DIB 17 MAR 2025

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 888,179
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 17Mar2025
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: US Hit Targets in Yemen / Fighting Erupts on Lebanon-Syria Border / US Mid-South Storms Kill 40 / Judge Who Tried to Stop Deportations Targeted for Impeachment / Trump Declares Biden’s Pardons Null and Void / France Central Banker Names Cause of Next Crisis / Brazil Bill OKs Crypto Paychecks / South Korea Says No to SBR / North Korea in Top Three Spot of Bitcoin Holdings / Coinbase Becomes Government’s Go-To Custodian / Markets Not Happy / Zuckerberg Says Mobile Phone’s Days are Numbered / 40x Levered $368M Bitcoin Short Draws Attention

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $83,556, 27.85 oz Gold, .19 Median US House
24hr Hi: $85,051 / Lo: $82,017
Vol: $24B (Up 93%)
Mkt Cap: $1.65T (Even)
HashRate: 813 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 2 sats/vBtye (Up 100%)

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Fresh US strikes in Yemen with 53 now dead, Houthis say: Targets in the Al Jaouf and Hudaydah areas were hit early on Monday, according to the rebel group. The US launched what it called a “decisive and powerful” wave of air strikes on Houthi targets on Saturday as part of efforts to stop Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Washington says some key Houthi figures are among the dead, but the group has not confirmed this. “I want to be very clear, this campaign is about freedom of navigation and restoring deterrence,” Hegseth said in a televised Fox Business interview. (BBC)

2. Fighting erupts along Lebanon-Syria border after 3 Syrian soldiers killed in earlier clashes: Hezbollah denied involvement in the incident, while Syrian state media alleged that the Syrian army shelled Hezbollah gatherings that killed the Syrian soldiers. Though the clashes largely calmed before sunrise, Lebanese media reported low-level fighting at dawn after an attack on a Syrian military vehicle. (AP)

-US Events-
1. At Least 40 Dead, Over 160,000 Without Power Amid Devastating Storms In Midwest, South: On Saturday, at least 135 storms were reported across affected states, down from at least 557 storms reported Friday, but yesterday’s storms were still devastating, with some 34 of the storm systems being tornadoes. The storms that brought chaos from Texas to Alabama are expected to exit over the Atlantic overnight and head east. (IBTimes)

2. United States judge who blocked deportations faces an impeachment push: Texas Congressman Brandon Gill announced plans to file articles of impeachment against Judge Boasberg following his ruling against expedited deportations. Judge Boasberg ordered a 14-day pause on deportations while examining the legality of Trump’s actions under the Alien Enemies Act. Boasberg’s decision affected all non-citizens in U.S. Custody being deported under Trump’s authority from the Alien Enemies Act. (GroundNews)

3. Trump Declares Biden’s Pardons Void Over Autopen Issue: Former President Donald Trump has declared that the pardons issued by President Joe Biden are void, asserting they were signed with an autopen, not manually by Biden. This claim pertains to pardons given to members of the January 6th Select Committee, among others, raising questions about the legal validity of using an autopen for official presidential actions. (X, TruthSocial, DJT) (AC-Talk about a legal morass, this declaration is sure to tie up the courts and scare some of the pardoned.)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. France central bank governor says Trump is “sowing the seeds of future upheavals” by supporting crypto: Francois Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of Banque de France and the European Central Bank Governing Council’s member, believes U.S. president Donald Trump is making a huge mistake by supporting cryptocurrencies. “Financial crises often originate in the United States and spread to the rest of the world. By encouraging crypto-assets and non-bank finance, the American administration is sowing the seeds of future upheavals.” (CryptoSlate) (AC-There is both truth and ignorance in his statements, requiring an understanding of economic and monetary first principles to fully discern. It’s not Bitcoin that will bring the upheaval, crypto-maybe, but fiat and central control-certainly.)

2. Bitcoin Paychecks? Brazil Introduces Bill To Legalize BTC Salaries: The National Congress has recently introduced a new measure that aims to enable employees to receive a portion of their salaries in cryptocurrency. According to the measure, staff members could get up to half of their pay in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. (Bitcoinist)

-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
1. South Korea Rejects Bitcoin as Reserve Asset:vThe Bank of Korea has officially decided against the inclusion of Bitcoin in its foreign exchange reserves, emphasizing a cautious approach due to the cryptocurrency’s high volatility and its non-compliance with International Monetary Fund (IMF) criteria for reserve assets. (X, Various)

2. Is Kim Jong Stacking Sats? North Korea’s Bitcoin Haul Outranks El Salvador, Bhutan: As the U.S. gears up to launch a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), spurred by President Trump’s Executive Order, North Korea has slyly vaulted into the top three global holders of bitcoin. This shift comes amid suspicions that a hacking syndicate—suspected to be orchestrated by the North Korean government—has been funneling illicit gains into BTC, turning digital heists into a shadowy national savings account. The Lazarus syndicate now sits on 13,562 BTC, worth a cool $1.14 billion (BitcoinCom) (AC-Sophisticated and persistent hacking by Lazarus Group has indeed paid off.)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. Coinbase’s Government Network Expands—145 US and 29 Global Entities Onboard: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong highlighted the company’s expanding partnerships with government entities in a social media post last week. He shared: “Across federal, state, and local, Coinbase now works with 145 government entities in the U.S. and 29 government entities outside the U.S. In the wake of the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve launching, we’re seeing many more take an interest.” (BitcoinCom) (AC-If/When this honeypot is captured, chaos will ensue.)

-Economic Indicators-
1. US Futures Point to Lower Open: U.S. futures edged lower on Monday, with contracts on the three major indexes slipping about 0.2%, extending losses from the previous week when the Dow Jones recorded its steepest one-week decline since 2023. Investor sentiment was weighed down by comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said he’s not worried about the recent pullback in the sock market and that “corrections are healthy” (TradingEconomics)

2. US Consumer Sentiment Sinks in March: The University of Michigan consumer sentiment for the US plunged to 57.9 in March 2025, the lowest since November 2022, from 64.7 in February and well below forecasts of 63.1, preliminary estimates showed. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
NSTR

-Technology and Science-
1. Zuckerberg Declares the End of Mobile Phones: For nearly three decades, smartphones have ruled our lives—until now. If Mark Zuckerberg is right, their reign is coming to an end. In less than a decade, he predicts that smart glasses will take over as our main connection to the digital world, making smartphones a thing of the past. Meta, Apple, and other tech giants are pouring billions into augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to make this future a reality. (DailyGalaxy)

-Bitcoin Community-
1. Bitcoin whale bets $368M with 40x leverage on BTC decline ahead of FOMC: A large crypto investor, or whale, has opened a 40x leveraged short position for over 4,442 Bitcoin—worth over $368 million — which functions as a de facto bet on Bitcoin’s price fall. He faces liquidation if Bitcoin’s price surpasses $85,592. (CoinTelegraph)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 32/100 (Up 5 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR

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