DIB 17 FEB 2025

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 884, 189
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 17Feb2025
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Russia-US to Talk Ukraine, Without Ukraine / Hamas Releases 3 Hostages, 70 More to Go / Floods in KY Kill 9 / DOGE Moves to FAA / Reversal of Nuke Employees Let Go / Tether Lobbies Stablecoin Regs / Milei in Crosshairs After Memecoin Involvement / Rand Paul Seeks Gold Audit / Russia Says G7 Useless, But Not BRICS / BTC ETFs in Red Last Week / Scammers Target Saudis / Commercial Moon Landing on March 2nd

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $96,408, 32.25 oz Gold, .22 Median US House
24hr Hi: $97,275 / Lo: $95,835
Vol: $22B (Up 40%)
Mkt Cap: $1.91T (Even)
HashRate: 822 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 1 sats/vBtye (Down 75%)

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Russia and US confirm Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia: Top Russian officials will hold talks with U.S. Counterparts on Tuesday to discuss restoring ties and a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, according to the Kremlin. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the U.S. Delegation, which includes Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and national security adviser Mike Waltz. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated he will not accept negotiations regarding Ukraine that do not include his country. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, emphasized that Ukraine has no intention of participating in the U.S.-Russia meetings, declaring that there is nothing on the negotiating table worth discussing. (GroundNews)

2. Trump takes swipe at Hamas after release of hostages including American citizen: Following release of three more Israeli hostages including an American father of three, US President Donald Trump congratulated them and extended his support. He, however, clarified that he wanted the release of all the hostages. In a strong message, the POTUS asserted that he would back Israel in any future decisions they make regarding the tenuous cease-fire with the terrorist group Hamas. (HindustanTimes) (AC=The distinction is “all hostages” that is drawing attention. Hamas has not done that and at least 70 hostages continue to be held.)

-US Events-
1. Flooding leads to levee failure in Tennessee, 9 deaths in Kentucky with high-water rescues continuing: Hundreds of roads have been closed in Kentucky, and countless water rescues have been ongoing across the region due to the catastrophic and historic flooding from the Tennessee Valley to the Appalachians. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at least nine deaths have been caused by the flooding. (Fox)

2. Musk’s DOGE team to visit US FAA command center on Monday: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy disclosed the plan in a social media post on Sunday. DOGE personnel will “get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system,” he added. (Reuters)

3. Trump administration tries to bring back fired nuclear weapons workers in DOGE reversal: The Trump administration has halted the firings of hundreds of federal employees who were tasked with working on the nation’s nuclear weapons programs, in an about-face that has left workers confused and experts cautioning that DOGE’s blind cost cutting will put communities at risk. By late Friday night, the agency’s acting director, Teresa Robbins, issued a memo rescinding the firings for all but 28 of those hundreds of fired staff members. (AP)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Tether Actively Engaging With U.S. Lawmakers to Shape Stablecoin Regulatory Framework: Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin USDT, is actively engaging with U.S. lawmakers to influence regulations governing fiat-backed digital currencies. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told Fox Business that the firm would “try to advise on every single one” of the three stablecoin bills introduced last week in the House and Senate. (Fox)

2. Argentine lawyers accuse President Milei of fraud over cryptocurrency promotion: On Friday, Milei posted on X about $LIBRA, a coin that he said was aimed at “encouraging economic growth by funding small businesses and startups.” He deleted the post a few hours later and the value of the currency collapsed, causing millions of dollars in losses to its brief investors. (AP)

-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
1. Don’t Trust, Verify: Senator Rand Paul Proposes an Audit of Fort Knox’s Gold: During an online exchange involving news outlet Zerohedge and D.O.G.E. head Elon Musk, Rand Paul explained that Fort Knox’s gold reserves weren’t audited yearly. Paul proposed to help Musk conduct this audit and verify that the purported $425 billion worth of gold is still held there. (BitcoinCom)

2. Russia Prioritizes BRICS and G20, Calls G7 ‘Outdated’ and Irrelevant: Russia is prioritizing BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Group of Twenty (G20) over the Group of Seven (G7), which it views as outdated, according to Oleg Stepanov, Russia’s ambassador to Canada. (BitcoinCom)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. Red Week for Bitcoin and Ether ETFs With Net Outflows of $581.23 Million and $26.3 Million. (BitcoinCom)

-Economic Indicators-
1. US Stocks Lack Direction: The three major averages in the US were little changed on Friday, as traders digest much weaker-than-expected retail sales that raised concerns about the strength of the US consumer spending. Retail sales declined 0.9% last month and the control sales which is used to calculate GDP declined 0.8%. Consumer spending was likely hit by harsh weather and wildfires in LA. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Saudi crown prince impersonators launch fake Saudi Arabia memecoin: Scammers impersonating Saudi Arabia’s crown prince launched a fake KSA memecoin, exploiting investor enthusiasm for celebrity-backed tokens. Officials have confirmed the account was hacked.

2. Fake YT Emails Deceive Users into Downloading Malware: First, the user receives an email that appears to be from YouTube, requesting him or her to take immediate action. It’s important to note that the message includes a link that redirects the user to a private YouTube video. Next, the video description has a link to a password-protected DocuSign page. Once everything is done, the malware installation will take place. (TechTImes)

-Technology and Science-
1. NASA Sets Coverage of Firefly’s First Robotic Commercial Moon Landing: With a suite of NASA science and technology on board, Firefly Aerospace is targeting no earlier than 3:45 a.m. EST on Sunday, March 2, to land the Blue Ghost lunar lander on the Moon. NASA continues to work with multiple American companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface through the agency’s CLPS initiative. (NASA)

-Bitcoin Community-
NSTR

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 51/100 (UP 3 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR

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