DIB 12 MAR 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 834,351
DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 12Mar24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Haiti PM Agrees to Step Down / IDF Strikes Deep Into Lebanon / Ukraine Hits Targets Throuhout Russia / US Defense Spending to Drop 1% in Budget Battle / Biden Proposes 30% Tax on BTC Miners / BTC Miner Revenue at ATH

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $72,143, 33.18 oz Gold, .17 Median US House
24hr Hi: $72,850/ Lo: $71,339
Vol: $52B (Up 3%)
Mkt Cap: $1.41T (Even)
HashRate: 569 EH/s
Avg Fees: 11,105 sats/tx (Up 68%)
Nodes: 18,588

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Haiti’s prime minister says he’ll resign once a transitional council is created: The de-facto prime minister of Haiti has agreed to resign once a transitional presidential council is installed and interim prime minister is named. “The government will resign immediately after the installation of this Council and will remain in office to handle current affairs until the appointment of a Prime Minister and a new government,” Ariel Henry said in a video statement. The PM has been in Puerto Rico, unable to return due to lawlessness in the country. (NPR)

2. IDF strikes Hezbollah air unit sites deep in Lebanon; 100 rockets fired at north: The Israel Defense Forces carried out strikes deep in Lebanon late Monday, saying fighter jets hit a pair of sites belonging to the Hezbollah terror group.Hours after the strikes, on Tuesday morning, a barrage of some 70 rockets was launched from Lebanon at northern Israel, according to the IDF. It marked one of the largest barrages fired by the terror group amid the ongoing war. (TimesOfIsrael)

3. Two Fuel Depots Ablaze Following Drone Attacks Across 9 Russian Regions: Two Russian fuel depots were targeted in separate drone attacks early morning Tuesday, March 12, regional governors said, as Ukraine launched a barrage of strikes across multiple regions of Russia. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 25 Ukrainian drones were destroyed or intercepted across nine regions, including Moscow, Leningrad, Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Tula, and Oryol. (KyivPost)

-US Events-
1. Boeing whistleblower John Barnett found dead in South Carolina: A Boeing whistleblower was found dead in his truck in the parking lot of his South Carolina hotel after he failed to show up for the second part of his testimony for a bombshell lawsuit against the company, a report said Monday. John Barnett, 62, had raised safety concerns at the airline’s factories and provided his first testimony just days before he was found dead from an apparent “self-inflicted” gunshot wound, the Charleston County coroner told the BBC. (MarketWatch)

2. America’s Defense spending dragged into budget chaos: The Defense Department (DOD) still doesn’t have a full budget for 2024, faces a looming 1 percent across-the-board cut unless Congress can break its logjam, and is still reeling from years of high inflation. (TheHill) (AC- While China has increased defense spending this year over 7.2% (for several years now over 7%), the US is not meeting recruiting goals and facing at least a 1% DECREASE in spending. This relative weakening of the US professional military is a dangerous game which decreases the “Cost of Attack” for foreign powers.)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Biden Government Proposes 30% Electricity Tax for Miners, Citing Environmental Concerns: Crypto mining firms, under this new tax scheme, would need to report both the quantity and cost of electricity they consume. This includes companies that rely on off-grid power production. The tax is set to be introduced gradually over three years, starting at 10% and reaching 30% by the third year, effective from January 1, 2025. (BeInCrypto)

2. Donald Trump Calls BTC ‘an Additional Form of Currency’ — Says ‘I Sometimes Will Let People Pay Through Bitcoin’ (BitcoinCom)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. El Salvador Is Sitting on $84M Profit From Its Bitcoin Holdings: Bitcoin’s 250% rise over the past year has catapulted the Central American nation’s bitcoin treasury to over $206 million as of Tuesday, a 69% gain on initial capital so far. It holds 2,681 BTC, data shows, acquired over 12 separate purchases at an average cost of $42,600. (CoinDesk)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-
1. Israel announces plans for interest-bearing shekel CBDC: the Bank of Israel outlined that its shekel CBDC will be implemented in a two-tier model, with instant, 24/7 payments, multipayment support, offline use, limitations on balances and an option for the CBDC to become interest-bearing. (CoinTelegraph)

-Economic Indicators-
1. US Small Business Optimism Falls to 9-Month Low: The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index in the US edged down to 89.4 in February 2024, the lowest in nine months, from 89.9 in January, and below forecasts of 90.7. Twenty-three percent of small business owners reported that inflation was their single most important business problem. (TradingEconomics)

2. US CPI Data is due today and expected to remain stead at 3.1%.

-Technological Updates-
NSTR

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. February Hack on United Healthcare: The worst of its kind, recovery time uncertain: Authorities are trying to figure out how to recoup from a cyber-attack on a company in late February. Officials said, by this week, things would be back to normal, but they’re not. Far from it. Hackers have crippled Change Healthcare, a branch of the UnitedHealthcare group. As a result, many people are scrambling, trying to figure out how to get their medicine. The American Hospital Association calls what’s happening, “the most significant and consequential incident of its kind against the U.S. health care system in history.” (CBS12)

-Bitcoin Community-
1. Bitcoin miner revenue hits all-time high amid price surge: According to The Block data, the seven-day moving average of miner earnings hit $68.28 million on March 9, surpassing the previous all-time high of $67.15 million in May 2021. The revenue rose further to $68.35 million on Sunday. (TheBlock) (AC-BTC miner stocks were down yesterday from 3 to 9% due to the release of the proposed 30% tax on miner electricity.)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 81/100 (Down 1 pt)

Analyst Comments (AC): Bitcoin Miner stocks were down yesterday due to a proposed 30% US tax on miners while another report showed miner revenues at an all-time-high due to the increase in BTC price. The proposed tax is a de-facto ban on US mining activity and would have serious consequences on the industry. In an industry that already has small margins and its competitve advantage lies in cheap electricity, a tax of this sort is an existential threat to US mining. This is certainly a shot across the bow from the current administration to the Bitcoin community.

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Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report