DIB 3 JUN 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)

Block: 846,350

DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 3Jun24

Precedence: Routine (RR)

Controls: Public Release

QQQQ

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BLUF: Mexico Elects First Woman President, Peso Falls / Ahmadinejad Re-emerges in Iran / Israel Will Not Accept Hamas Rule / Hunter Biden Trial Beginning / Trump Joins TikTok / Donald Jr Meets With Bukele / Biden Vetos SAB 121 Law / Australia Launches Spot BTC ETF / Ripple Leads CBDC Tech / $300M BTC Hack on Japanese Exchange / China Lands on Far Side of Moon / 6.8% of World own ‘Crypto’

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $69,134, 29.65 oz Gold, .16 Median US House

24hr Hi: $69,313 / Lo: $67,315

Vol: $24B (Up 92%)

Mkt Cap: $1.36T (Up 1%)

HashRate: 710 EH/s

Avg Fee Rate: 21 sats/vBtye (Down 35%)

Nodes: 18,434

—Reports—

-International Events-

1. Claudia Sheinbaum projected to be Mexico’s first woman president: The climate scientist and Mexico City’s former mayor rode the wave of popularity of her longtime political ally, outgoing leftist Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and their Morena party. (CNN)

2. Iran’s former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registers for presidential election: Iran’s hard-line former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registered Sunday as a possible candidate for the presidential election, seeking to regain the country’s top political position after a helicopter crash killed the nation’s president. (NYT)

3. ‘We will not accept the rule of Hamas in Gaza at any stage’: Israel: ‘We will not accept the rule of Hamas in Gaza at any stage’: Israel won’t accept Hamas’s rule of Gaza and is examining alternatives, its defence minister said, a further indication it’s brushing aside a ceasefire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden as Palestinian fighters continue to resist the invasion. “While we conduct our important military actions, the defence establishment is simultaneously assessing a governing alternative to Hamas,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement on Sunday.(AlJazeera)

-US Events-

1. Jury selection is beginning in gun case against President Joe Biden’s son: Hunter Biden, who spent the weekend with his father, has been charged with three felonies stemming from a 2018 firearm purchase when he was, according to his memoir, in the throes of a crack addiction. He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application used to screen firearms applicants when he said he was not a drug user, and illegally having the gun for 11 days. (AP)

2. Donald Trump joins TikTok and rapidly wins three million followers: The decision to join the platform on Saturday could help the former president reach younger voters in his third bid for the White House. Biden’s election campaign is already on TikTok, with over 340,000 followers, although Biden has signed a bill that would ban the app, which is used by 170 million Americans, if its Chinese owner ByteDance fails to divest it. (Reuters)

3. El Salvador’s President Tells Donald Trump Jr.: ‘We Don’t Jail the Opposition’: El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele told Donald Trump Jr. that his country does not “jail the opposition,” days after a Manhattan jury convicted former President Donald Trump.

-Regulatory and Legal-

1. U.S. President Biden Vetoes Resolution Overturning SEC Guidance:: SAB 121 is a controversial piece of SEC accounting guidance that directs financial institutions holding crypto for customers to keep the assets on their own balance sheets. Critics of the guidance say it makes it too difficult for financial institutions to work with crypto companies. In his statement announcing the veto, Biden said he would not support any “measures that jeopardize the well-being of consumers and investors.”

-Institutional Concerns-

1. Mexican Billionaire Ricardo Salinas Urges Followers to Buy Bitcoin as Nigerian Naira Falls Under a Satoshi: The top 1% is starting to realize the opportunities that bitcoin, as a financial asset, can bring as a hedge for fiat currency devaluation. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, a Mexican entrepreneur with a fortune worth over $14 billion and owner of Salinas Group, has recommended its followers on X to purchase bitcoin and take advantage of its constant appreciation in value. The Nigerian official currency has been facing a rough period, becoming the worst-performing currency against the U.S. dollar in May. This has prompted a series of measures from the Nigerian government to try stabilizing the currency, cracking down on crypto operators to force them to withdraw it from their platforms, and accusing them of currency manipulation. (BitcoinCom)

2. Australia’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF With Direct BTC Holdings to Go Live on Tuesday: Australia-based Monochrome Asset Management’s Monochrome bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) (IBTC) will begin trading on the Cboe Australia exchange on Tuesday, the company told CoinDesk. The product is the first and only ETF that holds bitcoin directly in Australia, the company said. (CoinDesk)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-

1. Ripple Leads the Charge in CBDC Adoption Across Dozens of Countries: CBDCs and tokenisation are the two blockchain use cases that every stakeholder has rallied behind, from crypto enthusiasts to global behemoths and regulators. Ripple is in prime position to become a global leader in both, with the XRP Ledger emerging as one of the best technologies to issue digital currencies and tokens. (CryptoNewsFlash) (AC-Although this article is designed to praise the efforts of Ripple, it not only highlights the company’s efforts to join forces with governments in creating and lobbying for CBDCs, but it also conflates crypto, blockchain and CBDCs to the point of confusing any readers of the nuance between them. The lesson is clear, Ripple is not a friend of bitcoin, self-custody, or P2P self-sovereignty. Look for Ripple to befriend government control entities and vice versa. )

-Economic Indicators-

1. Mexican Peso Plunges After Election: The Mexican peso plunged toward 17.5 per USD in June, the lowest since November 2023, after preliminary counts pointed to a supermajority win of the Moderna party and its allies in the Mexican Congress, increasing the state’s control over the economy. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

1. Japanese Exchange DMM Bitcoin Suffers Significant Hack, Over $300M Stolen From Wallet: The breach occurred around 1:30 pm local time, with DMM Bitcoin reporting that approximately 4,503 BTC, valued at around $308 million at the time, had been “illegally leaked” from its wallet. The company has yet to provide details on how the hack was executed but confirmed that an investigation is underway and measures are being taken to prevent future attacks. This hack is the most substantial crypto-related exploit the industry has faced in some time. It surpasses any hack seen so far this year or in 2023.(Yahoo)

-Technology-

1. China Makes Historic Landing on Far Side of Moon to Collect Lunar Samples: The landing took place in the enormous crater known as the South Pole-Aitken Basin at 6:23 a.m. Beijing time, as reported by AP News. This is the sixth Chang’e lunar exploration mission, named after the Chinese moon goddess. (TechTimes)

-Bitcoin Community-

1. Global Crypto Ownership Reaches 562 Million: 6.8% of World Population Now Own and Use Digital Currencies: A new report reveals that 562 million people globally now own digital currencies, an increase from 420 million in 2023, making up 6.8% of the world’s population. Asia is at the forefront of this growth, with North America close behind. Overall, cryptocurrency adoption is rising worldwide, with notable increases seen across all continents. Triple A, a fintech company that enables businesses to process digital currency payments and payouts, recently published a report, titled “The State of Global Cryptocurrency Ownership in 2024,” (BitcoinCom)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 73/100 (Even)

Analyst Comments (AC): It sounds innocuous, but the Chinese landing on the far side of the moon is significant for those of us who understand military positioning. In military doctrine, holding the ‘high ground’ is key to controlling an area. The far side of the moon is THE most significant ‘high ground’ covering the earth with a built in defense of mass. Imagine what might be stored on the back side of the moon, secure from attack, but can move out to target anything on earth.