Key trends in humanoid robotics

According to Samimi, recent trends in robotics include enhanced automation in the industrial and logistics sectors.

“We’re seeing a lot of new trends on foundation models and control stacks within the robotic sector, as well as new sorts of electronic assemblies to put all of these components together,” he explained, pointing to companies like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), BMW (ETR:BMW,OTC Pink:BMWKY) and Mercedes-Benz Group (ETR:MBG,OTC Pink:MBGAF) as current adopters of humanoid robots in factories and warehouses.

Additionally, Samimi highlighted that recent battery advances have improved energy density, enabling longer robot operation for industrial and logistics tasks. Meanwhile, lighter, more efficient actuators enhance precision and energy use, supporting dynamic interaction and human collaboration.

Finally, advances in robotics control systems are powered by cutting-edge AI algorithms. Platforms like RideScan, a Humanoid Global portfolio company, harness continuous, independent AI-driven monitoring, risk scoring and anomaly detection to optimize robot performance. The company recently filed a patent in the UK for its core AI technology

Samimi added that safety and reliability remain critical focal points amid these technological advances.

Advances in algorithms, machine learning and operational intelligence systems are enabling comprehensive, scalable safety and maintenance solutions for robots deployed across different facilities, supported by digital twin technologies and a closed-loop data cycle for continuous improvement.

Addressing labor shortages via robotics

Labor shortages and constrained supply chains are accelerating innovation by prompting industrial sectors to adopt robotics to augment limited labor resources.

The 2025 MHI Annual Industry Report, a document that covers emerging disruptive technologies, confirms robotics is thriving amid labor shortages and rising complexity in logistics and manufacturing.

During the US-Saudi Investment Forum, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk made a bold prediction about the long-term effects of robotics and AI: work will become optional, and money will be obsolete.

“I don’t know what long term is — maybe it’s 10, 20 years or something like that,” Musk said, adding that there is still a lot of work to be done before society gets to that point.

In the meantime, the workforce will likely see more human-robot collaboration. Samimi said he has observed that humanoid robots and collaborative robots (cobots) are increasingly taking over repetitive manual tasks.

“Human labor now shifts to more, higher-value tasks, rather than moving a warehouse box or a palette from A to B. So we’re seeing somewhat of a shift (that’s) helping make labor more scalable and more productive, and really less dependent on that shrinking labor pool,” he said.

Resource-heavy and industrial sectors present strong opportunities for robotics, especially amid a limited labor pool. Areas like agriculture, mining, pharmaceuticals and lumber stand to benefit from automation and upskilling via robotics.

Robotics investment thesis and portfolio evaluation

Humanoid Global views its role not only as an investor, but also as an ecosystem builder, actively fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing across its portfolio companies.

By strategically connecting early stage innovators with mature industry players, Humanoid Global seeks to accelerate the global deployment and scale of humanoid robotics technologies.

The firm emphasizes balancing risk across a portfolio that includes both disruptive technology developers and companies closer to full commercial deployment, allowing for diversified exposure while driving integrated growth.

Companies are evaluated with a strong prioritization for teams with proven execution capabilities and sustainable technological moats, such as proprietary IP or unique data networks. Scalability and clear go-to-market strategies are equally important, as is a strong safety architecture embedded in the technology.

This approach highlights the importance of strategic relationships, market education and risk-managed growth in realizing the transformative potential of humanoid robotics.

Building social license

Much of Debruyne’s role over the past five years has centered on improving engagement with Indigenous communities, many of which have deep historical grievances tied to land, water and the impact of large-scale resource extraction.

“It’s really about being the best neighbor possible,” he said.

But getting there has required fundamental shifts in mindset and method. One of the clearest examples is what Debruyne called the principle of horizontality — a change born from early missteps.

A decade ago, when communities questioned the mine’s hydrological impacts, SQM responded the way many industrial operators would: it sent engineers to explain the technical data.

“You would think that’s a great thing to do,” Debruyne said. “But we learned that’s not the right way, because community members aren’t hydrologists. There’s a vertical difference.”

Instead, SQM now helps communities secure independent experts of their choosing, ensuring conversations happen “on a horizontal level.” This shift has been crucial to rebuilding trust.

Just as important, Debruyne said, is abandoning the western notion of time.

“Communities have a different concept of time. It’s about giving them the time they need — taking information back, returning, iterating. You may think you’re doing things the right way, but there’s always room for improvement.”

Why social investment reduces risk

For Oxfam policy advisor Andrew Bogrand, these types of changes are not just ethical — they’re also practical.

The expert, who also spoke on the panel, noted that since 2010, more than 800 protests or violent incidents have occurred around mine sites globally, including 300 since 2021 alone.

Each one carries real costs: slowdowns, legal expenses, rising insurance premiums — and, as Bogrand pointed out, the hidden cost of executive time diverted to crisis management.

“There is a win-win solution,” he told the Benchmark Week audience. “It’s engaging communities, making sure everyone’s on the same page. Sometimes the solutions are very simple.”

As an example, he pointed to mining projects where warning messages were sent in English to communities that do not speak the language, or where key safety information was delivered over SMS when what residents needed was a physical noticeboard in their own dialect.

Bogrand described companies that “step over a dollar to pick up a penny” — refusing modest community requests, only to face shutdowns costing tens of millions of dollars.

Transparency: A tool, not a threat

Debruyne described transparency as one of SQM’s most effective tools, even if it initially felt counterintuitive.

A few years ago, the company made all hydrological data from its government reporting publicly accessible online.

“I was bracing myself,” he said, expecting to receive dozens of questions about brine levels. But counter to his fears, transparency defused tension rather than fueling it. “I received complete silence,’ Debruyne noted.

It also created a foundation for future collaboration, including joint environmental monitoring programs with communities that had refused to speak with SQM for years.

Moving slow to move fast

The tension between rapid industry growth and slow, iterative sustainability processes often surfaces in investor discussions. For Bogrand, the answer is simple: “You have to move slow to move fast.”

Rushing early stage engagement almost always backfires, he argued, while early investment in community relationships pays dividends across the life of a mine.

Debruyne echoed this idea, noting that patience, consistency and presence — not promises — win trust. In one case, SQM organized a visit for Atacama Indigenous women leaders to electric vehicle and battery plants in Germany and Poland, allowing them to see firsthand where lithium fits in a finished product.

One participant, surprised that the metal formed only a thin coating on a cathode, admitted she had imagined an “Avatar-like” scenario where mines destroyed massive volumes of land for each battery.

“Because they don’t have visibility on the value chain, they make interpretations, which is human,” Debruyne told listeners. “Dialogue is so important.”

Both Debruyne and Bogrand agree that the lithium supply chain cannot scale without social acceptance, credible transparency and deep engagement with affected communities.

As Debruyne noted, “Ultimately, it’s about people.”

Bitcoin and Ether price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$91,192.19, down by 0.2 percent over 24 hours.

Bitcoin price performance, November 28, 2025.

Chart via TradingView.

However, the expert added that whale selling is keeping upside momentum fragile, preventing Bitcoin’s recovery from becoming a sustained trend. Hasn also noted that while derivatives market indicators show some stabilization, the rebound lacks the aggressive leverage buildup that typically supports strong rallies.

Friday’s derivatives data reinforces this view. Open interest fell 0.13 percent over four hours as traders trimmed positions. Liquidations hit US$23.74 million, mostly in longs, clearing excess bets without sparking fresh buying.

The slightly negative funding rate of -0.001 percent shows shorts paying longs with no bullish premium, while Bitcoin’s relative strength index of 58 signals neutral momentum, not the overextension needed for a strong rally.

As Hasn explained:

“Bitcoin’s resilience this week is therefore being shaped by a supportive macro environment rather than internal strength. The mixed whale distribution pattern and the lack of sustained accumulation still underline that the market remains vulnerable. The next phase will likely depend on whether improving sentiment in equities can translate into more durable inflows across the crypto market.”

Meanwhile, Ether (ETH) was at US$3,057.17, up by 0.7 percent over 24 hours. Ether derivatives showed balanced consolidation: US$8.83 million in mixed long/short liquidations cleared positions evenly, while a 0.06 percent rise in open interest signals modest new bets. However, neutral funding at 0.001 percent lacks a bullish premium.

Altcoin price update

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$2.19, down by 1.8 percent over 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$137.88, down by 3.3 percent over 24 hours.

Fear and Greed Index snapshot

CMC’s Crypto Fear & Greed Index continued to climb steadily after plunging into ‘extreme fear’ territory in the last two weeks. It has currently settled at 20 and is inching closer to ‘fear.’

Bitcoin’s rebound from the mid-US$80,000 zone has triggered a swift shift in market sentiment. After the price briefly cooled near US$80,000, many expected a sluggish recovery phase. Instead, optimism snapped back, with the sentiment index rising 10 points over the week and marking one of its sharpest moves in recent months.

The increase corresponds with heavier buying activity and reduced caution among traders who had previously stayed on the sidelines during the cryptocurrency’s pullback.

CMC Crypto Fear and Greed Index, Bitcoin price and Bitcoin volume.

Chart via CoinMarketCap.

Today’s crypto news to know

Major CME Group outage halts futures trading

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) experienced a major outage on Friday due to a chiller plant malfunction at the CyrusOne CHI1 facility, halting trading in futures and options across equities, currencies, commodities, treasuries and FOREX.

The disruption started late on Thursday (November 27) and affected the Globex platform, which handles 90 percent of CME Group’s volume. The outage halted trading in Bitcoin and Ether futures for about nine to 11 hours, disrupting access to quotes and positions, but leaving spot crypto markets largely unaffected.

Visa expands stablecoin settlement push with Aquanow partnership

Visa (NYSE:V) has deepened its stablecoin strategy by teaming up with Aquanow to support faster settlement across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The deal plugs Aquanow’s infrastructure directly into Visa’s payment rails, allowing banks and payment firms in the region to settle transactions in approved stablecoins such as USDC.

Visa says the upgrade is aimed at institutions seeking cheaper and quicker cross-border settlement options as demand for digital asset rails grows. The company also aims to modernize the “back-end plumbing” of payments by reducing reliance on traditional networks with multiple intermediaries. Aquanow, which processes billions in crypto transactions each month, will provide liquidity and technical support for the integrations.

The collaboration follows Visa’s recent stablecoin payout pilot, Visa Direct, which lets businesses fund transactions in fiat while recipients opt to receive stablecoins directly in their wallets.

UK backs “no gain, no loss” tax model for DeFi activity

The UK government has endorsed a major shift in how DeFi transactions are taxed, moving to eliminate capital gains charges when users deposit tokens into lending protocols or liquidity pools.

Under the current rules, deposits can be treated as disposals, often generating tax liabilities even when investors haven’t realized any economic gain. HM Revenue & Customs’ updated guidance supports a “no gain, no loss” approach that would tax users only when they withdraw assets and eventually sell them.

The proposal comes after two years of industry feedback from firms, many of which argued that the existing system distorts reality and burdens ordinary users with excessive record keeping. The new model would apply to both simple lending and automated market makers, ensuring that only genuine gains or losses are captured for tax purposes.

Australia introduces digital assets bill

Australia has tabled a new digital assets bill aimed at ending years of regulatory uncertainty and preventing a repeat of past offshore failures such as FTX and Celsius.

The proposed Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 would require platforms holding customer crypto to meet the same licensing and conduct standards applied across the financial sector.

Officials said the legislation is designed to bring crypto businesses fully into the regulated economy, ensuring transparency, custody safeguards and clear accountability.

The bill includes exemptions for smaller operators that process under US$10 million annually and hold less than US$5,000 per customer, mirroring existing thresholds for low-risk financial products. The government argues that modernizing the rules could unlock as much as US$24 billion a year in productivity and efficiency gains.