DIB 16 APR 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)

Block: 839,481

DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 16Apr24

Precedence: Routine (RR)

Controls: Public Release

QQQQ

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BLUF: Sydney Church Stabbing Declared Terrorism / Fire in Copenhagen Destroys Old Stock Exchange / FBI Investigating Baltimore Bridge Collapse / SCOTUS Looks at Law Used on Jan 6th Rioters / CO Bans ARs and Threaded Barrels / Russia Central Bank Says OK to Crypto for International Payments

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $63,114, 26.40 oz Gold, .15 Median US House

24hr Hi: $66,441/ Lo: $61,716

Vol: $46B (Up 7%)

Mkt Cap: $1.24T (Down 5%)

HashRate: 547 EH/s

Avg Fees: 21,664 sats/tx (Up 37%)

Nodes: 18,484

—Reports—

-International Events-

1. Spire collapses after fire rips through Copenhagen’s old stock exchange: A huge fire has engulfed Copenhagen’s old stock exchange, one of the Danish capital’s most famous landmarks, causing its spire to collapse as staff and citizens scrambled to rescue paintings and historic artifacts from the blaze. A “piece of Danish history” is on fire, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, calling the building’s cultural heritage “irreplaceable.” (CNN)

2. Sydney church stabbing was a ‘terrorist’ attack, police say: A 16-year-old boy was arrested after a bishop, a priest and churchgoers were attacked during mass at the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church. At least four people suffered “non-life-threatening” injuries, police say. The attacker was also hurt. Australian police define terror offenses as being ideologically motivated. Investigations are still under way, but they say they are satisfied this is a case of religious extremism. (BBC)

-US Events-

1. FBI boards ship amid investigation into what caused Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse : The FBI on Monday raided the container ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge nearly three weeks ago as part of an investigation into the deadly bridge collapse. Agents boarded the Dali Monday morning and were “conducting court authorized law enforcement activity,” a spokesperson for the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office said Monday, declining to comment further. (BaltimoreSun)

2. Supreme Court’s Review of Jan. 6 Charge Has Already Freed Some Rioters: Federal judges have agreed to release about 10 defendants who were serving prison terms because of their convictions under an obstruction law. A small group of people convicted under the law have been released from custody — or will soon go free — even though the justices hearing arguments on Tuesday are not expected to decide the case for months. (NYT)

3. Colorado House Democrats Pass Bill Banning AR-15s and 9mm Pistols with Threaded Barrels: HB24-1292 makes clear that a semiautomatic handgun of any caliber would be banned if it takes a detachable magazine and has a threaded barrel. Colorado Public Radio noted that the ban passed the House Sunday on a vote of 35 to 27. (Breitbart)

-Regulatory and Legal-

1. UK to propose clearer crypto regulations by July: The U.K.’s economic secretary to the Treasury, Bim Afolami, said the government’s priority is improving the payments landscape and providing regulatory clarity for digital assets and blockchain. (CoinTelegraph)

2. Coinbase initiates appeal against SEC on investment contract classification for digital assets: Coinbase has filed a motion to appeal a judge’s decision from last month that allowed the SEC’s lawsuit against them to proceed, said Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, in an X post today. The appeal, if granted, would allow the Second Circuit Court to review the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) authority to classify certain digital asset transactions as investment contracts, potentially suspending the ongoing trial. (CryptoBriefng)

-Institutional Concerns-

NSTR

-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-

1. Bank of Russia Supports Cryptocurrency Usage for International Settlements: The Bank of Russia has announced that it will support accelerating the adoption of cryptocurrency payments for international settlements. According to Elvira Nabiullina, governor of the Bank of Russia, these crypto-based payments must be launched in a sandbox-style experimental regime. In contrast, payments with national digital assets will be launched without similar precautions. (BitcoinCom)

-Economic Indicators-

1. US 10Y Bond Yield Hits 22-week High: US 10 Year Government Bond Yield increased to a 22-week high of 4.67%. Over the past 4 weeks, US 10 Year Note Bond Yield gained 31.60 basis points, and in the last 12 months, it increased 106.50 basis points. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

NSTR

-Technology-

1. Elon Musk plans to charge new X users to enable posting: In reply to an X account that posted about changes on X’s website, Musk said charging a small fee to new accounts was the “only way” to stop the “onslaught of bots.” (TechCrunch)

-Bitcoin Community-

NSTR

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 65/100 (Down 9 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): Bitcoin excitement in the broader community is waning, just before the halving. Reasons could be attributed to global tensions, continued negative media reports or selling of ETFs like Grayscale. No matter the reason, whales continue to buy BTC as do the retail stackers. Miners are also adjusting stacks based on halving dynamics which could be causing some pricing weakness. With the halving happening this week, supply will decline and eventually bitcoin will be seen as a safer haven than most assets, driving demand.