DIB 21 JUN 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 848,894
DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 21Jun24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: South Korea May Send Weapons to Ukraine / China Using Blades on Philippine Rubber Boats / Missouri AG Sues NY Over Trump Lawfare / Oakland Mayor Raided by FBI / SCOTUS Rules IRS Can Tax OCONUS / US Lawmaker Visit Binance Exec in Nigerian Prison / Winklevii Give $2M to Trump / SEC Backing off on Ripple / Outflow from BTC ETFs Continues / Tencent Joins mBridge CBDC Project / US Car Dealership Hacked

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $63,753, 26.93 oz Gold, .15 Median US House
24hr Hi: $66,451 / Lo: $63,529
Vol: $27B (Up 36%)
Mkt Cap: $1.26T (Down 4%)
HashRate: 592 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 11 sats/vBtye (Down 48%)
Nodes: 18,600

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. South Korea to consider supplying arms to Ukraine after Putin-Kim pact: “We will reconsider the issue of supplying weapons to Ukraine,” South Korean national security adviser Chang Ho-jin told reporters late on Thursday after Putin, who visited Pyongyang for the first time in more than 20 years, said he would consider supplying high-precision weapons to North Korea. (FT)

2.‘Only pirates do this’: Philippines accuses China of using bladed weapons in major South China Sea escalation: Footage released by the Philippine military on Thursday showed Chinese coast guard officers brandishing an axe and other bladed or pointed tools at the Filipino soldiers and slashing their rubber boat, in what Manila called “a brazen act of aggression.” (CNN)

3. NATO hopes to Trump-proof the alliance with new chief Mark Rutte. It could backfire: The Biden administration got its way when outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte secured the support of all 32 NATO allies for the alliance’s top political post. Rutte, whose center-right politics in Europe would put him to the left of many mainstream Democrats, is known for his pragmatism, his skill for building coalitions and his staunch transatlantic views. (Politico)

-US Events-
1. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey Will Sue New York for ‘Lawfare Against President Trump’: “I will be filing suit against the State of New York for their direct attack on our democratic process through unconstitutional lawfare against President Trump. It’s time to restore the rule of law,” Bailey announced on X. “We have to fight back against a rogue prosecutor who is trying to take a presidential candidate off the campaign trail. It sabotages Missourians’ right to a free and fair election,” he added. (Breitbart)

2. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s home raided by FBI agents; feds target other locations: Just after 10 a.m., several FBI agents emerged from the home carrying boxes as news crews staked out positions across the street. It was unclear what the agents were seeking or what was seized. (CBS)

3. Justices uphold Trump tax on overseas investments in win for Biden: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a Trump-era tax on overseas investments, rejecting an argument from a Washington state couple in a case that could have jeopardized existing tax provisions and torpedoed Democratic talk of a wealth tax. A 7-2 majority upheld the tax, though several justices offered differing rationales. (CNN)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. U.S. Lawmakers Visit Detained Binance Exec in Nigeria, Call for Release: U.S. lawmakers Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.) visited Tigran Gambaryan in a Nigerian prison on Wednesday as the Binance executive remains incarcerated facing money-laundering charges due to his involvement with the crypto exchange. Hill said Gambaryan, who has been held since arriving in February for talks with the government, is suffering from malaria and double pneumonia. (CoinDesk)

2. Winklevoss Twins Say They Each Gave $1 Million to Trump Presidential Campaign: The Winklevoss brothers have become two of the first big-name crypto CEOs to cross the campaign-contribution barrier that had kept big-time donations from the presidential race. (CoinDesk)

3. Multiple US States Have Revoked Binance US Crypto Licenses: Multiple U.S. states have revoked or declined to renew Binance US money transmitter licenses due to compliance issues and legal troubles involving former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ). “North Dakota joins Alaska, Florida, Maine, North Carolina, and Oregon who have taken similar actions to revoke or deny the renewal of BAM Trading Services’ Money Transmission License,” North Dakota’s financial regulator stated.(BitcoinCom)

4. SEC Leaning Towards Not Appealing Ripple Ruling, Citing Strategic Risks: The latest development in the market suggests that the long-going Ripple vs SEC lawsuit might be nearing its end soon. One recent report suggests that the U.S. SEC might not appeal the recent summary judgment of Judge Analisa Torres that partially favors Ripple Labs. This hints at a major strategic shift with the SEC likely trying to avoid any further escalation of the case in the higher court. (CryptoNews)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. US spot bitcoin ETFs shed $140 million as fund exit continues: Grayscale’s GBTC led the pack yesterday with a daily net outflow of $53 million, closely followed by Fidelity’s FBTC, which posted outflows of $51 million, according to data from SoSoValue. Bitwise’s BITB reported $32 million in net outflows, while VanEck’s ETF logged net outflows of $4 million. The fund from Invesco and Galaxy Digital saw $2 million in net outflows. (TheBlock)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-
1. Tencent participates in China’s mBridge CBDC cross payment solution: Tencent is one of nine institutions that has participated on the Chinese side of the mBridge cross border central bank digital currency (CBDC) solution that recently launched a minimum viable product (MVP). Tencent owns WeChat Pay, China’s largest mobile payment app with 1.1 billion monthly active users. mBridge leverages wholesale CBDCs from the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the UAE, with Saudi Arabia joining earlier this month. The BIS Innovation Hub coordinates the project and aims to enable cheaper, faster cross border payments. (LedgerInsights) (AC- With the BIS, China and now Saudi Arabia joining the mBridge project, technology partners are needed. Tencent, via WeChat Pay, is a strong addition to the project.)

-Economic Indicators-
1. US Mortgage Rates Fall to 2-Month Low: The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell by 8bps from the previous week to 6.87% as of June 20th, the lowest in two months, according to Freddie Mac. (TradingEconomics)

2. US Current Account Gap Highest in 7 Quarters: The US current account deficit increased by $15.8 billion to $237.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024, equivalent to 3.4% of GDP, and falling short of market expectations of a $206.4 billion gap. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Disruptions at Many Car Dealerships Continue as CDK Hack Worsens: Car dealerships across the United States will likely have to deal with disruptions for several more days after software provider CDK Global detected an additional cyber incident. The company provides dealer management, retail, customer relationship management, finance and insurance, network and communication, and intelligence services. (SecurityWeek)

-Technology-
1. Japan Aims to Become Most AI-Friendly Nation, Countering EU Regulations: Japan is promoting itself as the most AI-friendly nation to lure investments from Europe and beyond with its regulation-light strategy. While the EU just passed the AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law, Japan’s AI Strategic Council, which leads talks, favors regulations led by the tech industry, as reported by Nikkei Asia. (TechTimes)

-Bitcoin Community-
1. Marathon Uses Bitcoin Mining To Heat Town of 11,000 in Finland: Today, Marathon Digital Holdings has launched an innovative pilot project to recycle heat generated from Bitcoin mining to warm a community in Finland. The 2-megawatt data center, energized at the end of May, is located in the Satakunta region, home to 11,000 residents. (BitcoinMag)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 63/100 (Up 3 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR

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