DIB 19 AUG 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 857,473
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 19Aug24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ

BLUF: Ukraine Extends Russian Lines Via Kursk Operation / China, Philippines Scrap in SCS Again / Conservative Rioters Overcrowd UK Prisons / Hurricane Ernesto Heads to Nova Scotia / DNC Begins Today in Chicago / Candace Owens Ignites a Fire Over Israel / Winklevoss Wants ‘Crypto” Owners to Influence Harris / Venezuela Iron Curtain Falls, Affects Binance / Kazakhstan Jails Crypto Miner / Germans Like Cash Over CBDC / India Central Bank Says CBDCs Could Replace Bank Deposits / Iran Uses ChatGPT to Influence US Elections / X Shuts Down Brazil Office

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $58,168, 23.42 oz Gold, .14 Median US House
24hr Hi: $60,262 / Lo: $57,864
Vol: $21B (Up 35%)
Mkt Cap: $1.15T (Even)
HashRate: 566 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 3 sats/vBtye (Even)-Very Low!
Nodes: 19,449

—Reports—
-International Events-

Ukraine aims to create Kursk ‘buffer zone,’ Zelensky says, as Kyiv’s forces blow up second Russian bridge: Ukrainian forces are inching forward in Kursk amid fighting following the launch of their surprise military operation there nearly two weeks ago. But Ukraine also remains under pressure in its occupied east as Russian forces advance toward a key military hub. The Kursk offensive has left Russia struggling to shore up its own territory. Kyiv seems to have multiple goals with the assault, from boosting morale after a torrid few months to stretching Russia’s resources. (CNN) (AC-The Kursk incursion is low hanging fruit on the geographical front with Russia. Ukraine has extended the front lines, opening up transport lines to drone and other standoff targeting.)
Chinese, Philippine ships collide in South China Sea: China accused the Philippine vessels of “deliberately” colliding with the Chinese ship near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. Manila and Beijing had come to a “provisional arrangement” aimed at ending altercations. (DW) (AC-Even after a joint agreement to keep the peace near the area, strategic objectives of both nations are on the line. The country who backs down first will lose claim and access to the area.)
UK: Jailed rioters may trigger prison overcrowding plan: Operation Early Dawn, a contingency that allows defendants waiting for a court appearance to be kept in police cells until prison space is available, could be used. The government announced quick sentencing for those involved in the riots that followed the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport, leading to hundreds appearing in courts across the UK. (BBC)

-US Events-

Hurricane Ernesto continues to strengthen as it heads for Canada: Ernesto continued to gather strength early Monday after regaining hurricane status overnight, according to forecasters who warn it is setting its sights on Canada after striking Bermuda as a Category 1 storm. Ernesto was located about 340 miles south-southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. (UPI)
Harris arrives in Chicago for Democratic convention: Kamala Harris has arrived in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention (DNC), where she will be formally confirmed as the party’s presidential candidate. Ms Harris is expected to join President Biden on stage when he addresses the convention on Monday. Security around the venue is tight ahead of the four-day event, with tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters expected to rally in Chicago. (BBC) (AC- US Media sources are so slanted one way or another that even the facts around the DNC are distorted.)
Candace Owens hosted a space show on X last night that had over 1M viewers, where she went ‘scorched-earth’ on the modern incarnation of Israel. Media outlets are not even covering the dialogue except a few Israeli outlets, obviously condemning the attacks. (Various)

-Regulatory and Legal-

50 Million US Crypto Owners Urged to Push Kamala Harris to Fire SEC Chair Before Election: Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini, has called on the 50 million American cryptocurrency owners to unite and press Vice President Kamala Harris to fire U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler before the upcoming presidential election in November. He believes this action could end the “war on crypto” and make the crypto issue bipartisan. (BitcoinCom)
Venezuelan Government Blocks Binance, Cutting P2P Market Access for Thousands: According to local media, state-owned telecom and internet service provider (ISP) CANTV has blocked access to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The measure, potentially affecting thousands, has been taken as part of a series of blocks implemented against other services, applying similar actions against Mercado Libre, Signal, Reddit, and others like X. (BitcoinCom)
Kazakhstan Crypto Crackdown Continues: A court in Kazakhstan convicted a defendant accused of illegal cryptocurrency activity and sentenced him to 5 years in prison, as well as confiscation of assets worth $4.19 million. The investigation revealed illegal mining and trading of Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and Ethereum (ETH) on foreign crypto platforms, as well as the use of Nixmoney, Qiwi, Perfect Money, and Payeer to cash out and purchase real estate and rentals for money laundering. (BitcoinSensus)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies-

Germans Prefer Carrying Cash as CBDC Decision Looms: About half the people in Germany say they can’t even imagine using the digital euro, with privacy concerns and a preference for cash driving these feelings. The report describes a recent trip to the German central bank’s bunker in the town of Cochem, where a group of local retirees expressed skepticism about the possibility of a digital euro. The report noted that the European Central Bank (ECB), which is expected to make a final decision on whether to implement a CBDC late next year, is aware of the concerns around it. (Pymnts)
India: Replacement of bank deposits by CBDC an area of key interest for deposit insurers: “For deposit insurers, factors of key interest would be the degree of replacement of bank deposits by CBDC, the division of labour between central and commercial banks and the degree of privacy attached to CBDC usage,” Michael Debabrata Patra, deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India, said in his speech at an event. (CoinGeek) (AC-Jargon-speak for saying the best way to institute CBDCs are to replace bank deposits with CBDCs, especially during a panic.)

-Institutional Concerns-

Bitcoin ETFs Attract Solid Institutional Ownership Growth In Q2: Institutional investment in Bitcoin ETFs is driven by a startling 27% rise in adoption that occurs within the second quarter of 2024. Although institutional interest is high, retail investors own most Bitcoin ETFs. Institutional investors increased to 21% of total AUM in June from 18% in Q1. This development shows that ordinary investors control the market even as institutions gain ground. (Bitcoinist) (AC-BTC ETF investments, either retail or institutional, is not ‘adoption’ of bitcoin, a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.)

-Economic Indicators-

Bitcoin’s negative correlation with SPX deepens amid current market trends: There has been ongoing rallies in both the S&P 500 (SPX) and gold. Gold continues to hit all-time highs (ATHs), while the SPX trades just 2% below its ATH, showcasing a strong performance. Notably, Bitcoin and the SPX are negatively correlated, a pattern that has emerged since late June. (CyrptoSlate)
US Equities Post Best Week Since 2023: Stocks in the US finished higher on Friday, as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq added 0.2% each, the Dow Jones gained 96 points, building on Thursday’s strong rally. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

OpenAI Blocks Iranian Influence Operation Using ChatGPT for U.S. Election Propaganda: OpenAI on Friday said it banned a set of accounts linked to what it said was an Iranian covert influence operation that leveraged ChatGPT to generate content that, among other things, focused on the upcoming U.S. presidential election. OpenAI said its ChatGPT tool was used to create comments in English and Spanish, which were then posted on a dozen accounts on X and one on Instagram. (HackerNews) (AC-Iran uses a US-based AI company to create influence posts for social media to affect US election outcomes. This is Fifth Generation Warfare (5GW) being conducted on the US population.)

-Technology and Science-

X Shuts Down Brazil Operations After ‘Threats’ from Justice de Moraes, But Social Media Remains Accessible: X has now shut down its offices and operations in Brazil after it claimed that it received “threats” from Brazilian Supreme Court Minister, Alexandre de Moraes. It is known that X refused to censor the said controversial content in Brazil, gaining notoriety against the country’s judicial body. Despite its office closing down, X claimed that its service would still be accessible in Brazil and would continue the social media experience for its residents. (TechTimes)

-Bitcoin Community-

Bitcoin Mining Profitability Fell to All Time Lows in August, JPMorgan Analyst Says: Mining profitability fell to all time lows as the network hashrate rose in the first two weeks of August, the report said. U.S. miners’ share of the Bitcoin network hashrate rose to a new record high of 26%, the bank said. The bank noted that the network hashrate has risen about 1% so far this month. (CoinDesk)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 28/100 (Up 1 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): Although bitcoiners know the difference between ‘crypto’ and bitcoin, most news organizations do not, often conflating the two. In our aggregation of facts in the DIB, there will often exist bias and ignorance in the media reports. We can’t filter it all out nor do we want to, but where we can we will footnote it in the analyst comments.

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