DIB 2 APR 2025

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 890,543
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 02Apr2025
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: WHO Hurting for Money / China’s Xi Blocks Panama Port Sale / Russia Shuts Down Kazakhstan Oil Pipeline / Liberal Wins WI Court Seat / Tariffs Announced Today / Blackrock Approved for ETP in EU / USG to Announce Crypto Holdings / Circle Under Fire During IPO / Signal App Has Human Weakness / EU Want Encryption Keys and New FBI-like Powers / Starliner Flight Was Precarious / Coal Use Down With Bitcoin Miners / Are Hardware Wallets Keeping Bitcoin Adoption Down?

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $84,539, 27.12 oz Gold, .20 Median US House
24hr Hi: $85,487 / Lo: $82,550
Vol: $28B (Up 1%)
Mkt Cap: $1.67T (Up 1%)
HashRate: 830 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 1 sats/vBtye (Down 50%)

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. WHO Facing $2.5-bn Gap Even After Slashing Budget: As the United Nations health agency has been bracing for the planned full US withdrawal next January, it has gradually shrunk its two-year budget for 2026-2027 from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion. (IBTimes)

2. China Blocks Panama Canal Port Sale — Report Claims Xi Jinping Infuriated by Deal Sought Without His Approval: Chinese antitrust regulators on Friday blocked a deal by the Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison conglomerate to sell two ports along the Panama Canal to a consortium led by investment giant BlackRock. (Breitbart)

3. Russia Halts Large Chunk Of Kazakhstan’s Oil Export Capacity: Russia has ordered shut two of the three moorings of the main oil export terminal on the Black Sea handling Kazakhstan’s oil exports, which could seriously disrupt Kazakh crude shipments if the suspension lasts more than a few days. The port handles most of Kazakhstan’s crude exports from giant oilfields in Kazakhstan operated by international oil firms, including U.S. supermajor Chevron. (ZeroHedge)

-US Events-
1. Liberal candidate wins Wisconsin Supreme Court race in blow to Trump, Musk: Susan Crawford won the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, defeating Brad Schimel, which maintains the 4-3 liberal majority on the court. Over $90 million was spent by the candidates and their allies during the race, making it one of the most expensive court races in U.S. History. Crawford’s campaign received support from Planned Parenthood and emphasized Schimel’s anti-abortion stance. Elon Musk and groups he funded contributed over $21 million to the election effort. (GroundNews)

2. Trump’s tariff strategy: Boost US production, reduce trade imbalances: Using economic pressure to force the world’s manufacturers to set up shop in the United States, President Trump hopes to slash the roughly $1.2 trillion annual trade deficit, boost national self-sufficiency, raise federal revenues, and unleash a jobs boom. On Wednesday, which he calls “Liberation Day,” he’s due to announce his reciprocal tariffs – taxing imported goods at levels that, the administration says, are equivalent to trade barriers that other nations impose on the U.S. (CSM)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. BlackRock approved to offer crypto services in UK, expanding digital asset footprint: BlackRock’s FCA approval restricts operations to ETP support, significantly narrowing its crypto asset activities. (CryptoSlate)

-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
1. US Government To Unveil Crypto Holdings: The US Government is expected to unveil its Bitcoin and altcoin holdings this week. The audit will bring clarity to the government’s plan to include XRP, SOL & ADA to crypto reserves. The move could also expose the government’s reserve management strategies. (CoinGape)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. Circle holds just 73 BTC, raising questions about its Bitcoin commitment amid $5 billion valuation: Circle’s crypto holdings show a surprising underweight position in Bitcoin and Ethereum. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the company held just 73 BTC, valued at roughly $6.78 million, and 1,746 ETH, worth about $5.82 million. These figures are notably small, especially compared to Tether’s 92,000 BTC, worth approximately $7.64 billion. (CryptoSlate) (AC-Circle is conducting an IPO, which is opening it up to disclosures and the resultant critical analysis.)

-Economic Indicators-
1. US Futures Steady as Markets Brace for Trump Tariffs: US stock futures held steady on Wednesday as investors awaited the implementation of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal and other tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly assured lawmakers that the new tariffs would act as a “cap,” allowing countries to take measures to reduce them. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Secure Messaging Apps Are Not as Safe as You Think, Says NSA: The NSA’s latest alert, prompted by Google’s Threat Intelligence Group, highlighted that Russia’s GRU had influenced Ukrainian officials to provide access to their Signal accounts. This was not a result of Signal or other messaging apps’ vulnerability, but resulted from users’ behavior. The NSA’s warning was stern. Users should alter their messaging settings to prevent such an occurrence. The first weak link is the Linked Devices. This option synchronizes your messages from more than one device. Take some time to review and unlink any unknown devices in your app’s settings to avoid unauthorized use. Another one is the Group invite links, which are convenient for adding new members, but can share sensitive conversations with the wrong users. Signal provides disabling group links under group settings. (TechTimes) (AC-Conduct a security self-audit often to find these threat openings. Close them immediately!)

2. European Commission takes aim at end-to-end encryption and proposes Europol become an EU FBI: Among its aims is establishing Europol as “a truly operational police agency to reinforce support to Member States,” something potentially comparable to the U.S. FBI, with a role “in investigating cross-border, large-scale, and complex cases posing a serious threat to the internal security of the Union.” Alongside the new Europol, the Commission said it would create roadmaps regarding both the “lawful and effective access to data for law enforcement” and on encryption. (TheRecord) (AC-Centralization of power will continue in the EU until crisis hits hard.)

-Technology and Science-
1. Starliner’s flight to the space station was far wilder than most of us thought: As it flew up toward the International Space Station last summer, the Starliner spacecraft lost four thrusters. A NASA astronaut, Butch Wilmore, had to take manual control of the vehicle. But as Starliner’s thrusters failed, Wilmore lost the ability to move the spacecraft in the direction he wanted to go. (Arstechnica) (AC-A dramatic read that may end up as a movie, though Boeing may squash it.)

-Bitcoin Community-
1. Bitcoin Mining’s Energy Shift: Coal Use Drops While Renewables Rise: Coal energy usage, which once made up 63% of Bitcoin’s mining energy in 2011, has now dropped dramatically to just 20% in 2024. This transition comes amid growing concerns over environmental impact and increasing pressure for sustainable mining practices. (Bitcoinist)

2. Hardware Wallets: Bitcoin’s Biggest Adoption Barrier: There are roughly half a billion crypto users around the world and, at the most generous estimate, only 2.5% are using hardware wallets. Hardware wallets’ underlying technology is essentially unchanged from the days when their primary utility was as a secure, offline keysafe. It’s the same with UX, with users still expected to write down their seed words and then squint at a tiny screen every time they want to approve a transaction. Hardware wallets’ continued reliance on closed, proprietary systems is not just a security nightmare: it’s also terrible for Bitcoin innovation and adoption. (BitcoinMag) (AC-Editorials usually don’t make the DIB, but there are relevant facts in this article to Bitcoiners to consider and debate.)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 44/100 (Up 10 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR

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