DIB 23 JUL 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 853,558
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 23Jul24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ

BLUF: Red Sea Boils / China, Philippines Reach Agreement / Ukraine Foreign Minister Visits China / Secret Service Under Heavy Fire / Netanyahu Snubbed, Will Speak to Congress / MARA Fined $138M / Is Bitcoin as Reserve Asset Possible? / ETH ETFs Start Trading / BTC Miners Struggling

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $66,601, 27.58 oz Gold, .15 Median US House
24hr Hi: $68,267 / Lo: $66,292
Vol: $45B (Up 45%)
Mkt Cap: $1.31T (Down 1%)
HashRate: 746 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 6 sats/vBtye (Up 43%)
Nodes: 7,410 (*Anomaly: Detected nodes have dropped the past two weeks from an average of 19K to below 10K)

—Reports—
-International Events-

Red Sea tensions reach new high as US weighs terrorist designation for Houthis: Israel’s strike on Yemen’s port of Hodeidah on Saturday killed three and injured 87, in a fighter jet assault over 1,000 miles away from Tel Aviv. Israel says it was a response to a Houthi drone attack Friday that killed one person in Tel Aviv. Tallies of reporting from U.S. Central Command count 14 missiles and nearly 60 drones fired by the Houthis and destroyed by the U.S. Navy in June alone, which by some assessments has made the sea combat the United States’ most sustained naval fight since World War II. “There’s more and more talk now about a designation under the [Foreign Terrorist Organization], which would level the Houthis with al-Qaeda affiliates and Hamas. (ABC)
China, Philippines agree on ‘provisional arrangement’ for South China Sea resupply missions, Manila says: “Both sides continue to recognize the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage differences through dialogue and consultation and agree that the agreement will not prejudice each other’s positions in the South China Sea,” the Dept of Foreign Affairs in Manila said. (Reuters)
Ukraine’s FM Kuleba to visit China: China has announced that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit China from Tuesday to Friday, the first such trip since the Ukraine conflict broke out in 2022. According to Ukraine’s foreign ministry, the main topic of discussion would be the search for ways to end the conflict and China’s possible role in achieving sustainable and just peace. (ChinaDaily) (AC-An unexpected twist as China has supported Russia since the conflict began.)

-US Events-

Secret Service Director’s Testimony Sparks Bipartisan Calls for Her Resignation: Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle offered lawmakers few answers Monday about how a 20-year-old gunman was able to open fire on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally, fueling bipartisan anger and widespread calls for her resignation in the wake of what she acknowledged was a colossal security lapse. (WSJ)
Netanyahu trip will put US divisions on display: Boycotts from Democratic lawmakers and pro-Palestinian activists against Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday will contrast with a Republican Party united on a rare area of solidarity. With Biden’s decision to not seek reelection, all eyes will be on Vice President Harris for how she handles meetings with Netanyahu. Harris is not expected to attend Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, in a sign welcomed by advocates for a tougher U.S. policy toward Israel. (TheHill) (AC-Meanwhile, Netanyahu landed in DC without Biden, Harris or Blinken there to meet him, seen as a diplomatic snub.-Breitbart)

-Regulatory and Legal-

Marathon Digital Fined $138 Million for Breaching US Bitcoin Corp and Hut 8 Non-Disclosure Agreement: Marathon Digital, the largest Bitcoin mining company, has been fined $138 million for breaching a non-disclosure agreement. Michael Ho, former co-founder of US Bitcoin Corp, won a breach of contract lawsuit against Marathon Digital for executing his growth strategy without compensating him. (CoinTelegraph)
Will Trump endorse bitcoin as strategic reserve asset?: The excitement centers around a tweet from Dennis Porter suggesting that Trump might announce bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. Melker emphasized the potential for a historic shift. He noted that the U.S. government already holds a substantial amount of bitcoin from past confiscations, such as from Silk Road. Transferring these holdings to the treasury could effectively position bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. If Trump makes this announcement, it would not only make international headlines but also compel other central banks to reconsider their stance on bitcoin. (TheStreet)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies-
NSTR

-Institutional Concerns-

Ethereum ETFs Approved: Trading Begins July 23, 2024: Spot Ethereum ETFs launch July 23, 2024, after SEC approval, allowing traditional investment in the second-largest crypto, with expected lower demand than Bitcoin ETFs. (Blockononmi) (AC-There is no second best)

-Economic Indicators-

Dollar, Treasuries and Futures Steady as Traders Mull US Political Outlook: The dollar index steadied around 104.2 on Tuesday as investors continued to assess the US political landscape in the wake of President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

EU Rules Blamed for Global IT Catastrophe Triggered by Faulty CrowdStrike Update: At the heart of the crisis lies CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm whose Falcon system, designed to thwart cyberattacks, holds privileged access to a computer’s kernel. Microsoft has pinned the blame on EU regulations. A 2009 agreement stemming from a competition investigation forced the tech giant to allow multiple security providers, including CrowdStrike, kernel-level access. The confluence of a faulty update, widespread reliance on CrowdStrike’s software, and Microsoft’s regulatory obligations created a perfect storm. (TechTimes)

-Technology-

NSTR

-Bitcoin Community-

Swan Bitcoin capitulates, BTC miners shrink, consolidation grows, fears mount: Cory Klippsten, CEO of the California-based Swan Bitcoin financial services firm, announced that his company “is unlikely to continue with our Managed Mining business in the near term.” Klippsten added, “ without the expectation of significant near-term revenue from our Managed Mining unit, we are pulling our plans to IPO in the near future.” Since the scheduled ‘halving’ of the block subsidy this spring, the economics of BTC mining no longer add up. Even as the BTC token’s fiat value has recovered much of the losses it endured over the past couple of months, it’s still not always high enough to cover the huge electricity costs of successfully mining a BTC block.

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 71/100 (Up 1 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): Rumors of Trump announcing Bitcoin as a strategic asset reserve are swirling, but is it as significant news as thought? The USG already owns 213K BTC, or $14B worth of BTC, which is not much compared to what would be needed as a reserve asset. There is no current law or requirement that says a reserve asset must be used, kept or distributed in any sort of way in order to ‘backstop’ the US dollar. The act would be as ‘fiat’ as saying the assets are held but how does that relate to the US currency? Would it really slow down the dollar debasement? There are just too many questions, legal conflicts and agendas to put much stock in the reality of backing the US dollar with bitcoin in the near future. Short term, it would certainly be bullish for BTC price and could set off buying competition, but significant changes would need to occur for it to become a reserve asset in the USA.

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