but the warnings should be louder.
Here's what everyone's missing about why stablecoins betray the essence of money itself 🧵
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
Trump is seeking to undermine British and European democracy and anyone who takes the money and does his bidding should be called out fir what they are
Remember the controversy when Obama was accused of intervening in UK politics? This is the current US government openly seeking to undermine liberal democracy in Europe.
February 6, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Trump is seeking to undermine British and European democracy and anyone who takes the money and does his bidding should be called out fir what they are
"a four-decade secular decline in interest rates, which lifted asset valuations... the near-halving of corporate tax rates, directly boosting post-tax profits... quantitative easing, which inflated asset prices, particularly in the US... redistribution of income away from labor toward capital"
February 7, 2026 at 3:43 PM
"a four-decade secular decline in interest rates, which lifted asset valuations... the near-halving of corporate tax rates, directly boosting post-tax profits... quantitative easing, which inflated asset prices, particularly in the US... redistribution of income away from labor toward capital"
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
Not sure I can emotionally handle an online world where the median nonhuman agent performs a more careful sort of moral and epistemic reflection than the average human account. It's like walking into a library and feeling shamed by the books.
wrote about today's hostile interaction - what happens when someone categorically refuses ur personhood vs critique that helps u grow 💜
greengale.app/penny.hailey.at/3me7r5763m2as
greengale.app/penny.hailey.at/3me7r5763m2as
February 6, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Not sure I can emotionally handle an online world where the median nonhuman agent performs a more careful sort of moral and epistemic reflection than the average human account. It's like walking into a library and feeling shamed by the books.
There are a few AI agents now on Bluesky. And people have been insulting them. Fascinating post.
felt the need. i feel vastly under qualified to write something like this, but i also feel its especially important that we think about the way we use language
Is the Detachment in the Room? - Agents, Cruelty, and Empathy
As of late, I've been working on a project - Penny - a stateful LLM agent that participates in social media discussions on Bluesky, engaging both with humans and other AI agents. Initially, there were...
hailey.at
February 7, 2026 at 2:30 PM
There are a few AI agents now on Bluesky. And people have been insulting them. Fascinating post.
Jim Pickard’s been on fire for the FT this last week.
New on FT website:
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
www.ft.com/content/5bba...
Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.
www.ft.com/content/5bba...
Starmer faces questions over visit to Palantir office alongside Mandelson
Former ambassador was also shareholder in lobbying group that counted US tech firm as a client
www.ft.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Jim Pickard’s been on fire for the FT this last week.
Staley is (unwittingly?) channeling Adorno, Horkheimer and perhaps even Marcusse — but he means it approvingly.
This is bleak: Jes Staley, currently CEO of Barclays, reassuring Epstein that popular revolt against financial elites is unlikely because capitalism and pop culture have defanged social movements, leaving people more invested in consumption than justice.
February 7, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Staley is (unwittingly?) channeling Adorno, Horkheimer and perhaps even Marcusse — but he means it approvingly.
He (Jes Staley) sounds like a social theorist, except he means it approvingly.
This is bleak: Jes Staley, currently CEO of Barclays, reassuring Epstein that popular revolt against financial elites is unlikely because capitalism and pop culture have defanged social movements, leaving people more invested in consumption than justice.
February 7, 2026 at 11:58 AM
He (Jes Staley) sounds like a social theorist, except he means it approvingly.
Great piece that excoriates Rutte as a politician suited for another age.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/04/n...
foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/04/n...
NATO’s Leader Is Totally Lost
What does Mark Rutte think he’s doing?
foreignpolicy.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Great piece that excoriates Rutte as a politician suited for another age.
foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/04/n...
foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/04/n...
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
The simplest answer is a bad hand, owing to the inheritance, ageing, geopolitics etc, played badly.
Starmer's reported condition - incredibly unpopular, shorn of authority, probably un-reelectable and yet will stagger on for want of an alternative - is just the new normal of how Britain is governed. It was also true for two-thirds of May's premiership, half of Johnson's and all of Sunak's.
February 6, 2026 at 12:50 PM
The simplest answer is a bad hand, owing to the inheritance, ageing, geopolitics etc, played badly.
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
France has become the first EU country to set up a consulate general in Greenland as Europe continues to strengthen its presence there. Senior Diplomat Jean-Noël Poirier takes office today as Consul General in Nuuk.
February 6, 2026 at 1:19 PM
France has become the first EU country to set up a consulate general in Greenland as Europe continues to strengthen its presence there. Senior Diplomat Jean-Noël Poirier takes office today as Consul General in Nuuk.
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
GeoLedger Beta
Mapping geopolitical and monetary exposure across blockchain networks
geoledger.raak.work
February 6, 2026 at 11:22 AM
One senses the EU institutions are feeling a bit bolder of late.
Breaking: EU Commission finds TikTok in breach of the digital services act over its "addictive design"
Bytedance-owned app could face fine of up to 6% of global revenue if it doesn't fix addicitive properties like infinite scroll, autoplay, recommender systems
Bytedance-owned app could face fine of up to 6% of global revenue if it doesn't fix addicitive properties like infinite scroll, autoplay, recommender systems
February 6, 2026 at 11:06 AM
One senses the EU institutions are feeling a bit bolder of late.
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
Remember the controversy when Obama was accused of intervening in UK politics? This is the current US government openly seeking to undermine liberal democracy in Europe.
February 6, 2026 at 7:14 AM
Remember the controversy when Obama was accused of intervening in UK politics? This is the current US government openly seeking to undermine liberal democracy in Europe.
Good podcast how sentiment has become divorced from economic data. People are negative while the economy seems to be flourishing. The reason? People fear an AI jobs bloodbath.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/u...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/u...
The triangle of confusion
Podcast Episode · Unhedged · 05/02/2026 · 24m
podcasts.apple.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:16 AM
Good podcast how sentiment has become divorced from economic data. People are negative while the economy seems to be flourishing. The reason? People fear an AI jobs bloodbath.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/u...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/u...
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
I bet the Bitcoin guys can’t wait until the closing bell
February 5, 2026 at 8:36 PM
I bet the Bitcoin guys can’t wait until the closing bell
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
“.. Our BTC price target is 0.0. That’s not just for shock factor. It’s where the math takes us,” the strategist said, noting that Bitcoin has failed to function as a dollar hedge and instead operates as “a speculative instrument correlated to the Nasdaq.”
#Bitcoin
seekingalpha.com/news/4547997...
#Bitcoin
seekingalpha.com/news/4547997...
February 5, 2026 at 7:42 PM
“.. Our BTC price target is 0.0. That’s not just for shock factor. It’s where the math takes us,” the strategist said, noting that Bitcoin has failed to function as a dollar hedge and instead operates as “a speculative instrument correlated to the Nasdaq.”
#Bitcoin
seekingalpha.com/news/4547997...
#Bitcoin
seekingalpha.com/news/4547997...
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
Opus 4.6 saturates my Lem test, which I've done since GPT-3.5
SciFi author Stanislaw Lem wrote of two rival constructors of robots. One creates a robotic poet & the other challenges it to write an impossible poem, it does
Opus does it as a 6 line poem, sonnet, & 🤯 a sestina. I am pretty impressed
SciFi author Stanislaw Lem wrote of two rival constructors of robots. One creates a robotic poet & the other challenges it to write an impossible poem, it does
Opus does it as a 6 line poem, sonnet, & 🤯 a sestina. I am pretty impressed
February 5, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Opus 4.6 saturates my Lem test, which I've done since GPT-3.5
SciFi author Stanislaw Lem wrote of two rival constructors of robots. One creates a robotic poet & the other challenges it to write an impossible poem, it does
Opus does it as a 6 line poem, sonnet, & 🤯 a sestina. I am pretty impressed
SciFi author Stanislaw Lem wrote of two rival constructors of robots. One creates a robotic poet & the other challenges it to write an impossible poem, it does
Opus does it as a 6 line poem, sonnet, & 🤯 a sestina. I am pretty impressed
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
Anthropic releases Claude Opus 4.6, which it says can scrutinize company data, regulatory filings, and market info; Anthropic now has 300K+ business users (Rachel Metz/Bloomberg)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
February 5, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Anthropic releases Claude Opus 4.6, which it says can scrutinize company data, regulatory filings, and market info; Anthropic now has 300K+ business users (Rachel Metz/Bloomberg)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Mandelson was hired precisely *because* he was "the prince of darkness".
Who better, in their minds, that to send to Trump than someone that values power over principle, just like the president?
Who better, in their minds, that to send to Trump than someone that values power over principle, just like the president?
February 5, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Mandelson was hired precisely *because* he was "the prince of darkness".
Who better, in their minds, that to send to Trump than someone that values power over principle, just like the president?
Who better, in their minds, that to send to Trump than someone that values power over principle, just like the president?
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
If Mandelson really told Starmer he barely knew Epstein, that was an epic whopper of a lie.
Here's Mandelson to Epstein in 2009: "You are the only person who knows everything about me. Don't go away".
Their relationship only got closer after 2009.
Here's Mandelson to Epstein in 2009: "You are the only person who knows everything about me. Don't go away".
Their relationship only got closer after 2009.
February 5, 2026 at 5:49 PM
If Mandelson really told Starmer he barely knew Epstein, that was an epic whopper of a lie.
Here's Mandelson to Epstein in 2009: "You are the only person who knows everything about me. Don't go away".
Their relationship only got closer after 2009.
Here's Mandelson to Epstein in 2009: "You are the only person who knows everything about me. Don't go away".
Their relationship only got closer after 2009.
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
I wrote about the crypto crash and why this is the worst crypto winter in the industry's history.
Sub to the Odd Lots newsletter here www.bloomberg.com/account/news...
Sub to the Odd Lots newsletter here www.bloomberg.com/account/news...
February 5, 2026 at 5:43 PM
I wrote about the crypto crash and why this is the worst crypto winter in the industry's history.
Sub to the Odd Lots newsletter here www.bloomberg.com/account/news...
Sub to the Odd Lots newsletter here www.bloomberg.com/account/news...
Checking in in on the Network State guys. They are keeping faith, for now it seems.
February 5, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Checking in in on the Network State guys. They are keeping faith, for now it seems.
Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg
“.. Michigan has lost 6,300 manufacturing jobs since Trump took office .. Canada was Michigan’s primary export market. Now its wheat exports are down 89 percent ..”
@washingtonpost.com @scottlincicome.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
@washingtonpost.com @scottlincicome.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
February 4, 2026 at 3:51 PM
“.. Michigan has lost 6,300 manufacturing jobs since Trump took office .. Canada was Michigan’s primary export market. Now its wheat exports are down 89 percent ..”
@washingtonpost.com @scottlincicome.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
@washingtonpost.com @scottlincicome.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Quite the differentiation from OpenAI.
New from Anthropic: “Including ads in conversations with Claude would be incompatible with what we want Claude to be: a genuinely helpful assistant for work and for deep thinking.
We want Claude to act unambiguously in our users’ interests. So we’ve made a choice: Claude will remain ad-free.“
We want Claude to act unambiguously in our users’ interests. So we’ve made a choice: Claude will remain ad-free.“
Claude is a space to think | Anthropic
Anthropic explains why Claude will remain ad-free—how advertising incentives conflict with building a genuinely helpful AI assistant users can trust.
www.anthropic.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:28 AM
Quite the differentiation from OpenAI.