DIB 13 AUG 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 856,590
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 13Aug24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ

BLUF: Ukraine Holds Section of Kursk / British Immigration Riots Peak, New Knife Killing of Girl / Bangladesh Charges Ex-PM With Murder / Musk and Trump Riff on X After Tech Issues Delay / Chokepoint 2.0 In Effect / Zimbabwe To End Dollar Use / BTC More Volatile on Weekends / DEFCon Hacks Voting Machines, Again / China Chases NVIDIA / MARA Prints “Made in USA” on Blocks / Technology Can Fix Election Honesty

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $58,856, 23.89 oz Gold, .14 Median US House
24hr Hi: $60,680 / Lo: $57,860
Vol: $32B (Up 10%)
Mkt Cap: $1.16T (Down 1%)
HashRate: 575 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 3 sats/vBtye (Down 55%)
Nodes: 19,623

—Reports—
-International Events-

  1. Top Ukrainian commander says his forces now control almost 390 square miles of Russia’s Kursk region: “The troops are fulfilling their tasks. Fighting continues actually along the entire front line. The situation is under our control,” Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said. (AP)
  2. Britain is hoping its riots have peaked. But the far right is lingering, and more trouble could lie ahead: It was meant to be another night of violence at the hands of the far right. A list of target addresses for far-right protests, seen by CNN, had been circulating on Telegram channels and then on social media for days, raising alarm that the racist attacks on Muslims and asylum seekers over the weekend would return. Wednesday felt like a turning point after a string of violence that had put a country on edge and thrown its new government into a sudden crisis. (CNN)
  3. UK: Man stabbed girl, 11, eight times, court told: A 32-year-old man has appeared in court charged with attempted murder after an 11-year-old girl was stabbed in London’s Leicester Square on Monday. Ioan Pintaru, a Romanian national with no fixed address, is also charged with possession of a bladed article. (AP)
  4. Bangladesh’s ex-PM investigated for murder: A murder investigation has been opened into Bangladesh’s ex-premier Sheikh Hasina over the police killing of a man during civil unrest last month. Six other top figures in the previous government are also being investigated following weeks of deadly unrest in the capital Dhaka. Ms Hasina resigned and left the country earlier this month, fleeing to New Delhi, India after political unrest destabilized the government. (BBC)

-US Events-

  1. Musk hosts friendly chat with Trump on X after tech delays: The conversation, in which Mr Musk asked friendly questions on subjects such as immigration and inflation, began more than 40 minutes late as many users struggled to gain access. The two men touched on a range of issues, from the assassination attempt on Trump last month at a Pennsylvania rally, to his wanting the US to get an “Iron Dome” missile defence system like the one in Israel as well as immigration, a key plank of his campaign. As many users struggled to access the livestream, Mr Musk blamed “a massive DDoS attack on X” for the problems in a post. (BBC)

-Regulatory and Legal-

  1. Tyler Winklevoss Warns Operation Chokepoint 2.0 Remains in Full Swing: Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of U.S.-based exchange Gemini and VC firm Winklevoss Capital, has alerted about the ongoing status of Operation Chokepoint 2.0, a plan directed to difficult banking access to crypto companies. Winklevoss’ remarks come after the Federal Reserve found Customers Bank, a crypto-friendly bank, had “deficiencies” in compliance with anti-money laundering requirements. (BitcoinCom)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies-

  1. Zimbabwe to Unveil Roadmap to End Dollar Use, Cabinet Says: Zimbabwe’s cabinet said it has approved a roadmap to abandon US dollars in favor of its bullion-backed currency in transactions, a strategy that Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube may unveil next week. “On modalities to operationalize the ZiG CBDC currency as legal tender for use in the economy, a dedollarization roadmap is now in place,” (Bloomberg)

-Institutional Concerns-

  1. Bitcoin risks ‘sharp weekend price swings’ as ETFs suck up liquidity: Bitcoin has become more susceptible to wild weekend volatility since the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the United States, according to Kaiko Research. In an Aug. 12 report, Kaiko’s crypto analysts noted Bitcoin’s liquidity has become more concentrated on weekdays, particularly in BTC/US dollar markets. (CoinTelegraph)

-Economic Indicators-

  1. US Factory Gate Prices Expected to Rise Moderately: Factory gate prices in the US are projected to have risen by 0.2% month-over-month in July 2024, maintaining the same pace as in June. The core producer price index, which excludes volatile categories like food and energy, is also expected to increase by 0.2%, a slowdown from the previous month’s 0.4% rise. (TradingEconomics)
  2. US Futures Mixed Ahead PPI Data: US futures were mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited key inflation data. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up slightly, while Dow Jones futures fell over 100 points. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

  1. The nation’s best hackers found vulnerabilities in voting machines — but no time to fix them: Organizers and participants at the DEF CON Voting Village found cyber vulnerabilities in everything from voting machines to e-poll books, but there is no time before the November elections to fully implement their findings. “If you don’t think this kind of place is running 24/7 in China, Russia, you’re kidding yourselves,” Harri Hursti said, gesturing around the room of voting equipment. “We are here only for two and a half days, and we find stuff…it would be stupid to assume that the adversaries don’t have absolute access to everything.” (Politico) (AC-See AC below)

-Technology and Science-

  1. Huawei Readies New Chip to Challenge Nvidia, Surmounting U.S. Sanctions: Chinese internet companies and telecommunications operators have been testing Huawei’s latest processor, called Ascend 910C, in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. Huawei told potential clients that the new chip is comparable to Nvidia’s H100, which was introduced last year and isn’t directly available in China, the people said. (WSJ)

-Bitcoin Community-

  1. Marathon Digital stamps ‘Made in USA’ on Bitcoin blocks mined: Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel underscored the company’s commitment to labeling blocks made in the US with a stamp. According to Thiel, every block mined by their MARA Pool in the United States will be stamped “Made in USA.” (CoinTelegraph)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

  1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 31/100 (Up 6 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): With election season in full swing in the US, every aspect of electoral process is clouded in purposeful confusion. The candidate narratives, media coverage, social media spin, election process and legal aspects of the US election are as clear as mud. Within this confusion lies the opportunity to design and steer the results in a direction that does not suit the citizen voter. The democratic process is broken in the US and faith in the system is at a low. As with many problems, technology often provides an actual solution if human nature would concede. The latest guest on the Bitcoin Veterans podcast outlined a system now in use in Guatemala that uses checks and balances, combined with immutable confirmation on the Bitcoin blockchain to implement one of the most honest elections held in the world. The time is ripe to explore such a hopeful project and prepare for the dishonest broker onslaught in the US. For an introduction, consider watching the short film: https://film.simpleproof.com/

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Analyst: BV2A
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report