DIB 22 NOV 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 871,493
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 22Nov24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Iran Activating Nuke Centrifuges / US Drops New Sanctions on Russian Banks / Trudeau Looks to Buy Votes / Gaetz Bows Out, Pam Bondi Nominated for AG / FUD Over DOGE Increasing / Gensler To Step Down / Sen Lummis Has Plan to Start Bitcoin Reserve / MicroStrategy Completes $3B Note Sale for More Bitcoin / Schwab to Enter Crypto Market / Apple Devices Risk Crypto Keys / ISS Moves to Avoid Collision /

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $98,556, 36.49 oz Gold, .23 Median US House
24hr Hi: $99,502 / Lo: $95,656
Vol: $89B (Down 9%)
Mkt Cap: $1.95T (Up 1%)
HashRate: 786 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 11 sats/vBtye (Down 50%)
Nodes: 19,690

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Iran says it is activating new centrifuges after being condemned by UN nuclear watchdog: Iran will activate “a noticeable number of new and advanced centrifuges of different types,” state news agency IRNA reported, citing a joint statement from Iran’s foreign ministry and its Atomic Energy Organization. Injecting gas into centrifuges is part of the process to enrich uranium, which could ultimately be used to develop a nuclear weapon, though Iran has repeatedly denied it has any ambitions of building a bomb. (CNN)

2. US Treasury targets Russia’s Gazprombank with new sanctions: The move, which wields the department’s most powerful sanctions tool, means Gazprombank cannot handle any new energy-related transactions that touch the U.S. financial system, bans its trade with Americans and freezes its U.S. assets. (Reuters)

3. Trudeau to cut sales tax and send checks to millions of Canadians as election looms: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ‘s government announced plans Thursday to temporarily lift the federal sales tax off a number of items and send checks to millions of Canadians who are dealing with rising costs and as a federal election looms. (AP) (AC-Stockholm syndrome anyone?)

-US Events-
1. Trump Nominates Pam Bondi For Attorney General After Gaetz Withdraws From Consideration: Donald Trump said he is nominating former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and his personal trial lawyer, to run the US Department of Justice, after his first pick, former Representative Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration. Bondi, age 59, is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician. A Republican, she served as the 37th Florida attorney general from 2011 to 2019. She is the first woman elected to the office. In 2020, Bondi was one of longtime ally President Donald Trump’s defense lawyers during his first impeachment trial. (ZeroHedge)

2. Musk and Ramaswamy lay out a horrifying plan for American austerity: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Wall Street Journal op-ed about slashing government programs borrows from an Argentinian plan that caused a massive spike in poverty. When you peel back the layers of whimsical, gauzy tech-bro speak, their ideas can be boiled down to one principle: massive cuts to federal programs that, when deployed elsewhere, have caused calamity. Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, instituted severe austerity measures that caused his country’s poverty rate to skyrocket above 50% in the ensuing months. Musk has proposed similar cuts to the ones Milei instituted. (MSNBC) (AC-This specific article is included to portray the fear being peddled on the incoming administration, complete with outright fabrications and hyperbole. The effects of articles like this have outsized results on unstable readers, which lead to often dangerous reactions. This is the crux of Fifth Generation warfare.)

3. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey Concedes Election to Republican Dave McCormick: Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has conceded the race to Republican Dave McCormick after two weeks of contesting the election results. (Breitbart)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. SEC Chair Gary Gensler Ends Tenure a Year Early to Avoid Trump’s Axe: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler will step down on Jan. 20, 2025, paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee. Gensler’s departure ends a tenure marked by the SEC’s hardline stance against cryptocurrency firms. Gensler’s five-year term as chairman was set to expire in 2026. (BitcoinCom)

2. Federal Judge Strikes Down SEC Crypto Rule Minutes After Gary Gensler Resigns: A federal judge in Texas ruled the SEC’s expansion of securities law to include DeFi as unlawful. The Blockchain Association’s lawsuit against the SEC was granted summary judgment, leading to the requirement for the SEC to vacate the modifications made to the dealer rule. (Decrypt)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies/World Currencies-
1. US Senator Pushes Gold Sales to Kickstart Massive Bitcoin Reserves: U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) emphasized Thursday that the U.S. could establish the reserve without spending new funds by leveraging existing assets. Reserves at the 12 federal reserve banks, including gold certificates valued at 1970s levels, could be adjusted to current market value and converted into bitcoin, she suggested. Additionally, Lummis noted that the government already holds over 200,000 BTC through asset forfeiture, providing an initial source for the reserve without requiring new expenditures. (BitcoinCom)

2. Weak Euro fuels Bitcoin’s standout performance in Eurozone: Bitcoin’s market performance is painting an intriguing picture across different currencies. BTCEUR emerges as the top performer, surging by 130.39% this year—outshining BTCGBP and BTCUSD. This remarkable outperformance is tethered to a significant trend: the euro’s depreciation against a backdrop of low Eurozone growth. (CryptoSlate)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. MicroStrategy completes $3B raise to buy more Bitcoin as MSTR falls 25%: The $3 billion offering of 0% convertible senior notes is part of MicroStrategy’s plans to raise $42 billion over the next three years — primarily to buy more Bitcoin. (CoinTelegraph)

2. Charles Schwab Intends to Enter Spot Crypto Market Pending Regulatory Clarity: Charles Schwab plans to expand into the spot crypto market once U.S. regulations become clearer, according to incoming CEO Rick Wurster. The firm, already involved in crypto through ETFs and futures, aims to enhance its offerings amid growing interest in digital assets. (Decrypt)

-Economic Indicators-
1. Dow Leads Stocks Higher on Thursday: The S&P 500 rose 0.5% on Thursday, the Dow Jones surged by 461 points, while the Nasdaq closed mostly flat, as investors shifted toward cyclical stocks expected to benefit from a strengthening economy, stepping away from technology shares. (TradingEcnomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Apple Admits to Security Vulnerability That Leaves Crypto Users Exposed: “Attackers could access sensitive data like private keys or passwords” stored in their browser, enabling crypto theft if the user’s device remained unpatched. According to a recent Apple security disclosure, users must use the latest versions of its JavaScriptCore and WebKit software to patch the vulnerability. (Decrypt)

-Technology and Science-
1. International Space Station fires thrusters to dodge hunk of space debris: A Russian Progress cargo ship that’s docked to the ISS fired its thrusters for 5.5 minutes on Tuesday afternoon beginning at 3:09 p.m. EST (2009 GMT). The goal was to make sure the orbiting complex dodged a potentially dangerous piece of space junk. (SpaceCom)

-Bitcoin Community-
1. MicroStrategy’s Magical Bitcoin Buying Machine Uses Some Wacky Math: The BTC yield at MicroStrategy, which calls itself a “bitcoin treasury company,” isn’t a yield as commonly understood by investors. As the company explains in its filings, it is the percentage change, from one date to another, in how many bitcoins per share MicroStrategy owns. Judging by what the stock market says, a bitcoin owned by MicroStrategy is worth almost four times as much as a bitcoin owned by an ordinary mortal. And forget about getting a yield—it doesn’t pay one. (WSJ)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 94/100 (Up 12 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): Slow news day…

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