DIB 18 MAR 2024

Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)

Block: 835,225

DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 18Mar24

Precedence: Routine (RR)

Controls: Public Release

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BLUF: Putin Set to Run Russia for Another 6 Years / Niger Dissolving US Cooperation / SCOTUS Taking up Social Media Issues / Trump Says ‘Bloodbath”, Media Goes Crazy / Nigeria Good Study on Fiat Failures

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $68,298, 31.63 oz Gold, .16 Median US House

24hr Hi: $68,897/ Lo: $66,372

Vol: $41B (Down 26%)

Mkt Cap: $1.34T (Up 2%)

HashRate: 649 EH/s

Avg Fees: 8,976 sats/tx (Up 3%)

Nodes: 18,547

—Reports—

-International Events-

1. Putin extends his rule over Russia, claiming landslide win after election with no real opposition: Putin received 87.32% of the vote, Russia’s election commission said early Monday after more than 99% of ballots had been counted. Having led Russia for 24 years already, he will soon match Soviet leader Josef Stalin as the country’s longest-serving modern ruler. (NBC)

2. Israel to offer six-week Gaza truce for 40 hostages in Qatar talks, Israeli official says: Israel will send a high-level delegation headed by its Mossad chief to Qatar on Monday for mediated talks with Hamas designed to secure the release of 40 hostages in exchange for a six-week Gaza truce, an Israeli official said. (JerusalemPost)

3. Niger Termination of U.S. Military Ties Followed Accusation of Iran Uranium Deal: The decision to end military cooperation with the U.S. was announced Saturday night by a spokesman for the Nigerien junta. It deals a serious blow to the Biden administration’s efforts to contain a sprawling Islamist insurgency in the Sahel, the semiarid region south of the Sahara. It could affect a $110 million base that was built by the U.S. and is used to fly surveillance drones over West Africa. It could also possibly force the withdrawal of more than 600 American troops still stationed in Niger. (WJS)

-US Events-

1. Supreme Court weighs how far federal officials can go to combat controversial posts: the Supreme Court on Monday is taking up a dispute between Republican-led states and the Biden administration over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security. The justices are hearing arguments in a lawsuit filed by Louisiana, Missouri and other parties accusing officials in the Democratic administration of leaning on the social media platforms to unconstitutionally squelch conservative points of view. (AP)

2. Trump “Bloodbath” Comments Have Differing Interpretations in Medida: Biden Communications Director Tyler: Trump’s Bloodbath Comments ‘Endorsement of Political Violence’ (MSNBC); Biden campaign says Trump ‘wants another January 6’ after Ohio ‘bloodbath’ prediction (Independent); Joe Concha slams media members for taking Trump’s ‘bloodbath’ comment out of context: ‘A lie in all caps’ (Fox) (AC-In the first media salvo of the 2024 election season, Trump’s comments at a rally that were aimed at the Chinese Communist Party, not the US electorate, were taken fully out of context and spread like seed among the MSM headlines. As the narratives will continue to reinforce predetermined beliefs, this year’s news reporting will require work just to ascertain facts from agenda.)

-Regulatory and Legal-

1. Nigeria’s SEC Proposes 400% Increase to Crypto Firm Registration Fees: The regulator proposed increases to all supervision fees as the government blamed crypto for recent economic woes. The proposals come as the Nigerian naira weakens to record lows against the dollar, with the government blaming the crypto industry for facilitating illegal capital outflows. (CoinDesk)

-Institutional Concerns-

1. US Captures 83% of Spot Bitcoin ETF Market, Overtaking Canada: Countries where spot Bitcoin ETFs are incorporated are: G20 countries US, Canada, Germany, Brazil and Australia, the tax havens Bermuda, Jersey, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Guernsey. Hong Kong could be the first Asian country with a spot Bitcoin ETF, with regulators there prepared to receive applications. The US has established itself as the top country for spot Bitcoin ETFs, with $34.78 billion in combined assets across the 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs approved early this year. (CoinGecko)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-

NSTR

-Economic Indicators-

1. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet this week to decide on any changes on the Fed Interest Rate.

2, Brent Gains on Geopolitical Risks: Brent crude futures rose toward $86 per barrel on Monday, the highest since early November and extending gains from last week as heightened geopolitical risks continued to spark supply concerns. (TradingEconomics)

-Technological Updates-

NSTR

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

NSTR

-Bitcoin Community-

1. Bitcoin Miners Near Final Month Before Reward Halving Slashes Revenues: There are 34 days left until the Bitcoin network’s halving event, expected on or around April 20, 2024, which will reduce miners’ rewards by half. Bitcoin’s price has remained above $60,000 throughout March, reaching close to $74,000 on March 14. Between onchain fees and the price increase, these factors could offset revenue losses from the halving for miners. However, the halving will make mining much less profitable, particularly for those with high operational costs, potentially leading some to cease operations. (BitcoinCom)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 77/100 (Down 5 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): Studying the economic woes in Nigeria and the government lashing out against cryptocurrencies and exchanges, gives an idea of effects of government fiat money printing, it’s effect on populations, their attempts at running to safe stores of value, and the government’s reaction to stop it. It’s a good lesson in the battle for good money and how it may take place in other countries. In the case of Nigeria, rampant inflation is causing major economic woes for companies and civilians. The government then tried to force the population to adopt and use a CBDC which was quickly and roundly dismissed by the people. Cryptocurrencies, namely the USDC, was adopted quickly and the government targeted the exchanges, like Binance, recently running them out of the country. Continue to watch events unfold here as the fundamental dynamics give us a good preview of things to come in other countries.