DIB 26 MAR 2024

Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)

Block: 836,370

DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 26Mar24

Precedence: Routine (RR)

Controls: Public Release

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BLUF: Baltimore Key Bridge Collapses / Russia Extends Detention of WSJ Reporter / Former CIA Head Say ISIS-K is Capable / BTC ETFs Already Biggest for Blackrock, Fidelity / SWIFT to Launch CBDC Global Platform / China Hack Millions of Americans Over 14 Years

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $70,709, 32.16 oz Gold, .16 Median US House

24hr Hi: $71,535/ Lo: $66,894

Vol: $45B (Up 47%)

Mkt Cap: $1.39T (Up 6%)

HashRate: 557 EH/s

Avg Fees: 10.409 sats/tx (Up 101%)

Nodes: 18,233

—Reports—

-International Events-

1. Israel cancels Washington visit after US allows UN Gaza ceasefire resolution to pass: Tensions between the United States and Israel were exposed on Monday when Washington stood aside and allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The US decision to abstain on the vote prompted Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a scheduled trip to the US by two of his top advisers, two Israeli officials said. (CNN)

2. Russia extends detention of US WSJ reporter Gershkovich: The Moscow City Court ordered on Tuesday that the 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter remain behind bars until June 30 as he awaits trial on espionage charges. The United States embassy slammed the decision, which ensures that the journalist will spend a year at least in prison, as evidence that Russia is “using American citizens as pawns to achieve political ends”. (AlJazerra) (AC-The timing of this announcement alludes to a probable response to perceived US involvement or at least covering of the Moscow terrorist attack over the weekend. Russia has shown a skillful practice of using international prisoners for bargaining chips in international relations.)

3. Fmr. Obama CIA Head: ‘Very Capable’ ISIS-K ‘Much Stronger’ Post-Afghanistan Withdrawal: Michael Morell who served as acting and Deputy Director of the CIA under President Barack Obama said that the ISIS-K terror group is “very capable” and “it’s safe to say that ISIS-K is today is much stronger than it was when we walked out of Afghanistan in [2021].” Morell continued that the group “is now, I think, the strongest ISIS group in the world. (Breitbart) (AC-Putting together the clues that lead to the Moscow Terror attack, this report draws attention. Why would the former CIA director under Obama come out now to talk up the capability of ISIS-K? Does this legitimize ISIS claims? Why him? Intelligence operations are subtle and nuanced, so asking “why” questions often lead to higher probable answers in this domain.)

-US Events-

1. Baltimore Key Bridge collapses after ship collision: Rescue workers in Baltimore are searching for as many as seven people after a major bridge in the city’s port was struck by a container ship early Tuesday, officials said. Video shows the collapse of the 1.6-mile-long, four-lane bridge after it was hit by the vessel. The bridge extends over the Patapsco River and serves as the outermost crossing of the Baltimore harbor. It is an essential link of Interstate-695, or the Baltimore Beltway. (CNN)

-Regulatory and Legal-

1. Iceland’s Prime Minister Vows to Prioritize Food Security Over Bitcoin: Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir has vowed to focus more power on producing food internally while reducing the energy expenditure in data centers and bitcoin mining. Jakobsdóttir stated that while the country was working to achieve carbon neutrality, bitcoin and cryptocurrencies were “not part of that mission.” (BitcoinCom)

-Institutional Concerns-

1. Spot Bitcoin ETFs Already BlackRock & Fidelity’s Most Popular: Asset managers IBIT and FBTC Bitcoin ETFs account for more than half of their year-to-date flows. Blackrock noted that the product has “taken in double the inflows of their other 420 ETFs. As for Fidelity, BTC ETF accounts for “70% of Fidelity’s YTD flows and 5x more than any other of their ETFs.” (Watcher)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-

1. SWIFT planning launch of new central bank digital currency platform in 12-24 months: The move, which would be one of the most significant yet for the nascent CBDC ecosystem given SWIFT’s key role in global banking, is likely to be fine-tuned to when the first major ones are launched. Around 90% of the world’s central banks are now exploring digital versions of their currencies. Most don’t want to be left behind by bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but are grappling with technological complexities. (Reuters)

-Economic Indicators-

1. Treasury Yields Steady: The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note was around 4.24%, with traders awaiting further catalysts to assess the timing of the Fed’s rate cuts. PCE inflation, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is due Friday. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

1. Millions of Americans caught up in Chinese hacking plot: The hack targeted US officials and the Justice Department, the FBI said on Monday. Seven Chinese nationals have been charged with enacting a widespread cyber-attack campaign that ran for 14 years. The hackers had targeted US and foreign critics of China, businesses, and politicians. The emails they are accused of sending targets often appeared to be from prominent news outlets or journalists, containing hidden tracking links. If a person opened the email sent to them, their information – including their location and IP addresses – would be sent to a server allegedly controlled by the seven defendants. (BBC)

-Bitcoin Community-

NSTR

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 81/100 (Up 6 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): The SWIFT announcement is important to nation-state governments’ continued economic power in fiat currencies. With SWIFT building and launching a CBDC payments platform, it signals a new order in a world where CBDCs are key for cross-border payments, commercial payments, and global trade. This is where CBDCs will first become established before being pushed onto populations as a whole. The technical challenges at this level are easier than at population scales. What is interesting is how “pariah” states like BRICS will respond since they are often excluded from SWIFT. Will they adopt stronger systems like Bitcoin or build their own CBDC system in competition with SWIFT?