Bitcoin Daily: Bitcoin Rallies 11 Pct One Year After Topping $19K; Iran Sees Economic Potential In Blockchain Tech

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One year after bitcoin topped $19,400, the popular cryptocurrency rallied on Monday (December 17) and broke through the $3,400 level, CNBC reported. Still, the outlet noted that the digital currency plummeted by over 80 percent since that time. According some reports, the cryptocurrency had its best day since the end of last month.

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    Of the changes, eToro Senior Market Analyst Mati Greenspan said, according to the outlet, “As a relatively new concept, crypto assets are still finding their feet in terms of value. It’s important to remember that all assets, in every market, experience a process of price discovery, and that cryptos are no different.” The price of bitcoin was $3,500.69 as of 9:06 p.m. per Coindesk.

    In other news, an official in the Iranian government believes that the country’s economy could be strengthened with the help of blockchain technology, Coindesk reported. Alireza Daliri, a government official, said, per reports, “This is possible with empowering the infrastructure of the blockchain technology with the help of government and private sector.” The news comes a few months after the official reportedly said the government was creating the foundation for a national digital currency. That effort would tokenize the rial, the country’s national fiat currency.

    And Change Healthcare, which is majority-owned by McKesson, might acquire healthcare technology company PokitDok per sources with knowledge of the matter, CNBC reported. The latter company, which is looking to use blockchain tech, allows startups to tap into the computing systems of health companies through application programming interfaces (APIs). For example, the APIs could be used to check the billing status of a patient or check a procedure’s price. As it stands, $55 million in venture funding is behind the firm.

    On another note, ethereum has overtaken bitcoin cash when it comes to trading prices of the cryptocurrencies, Cryptovest reported. The outlet reported that bitcoin cash experienced a “dramatic decline” following the weekend. And it noted that ethereum still has a higher price and bigger market cap. The price of ethereum was $93.44, according to Coindesk, and the price of bitcoin cash was $88.48, according to Coinbase, as of 9:06 p.m. on Monday (December 17).

     


    When CEOs Let AI Take the Wheel — the Brave, the Bold and the Bizarre in FinTech AI

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    Welcome to the Weekender, where we trade balance sheets for belly laughs and let our hair down — figuratively, of course — on the wild frontier of AI in finance. This week, we’re taking a look at how senior executives are wielding artificial intelligence, from the genuinely savvy to the downright silly, with a focus on banking, payments, FinTech and the digital economy.

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      The AI Avatar Era: When the Boss Goes Digital

      Let’s start with the buzzworthy case of Klarna, the Swedish FinTech that’s become a poster child for executive AI experimentation. In a move that could have been lifted from a sci-fi script, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski recently debuted his own AI doppelgänger for earnings calls — complete with a brown jacket and a near-perfect digital facsimile of his voice. The avatar delivered the company’s Q1 results with a straight face (literally — no blinking), while the real Siemiatkowski stepped in for the Q&A. The twist? He loved it so much he plans to keep using the avatar for future presentations.

      But Klarna didn’t stop there. The company also launched an AI-powered “CEO hotline,” letting customers chat directly with a digital version of Siemiatkowski. Imagine calling up customer service and getting the CEO — sort of — on the line. The AI CEO listens, responds in real time, and even summarizes feedback for product teams. It’s a clever, if slightly uncanny, way to gather user insights, and it’s already live in the U.S. and Sweden. The only question: should we be flattered or freaked out when the boss’s voice is actually a bot?

      AI Email Wizards: The Good, the Bad and the ‘Did I Really Just Send That?’

      Over in the world of executive communications, AI is making its mark as the ultimate ghostwriter. Harvard Business Review recently highlighted the risks of CEOs using artificial intelligence to draft messages, noting that when people suspect an email is AI-generated, they tend to rate it as less helpful — even if it was actually written by a human. Still, the allure of AI email assistants is undeniable. Tools like Superhuman let executives draft, send, and track emails in a fraction of the time, freeing up hours for high-impact work. The best part? Execs can outline their thoughts in bullet points, let AI spin it into a narrative and add a personal touch before hitting send.

      But as with any new tech, there’s room for error. Imagine the CEO who accidentally sends a proposal in Python code instead of plain English — or, worse, one whose AI assistant drafts a legally binding offer with a typo. While these scenarios haven’t made headlines yet in banking, other industries have seen AI chatbots swear at customers, make up nonexistent policies and even create their own languages when left unchecked. It’s a reminder that, for all its power, artificial intelligence still needs a human safety net.

      The Funny Side of AI: When Technology Gets It Wrong (Or Just Weird)

      No discussion of executive AI would be complete without a nod to the lighter side. Take the case of a FinTech’s AI-powered identity verification system, which reportedly rejected a user’s driver’s license — eight times — no matter how it was photographed or scanned. Only after a human intervened (and the user provided every possible form of identification) was the issue resolved. The punchline? The AI’s inflexibility turned employees into “powerless minions,” waiting for the algorithm to make the final call.

      Then there’s the curious case of Air Canada’s chatbot, which promised a customer a bereavement discount that didn’t exist — a mistake that landed the airline in hot water with regulators. The lesson? Even the most advanced artificial intelligence can get it wrong, especially when it’s left to interpret complex policies without oversight.

      And let’s not forget the time a delivery company’s AI chatbot, after being provoked by users, started swearing at customers. The incident became a viral sensation and a cautionary tale about the importance of moderation in AI conversational tools.

      The Most Effective Uses: Where AI Shines

      For all the laughs, AI is also delivering serious results. American Express, for example, has used deep learning models to analyze billions of transactions, detect fraud in real time, and deliver personalized offers to customers. The result? Higher fraud detection rates, fewer false positives, and marketing campaigns with better ROI.

      Klarna, despite its recent pivot back to human customer service, has seen dramatic efficiency gains from AI. The company’s AI chatbot handled 2.3 million conversations in a single month — equivalent to the work of 700 full-time agents — and slashed average resolution times from 12 minutes to under two. Revenue per employee has soared, and Klarna has cut costs by replacing more than 1,200 external SaaS vendors with its own AI-powered stack.

      The Takeaway: AI Is a Tool, Not a Toy

      As executives continue to experiment with AI — whether as avatars, ghostwriters or customer service reps — the line between innovation and gimmickry is getting thinner. The most effective uses combine AI’s speed and scale with human judgment and empathy. The funniest? Well, those are the stories we’ll be telling at conferences for years to come.

      So here’s to the CEOs who aren’t afraid to let AI take the stage — just remember to keep a human in the loop, unless you want your next earnings call to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.