DIB 12 FEB 2025

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 883,434
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 12Feb2025
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Canada’s 13 Premiers in DC to Fight Tariffs / UN Staff In Yemen Kidnapped / US Citizen Returned From Russian Prison / Judge Blocks DOGE Access to DOE Student Data / Sen. Lee Says US Privateers an Option / Fed Powell ‘Struck’ at De-Banking / Crypto Advocate Now CFTC Head / Goldman Sachs Buying BTC ETFs / Fed in No Rush to Cut Rates / Stocks Mixed / Quantum Startup Gets $230M / Fold Has New BTC Rewards Card / British Man Who Lost 7500 BTC May Buy Landfill / Solo Miner Hits Jackpot

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $96,555, 33.44 oz Gold, .22 Median US House
24hr Hi: $97,870 / Lo: $94,875
Vol: $36B (Up 16%)
Mkt Cap: $1.91T (Down 1%)
HashRate: 809 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 2 sats/vBtye (Even)

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Canada’s 13 premiers in Washington on mission to push back Trump’s tariff threats: Canada’s premiers are in Washington today to meet with lawmakers, business groups and lobbyists in a joint effort to push back on U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans for devastating duties. It is the first time all 13 premiers have travelled to the American capital together. The president signed executive orders Monday to impose 25 per cent levies on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, including Canadian products, starting March 12. (CityNewsCA)

2. UN suspends operations in Yemen’s Houthi stronghold after staff detained: The United Nations has temporarily paused all operations in Yemen’s Saada region after Houthi authorities detained eight more of its staff, a UN spokesman said. Seven UN agencies currently operate in Saada – a Houthi stronghold in Yemen’s north – including the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the children’s agency UNICEF. The Houthis, who did not immediately acknowledge the UN’s decision, have detained dozens of UN staff since 2021, and the group had at least 24 people in detention before the latest arrests. (AlJazeera) (AC-It seems strange for the UN to be so embedded in Yemen while the Houthi continue to attack ships in the Red Sea and lob missiles on Israel.)

-US Events-
1. Marc Fogel Returns to U.S., Meets Trump After Release from Russia: Marc Fogel, an American teacher detained in Russia for over three years on drug charges, has been released and returned to the U.S. His return was facilitated by negotiations led by President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Fogel expressed his gratitude to Trump and others involved in his release during an emotional meeting at the White House. (X) (AC-Two days ago, this headline from NBC: ‘Russia says U.S. relations are on brink of collapse’. It does not look like it.)

2. Judge sides with UC students, blocks DOGE from Education Department loan data: A federal judge ordered Elon Musk’s DOGE team to not access student financial aid data. Concern over DOGE actions grew this week after education researchers and industry groups reported that more than 169 contracts and $900 million in spending were cut from the department’s Institute of Education Sciences. (LATimes)

3. Sen. Mike Lee: Constitution Empowers Congress to Tap American ‘Pirates’ to Fight Cartels: The Constitution authorizes Congress in Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 to “grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal,” Lee said. As Marlow (Breitbart) opened the discussion with Lee, he noted letters of marque would be “a really creative tool” that could “weaken the drug cartels.” How many drug lords expect to contend with a civilian fleet of de facto “pirate ships” flying both American flags and Trump-Vance 2024 MAGA flags chasing them in the Gulf of America? Imagine that, while bands of American cowboys with shotguns, AR-15s, and pistols are patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border, with bands of former Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, Force Recon Marines, and Air Force Combat Controllers who are bored with their civilian jobs moving unseen in search of foreign hostile actors. (Breitbart) (AC-Certainly a provocative article, but not beyond the scope of possibility.)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Fed ‘Struck’ by De-Banking Surge—Powell Promises a Fresh Look: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Feb. 11, where Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) challenged him over the central bank’s handling of digital assets and its responsiveness to congressional oversight. He noted that in response to previous hearings, the Fed had already removed certain policies from its manual. Despite Powell’s assurances, Lummis and other lawmakers remained skeptical, continuing to push for stricter oversight and increased transparency. (BitcoinCom)

2. Donald Trump taps crypto advocate a16z’s Brian Quintenz for CFTC leadership: Donald Trump has reportedly selected Brian Quintenz, the current Head of Policy at a16z Crypto, to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Notably, a16z is a major crypto-focused venture capital firm and was a major financial force in the 2024 election, contributing $47 million to Fairshake and other political organizations. The crypto industry has long advocated for CFTC oversight, arguing that it would offer a more innovation-friendly regulatory approach than the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (CryptoSlate)

-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
NSTR

-Institutional Concerns-
1. Goldman Sachs Boosts Bitcoin ETF Holdings by 120% in Q4: Goldman Sachs has significantly increased its Bitcoin ETF holdings, now totaling $1.57 billion, with a 121.1% rise from the previous quarter. The bank’s largest exposure is in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, holding 24.07 million shares worth $1.27 billion. (Decrypt)

-Economic Indicators-
1. Powell Reaffirms That Fed Is In No Rush to Cut Rates: Fed Chair Powell reaffirmed in the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress that, with the Fed’s policy stance now significantly less restrictive and the economy remaining strong, there is no urgency to adjust the federal funds rate. (TradingEconomics)

2. US Stocks Struggle on Powell Remarks and Tariffs: US stocks faced a mixed session on Tuesday as investors weighed Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s cautious stance on interest rates and President Trump’s new 25% tariffs, which fueled concerns over a potential trade war. The S&P 500 was mostly muted, the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.3%, and the Dow gained 0.3%. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
NSTR

-Technology and Science-
1. Quantum computing company lands $230M in funding: QuEra Computing announced it has completed a funding round exceeding $230 million, with investments from Google’s Quantum AI and SoftBank Vision Fund, among others. The startup plans to use the funding to develop fault-tolerant quantum computing technology and aims to build a useful fully-quantum computer in the next three to five years. (GroundNews)

2. Fold Launches Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card: “This has been one of the most highly requested products,” Mitch Port, General Manager for Credit and Loans at Fold, told Bitcoin Magazine. “The majority of users like to spend on credit and earn in bitcoin.” Rewards for the card will vary depending on Fold membership level, generally 1.5 to 2%. (BitcoinMag)

-Bitcoin Community-
1. Man in Search of Lost Bitcoin Fortune Wants to Buy the Landfill Where He Swears It’s Buried: James Howells, a British IT worker who mined himself a sizable fortune of the cryptocurrency before accidentally throwing away the hard drive he stored the key on, is mulling buying the entire stretch of land where he suspects the drive to be buried just so he can try to dig it up. (Gizmodo) (AC-7500 BTC!)

2. Solo miner snags Bitcoin block reward worth $300K: Bitcoin miner Marshall Long said in a Feb. 10 X post that the miner was using an implementation of the CKPOOL but said they didn’t “seem to be from CKPOOL directly.” He speculated the lucky miner might have used a Bitaxe. (CoinTelegraph)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 46/100 (Down 1 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): With all the lawsuits piling up against the Trump administration, it seems we are in a bull market for constitutional lawyers.

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