DIB 19 FEB 2025

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 884, 460
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 19Feb2025
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Former Brazil President Charged With Coup / US-Europe Facing New World Order / MENA Nations Collaborate on Gaza Plan / CIA Drones Take Up Station on Mexico Border / Trump to Terminate All Remaining Biden US-Attorneys / New Tariffs Announced on Cars, Chips, Pharma / FTX Begins Paybacks / Lutnik Confirmed as SECCOM / Vivek Ruminates on Bitcoin Treasuries / BTC ETFs Outflow / SpaceX to Help FAA / Is BTC Price ‘Manufactured’? / MARA Buys Windfarm

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $96,240, 32.73 oz Gold, .22 Median US House
24hr Hi: $96,695 / Lo: $93,388
Vol: $38B (Up 32%)
Mkt Cap: $1.90T (Even)
HashRate: 837 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 2 sats/vBtye (Down 33%)

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Brazil Charges Bolsonaro With Plotting a Coup After 2022 Election Loss: Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former president, was charged on Tuesday with overseeing a vast scheme to hold on to power after losing the 2022 election, including one plot to annul the vote, disband courts and empower the military, and another to assassinate the nation’s president-elect. The case will now go before Brazil’s Supreme Court, which will decide whether to order Mr. Bolsonaro’s arrest and have him face trial. If convicted, he could face 12 to 40 years in prison. (NYTimes)

2. The US and Europe are at a crossroads. A new world order is emerging: In a series of highly controversial interventions, Donald Trump’s administration outlined a new US approach to Europe. It revolves around negotiating a rapid end to the war between Ukraine and Russia, handing Europe the lead responsibility for its own defense, and forging a new transatlantic alliance of populist forces on the right. The reverberations began last Wednesday when the US president announced that he and Vladimir Putin had made a plan to negotiate an end to the war. Europe and Ukraine were frightened to the bone that the future of their security would be decided without them. (TheGuardian) (AC-This is indeed a milestone in global geopolitics, as the strength of the US-EU relationship fades and new alliances form. The danger in transition is real and established power centers will not fall quietly. There is potential for both good and bad outcomes. These are interesting times!)

3. Alarmed by Trump’s Gaza Plan, Arab Leaders Brainstorm on Their Own: Since After President Trump shocked the Arab world last month by suggesting the entire population of Gaza be expelled from the territory, his aides reframed the idea as an invitation to the leaders of the Middle East: Come up with a better plan, or do it our way. Representatives of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are quietly coordinating to form an alternative vision for Gaza in which Arab countries would help fund and oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, while keeping its residents in place and preserving the possibility of a Palestinian state. (NYTimes) (AC-Certainly this was the objective of Trump’s announcement.)

-US Events-
1. Trump Administration Deploys CIA Drones for Surveillance of Mexican Drug Cartels: CIA launches covert MQ-9 Reaper drone missions over Mexico to monitor drug cartels, marking a significant expansion of U.S. intelligence operations at the southern border. Director John Ratcliffe plans to apply counterterrorism strategies to combat narcotics trafficking. This expanded CIA role could significantly impact U.S.-Mexico relations and border security. While drones are currently unarmed, the potential designation of cartels as terrorist organizations could pave the way for direct military action, raising diplomatic concerns. (GroundNews)

2. Trump Orders ‘All Remaining’ Biden-Appointed U.S. Attorneys to Be Terminated: Over the past four years, the Department of Justice has been politicized like never before,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Therefore, I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining ‘Biden Era’ U.S. Attorneys.” (Breitbart)

3. Trump plans to impose 25% tariffs on autos, chips and pharmaceuticals: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he plans to impose tariffs of around 25% on auto imports as well as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals shipped to the United States as early as April 2. (CNN)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. FTX Starts Paying Back Billions to Customers After 2022 Collapse: FTX’s bankruptcy estate initiated a creditor repayment program, distributing $1.2 billion to smaller claim holders. The estate plans to send payments in stages to ensure proper verification and orderly distribution, with additional payments scheduled for Q2 2025. (Decrypt)

2. US Senate confirms pro-crypto Howard Lutnick as Secretary of Commerce: The confirmation, decided on Tuesday, passed with a vote of 51 to 45. Lutnick has served as chairman and CEO of global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald. The new leader of U.S. Commerce personally spoke in support of Tether at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Las Vegas, affirming that USDT was fully backed one-to-one by reserves in U.S. Treasuries, bitcoin and gold. (TheBlock)

-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
1. Vivek Ramaswamy: Post-’Easy Money’ Economy to Drive Corporate Bitcoin Adoption: As global markets grapple with tighter monetary policies, entrepreneur-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy predicts a structural shift in corporate finance strategies, with bitcoin poised to become a staple of institutional treasuries. (BitcoinCom, X)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. Bitcoin ETFs Experience $61 Million Outflow: Bitcoin ETFs experienced a net outflow of $60.63 million, primarily due to significant withdrawals from Bitwise’s BITB and Fidelity’s FBTC. In contrast, Ether ETFs saw a modest net inflow of $4.60 million, solely attributed to Fidelity’s FETH. (BitcoinCom)

-Economic Indicators-
1. US Mortgage Rates Continue to Decline: The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances in the US declined further to 6.93% in the week ended February 14th 2025, reaching a new low since December 2024. (TradingEconomics)

2. S&P 500 Hits Fresh Record Close: The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to close at a new record on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones finished near the flatline. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
NSTR

-Technology and Science-
1. SpaceX Is Appointed to Help the FAA Revamp Its Air Traffic Control After Washington Air Disaster: Personnel from SpaceX are going to the FAA’s Air Traffic Control Command Center in Virginia to help the team overhaul its system following the massive incidents that occurred. (TechTimes)

-Bitcoin Community-
1. Bitcoin’s price movement ‘looks very manufactured’ — Samson Mow: “It seems like it’s some sort of price suppression,” said Mow during a panel discussion at Consensus Hong Kong. (CoinTelegraph)

2. Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner MARA Acquires Texas Wind Farm: MARA, a Bitcoin mining company, acquired a wind farm in Texas to increase its renewable energy assets and extend the life of its mining hardware. The acquisition adds 240 megawatts of interconnection capacity and 114 megawatts of operational wind generation to MARA’s capabilities, aligning with its goal to convert sustainable resources into economic value. (Decrypt)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 44/100 (Down 3 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR

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