DIB 20 FEB 2025

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 884, 575
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 20Feb2025
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Hamas Hands Over Youngest Victim’s Bodies / 7K Rescued From Scam Compounds in Myanmar / Germany to Vote This Weekend on New Leadership / US Appeals Courts Declined Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Bid / Plane Crash in AZ Kills 2 / DOGE Savings May be Returned to Taxpayers / Coinbase Lobbies Congress for Crypto / Nigeria Sues Binance for $81B / JPY Below 150 per USD / Metaplanet has .01% of BTC / Hackers Target Signal App / LayerZero Looks to Enable BitcoinFi / Fold Goes Public / More Startups Starting with BTC on Balance Sheet

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $97,479, 33.1 oz Gold, .23 Median US House
24hr Hi: $97,552 / Lo: $95,412
Vol: $28B (Down 26%)
Mkt Cap: $1.93T (Up 1%)
HashRate: 812 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 2 sats/vBtye (Even)

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Hamas hands over bodies of youngest Gaza hostages taken from Israel: Hamas handed over the bodies on Thursday of Israeli infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, the two youngest captives taken by Hamas in their October 7, 2023 attack and among the most potent symbols of the trauma inflicted that day. Kfir Bibas was nine months old when the Bibas family, including their father Yarden, was abducted at Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of a string of communities near Gaza that were overrun by Hamas-led attackers from Gaza. (Reuters)

2. Thousands Rescued From Notorious Scam Compounds: Around 7,000 people who were rescued from the illegal operations are waiting to be transferred to Thailand. For years, crime syndicates have been luring people—often those with good English or Chinese language skills—to Thailand with fake job offers, then trafficking them to the centers in Myanmar, where they are forced to try to scam people around the world. The rescued workers said they were forced to work for up to 20 hours a day trying to defraud people on messaging services like WhatsApp, and were beaten and given electric shocks if they failed to meet targets. (Newser)

3. Germany votes Sunday for a new government that will shape Europe’s response to an assertive Trump: Europe’s biggest economy is the 27-nation European Union’s most populous nation and a leading member of NATO, as well as the second-biggest weapons supplier to Ukraine, after the United States. Germany’s next government will be central to Europe’s response to an assertive new U.S. administration. (AP)

-US Events-
1. US appeals court rejects Trump’s emergency bid to curtail birthright citizenship: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined an emergency request from the Justice Department that sought to pause a lower-court judge’s order. Four separate judges have blocked the order, but Wednesday’s decision marks the first time an appellate court has weighed in on President Trump’s attempt to deny the constitutional right, an issue that could end up before the Supreme Court. (CBS)

2. 2 dead after 2 small planes collide midair in Arizona: A Cessna 172S and Lancair 360 MK II collided at 8:28 a.m. near the Marana Regional Airport, just northwest of Tucson. The Cessna landed, and the Lancair crashed and burned near the other runway, the NTSB said. (CNN)

3. DOGE Savings Plan: Trump Eyes 20% For American Taxpayers, 20% For Reducing National Debt: Trump floated the idea of setting aside portions of whatever the Elon Musk-led DOGE would be able to save at the end of its tenure in mid-2026. If the DOGE hits its $2 trillion target, some $400 billion will be allocated for 79 million taxpaying households, or $5,000 tax refund checks for each household. (IBTimes)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Coinbase Pressures Congress With 6 Priorities to Reform Crypto Law: Coinbase detailed that the first priority is defining digital assets and transactions, ensuring legal clarity for builders, investors, and consumers by distinguishing between securities, commodities, and other token types. The second priority is granting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority over the crypto spot market. The third priority is establishing clear Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules for capital raising. The fourth priority is creating a stablecoin framework, ensuring these digital assets are fully backed, transparent, and foster competition within the financial system. The fifth priority is protecting decentralized finance (defi) and digital commerce, ensuring smart contracts, defi platforms, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can operate without excessive regulation. The final priority is clarifying oversight for centralized crypto entities. (BitcoinCom) (AC-This is bound to be controversial.)

2. Nigerian Regulator Hits Binance With $81.5 Billion Lawsuit: Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is seeking $79.5 billion in economic losses and $2 billion in back taxes from Binance, alleging the exchange enabled $26 billion of untraceable funds to leave the country. Binance has been facing litigation and money laundering charges from Nigeria since last year. (Decrypt)

-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
1. USD/JPY retreated overnight amid initial gains in Japanese yields (and softness in their US counterparts post-FOMC minutes) alongside the negative risk appetite in Tokyo. The pair breached below the 150 mark in early European trade. (ZeroHedge)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. Metaplanet Increases Bitcoin Holdings to 0.01% of Total Supply: Metaplanet Inc. has acquired 0.01% of Bitcoin’s total supply, purchasing 68.59 BTC for $6.6 million and bringing its total holdings to 2,100 BTC. Following Michael Saylor’s strategy, the Tokyo-based firm aims to hold 10,000 BTC by 2025 and 21,000 BTC by 2026. (Decrypt)

-Economic Indicators-
1. US 10-Year Yield Eases as Rates Outlook Mulled: The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell below 4.52% on Thursday, marking its second consecutive session of decline as investors re-evaluated the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Hackers Exploit Signal’s Linked Devices Feature to Hijack Accounts via Malicious QR Codes: “The most novel and widely used technique underpinning Russian-aligned attempts to compromise Signal accounts is the abuse of the app’s legitimate ‘linked devices’ feature that enables Signal to be used on multiple devices concurrently.” These QR codes are known to masquerade as group invites, security alerts, or legitimate device pairing instructions from the Signal website. (HackerNews)

-Technology and Science-
1. Blockchain Bridging Protocol LayerZero to Connect With Bitcoin Sidechain Rootstock: LayerZero, the bridging protocol that allows different crypto networks to communicate with each other, plans to connect to Bitcoin sidechain Rootstock in what would be its first integration with the world’s original blockchain. Rootstock aims to end Bitcoin’s “isolation” from other blockchains due to its lack of native smart contracts, a barrier that LayerZero is able to address. (CoinDesk)

-Bitcoin Community-
1. Bitcoin App Fold Begins Trading on Nasdaq: Fold, a Bitcoin financial services company, recently began trading on the Nasdaq Composite, offering shares to the public. The company, known for rewarding customers with Bitcoin and providing a debit card, saw its shares start at $10.25 and rise to over $12. (Decrypt)

2. Report shows uptick in startups using Bitcoin in their balance sheet: According to the report, as inflation concerns and fundraising challenges persist, Bitcoin is emerging as a strategic asset for startups seeking capital efficiency, dilution protection, and global market positioning. The impact of Bitcoin allocation remains substantial for startups with higher burn rates. A company burning $30,000 monthly while still needing external fundraising could delay its next financing round by at least a year compared to a US dollar-only treasury. (CryptoSlate) (AC-This strategy works consistently only over a 4-5 year cycle, which most startups have trouble overcoming.)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 49/100 (Up 5 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR

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