DIB 24 FEB 2025

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 885,117
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 24Feb2025
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Ukraine Hosts EU Leaders / French, UK Leaders Rush to Meet with Trump / Pope Still Critical / Germany Election Boosts Right / Dan Bongino to be Deputy Director of FBI / At Least 1,600 USAID Staffers Ousted / Kash Patel to Also Lead ATF / Four States Say No to Bitcoin Reserves / Gold Demand Up / Did Tariff Threats Break Up BRICS? / Trump to Visit Fort Knox / MSTR Buys More / ByBIt $ETH Hack Reverberates Worldwide / Lowery Active on Deeper Concepts of Bitcoin /

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $95,999, 32.55 oz Gold, .22 Median US House
24hr Hi: $96,503 / Lo: $95,120
Vol: $26B (Up 63%)
Mkt Cap: $1.9T (Even)
HashRate: 749 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 8 sats/vBtye (Up 275%)

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Ukraine hosts European leaders as US backing fades three years since invasion: Trump denounced Zelenskiy last week as an unpopular “dictator” who needed to cut a quick peace deal or lose his country, while the Ukrainian leader said the U.S. president was living in a “disinformation bubble”. Beyond the war of words, U.S. officials opened direct talks with the Russian side in Saudi Arabia last week, shutting out Kyiv and Europe in a stunning change of policy on the war. A summit of visiting leaders is in Kyiv for the anniversary and to scope out a way forward. They included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and the leaders of Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Spain and Sweden. (Reuters)

2. French, UK leaders rush to Washington at a historic turning point for the West: The leaders of Europe’s two nuclear powers are rushing to the White House to try to reclaim a central role for themselves and for Ukraine after they were cut out of US-Russia talks on ending the war. Britain and France are drawing up plans for a European “reassurance force,” perhaps including up to 30,000 troops that could deploy to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal. As Trump leads the US in a new direction on Ukraine, historic schisms are opening that threaten the transatlantic alliance and the post-World War II order. (CNN)

3. Pope still in critical condition with signs of ‘mild’ kidney failure, Vatican says: Pope Francis was conscious and receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen following a respiratory crisis, according to the Vatican. Doctors reported some blood tests showed ‘initial, mild, kidney failure,’ but said it was under control. (GroundNews)

4. Germany’s Conservatives Win as AfD Secures Record Second-Place Finish: Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union won 28.5% of the votes in Germany’s election, capturing 208 seats in the Bundestag. The far-right Alternative for Germany achieved a record result of 20.8% and 151 seats, becoming the main opposition party as cheers erupted at their headquarters after the election results were announced. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party faced historical lows with only 16.4% of the vote, leading to discussions about potential coalitions, primarily between the CDU and SPD. (GroundNews)

-US Events-
1. Trump Reveals Dan Bongino Picked to Be Deputy Director of FBI: In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Bongino as a “highly respected Special Agent with the United States Secret Service,” adding that he is now “one of the most successful Podcasters” in the nation. (Breitbart)

2. Trump Fires 1,600 US-Based USAID Staffers, Most Global Personnel Placed On Leave: The exact number of personnel to be placed on administrative leave is unclear, but two former senior USAID officials estimated that “a majority” of some 4,600 USAID workers, career U.S. Civil Service, and Foreign Service staffers would be affected by the job cuts. (IBTimes)

3. New FBI Director Kash Patel will also be named acting head of the ATF: Patel could be sworn in next week, the official said, putting Patel in charge of two of the Justice Department’s largest agencies in an unusual arrangement that raises questions about the future of the bureau that has long drawn the ire of conservatives. Gun Owners of America, a gun rights group, called his confirmation as FBI director “a major victory for gun owners and constitutional rights advocates nationwide.” (CNBC)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Montana Rejects Bitcoin Reserve Bill as Other States Consider Similar Measures: Montana’s House of Representatives voted 41-59 against House Bill 429, which would have allowed up to $50 million in state funds to be invested in cryptocurrencies and precious metals. Montana joins North Dakota, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania in rejecting Bitcoin reserve proposals, while 19 other states still have pending legislation. (Blockonomi) (AC-Bitcoin may indeed revert to a P2P transaction and SoV for people who need it, instead of a “digital gold” asset held by government institutions. Bitcoin game theory has nuances that rest of the forcing nature of economics first, but is certainly subject to the irrationality of markets and narratives second. Governments simply don’t feel the pain yet, nor are the strategic by nature.)

-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
1. Gold Suppliers Face ‘Unprecedented Demand’ as Large Investors Flock to Precious Metal: Bullionstar, a Singapore-based gold dealer, has alerted about an ‘unprecedented demand’ for gold in large quantities from large investors. The firm stated that this is unusual, given that previous metal movements have been led by retail. (BItcoinCom)

2. Trump Claims His 150% Tariff Threat ‘Broke up’ BRICS: Trump stated that BRICS is attempting to weaken the U.S. dollar by creating a new currency, potentially adopting the Chinese yuan. “They wanted to create a new currency,” he said. “Any BRICS state that even mentions the destruction of the dollar will be charged a 150% tariff, and we don’t want your goods, we don’t want to partake. And the BRICS states just broke up. I don’t know what the hell happened to them. We haven’t heard from the BRICS states lately.” (BitcoinCom) (AC- True, they have generally been quiet about a new currency since his threat, but they are certainly not going away and will continue to work on a joint currency in the shadows.)

3. Trump Is Going to Visit Fort Knox and Inspect Gold Reserves: Donald Trump supports Elon Musk’s initiatives to audit the nation’s gold reserves and has announced that he intends to visit Fort Knox this Thursday to make sure the gold is in place, accounted for and nothing stolen. Fort Knox holds about half of the Treasury Department’s reserves and should currently hold 147.3 million ounces of gold. (BitcoinSensus)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. Strategy buys another 20,356 bitcoin for $2 billion as its total holdings reach 499,096 BTC. (TheBlock)

-Economic Indicators-
1. US 10-Year Treasury Yield at 2-1/2-Month Lows: The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note was little changed around 4.4% on Monday, the lowest level since mid-December, as traders weighed President Trump’s trade policies, fresh economic data, and the outlook for monetary policy. This week’s key focus will be the PCE report, which could offer further insights into inflation trends. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Bybit’s $1.46B Hack: Recovery Efforts Begin as North Korean Laundering Operation Unfolds: North Korean hackers have begun laundering approximately $140 million (10%) of the $1.46 billion stolen from Bybit through anonymous exchange services and conversion to Bitcoin. Bybit is offering a 10% bounty (up to $140 million) for help recovering the stolen assets, while experiencing massive user withdrawals totaling around $6 billion. Exchanges and stablecoin issuers have frozen $42.85 million in stolen funds through coordinated efforts, with Tether freezing 181,000 USDT. Anonymous exchange eXch has processed “tens of millions” in stolen assets despite Bybit’s requests to block the activity, claiming past reputational conflicts. (Blockonomi)

-Technology and Science-
1. Jason Lowery points towards the world global computer: “Digital Gold Theory will get the price of “Bitcoin” to $1M per “coin” by ~2030, but the real fun starts after that, when the public begins to understand and accept the deeper theoretical computer science behind PoW that has begun to emerge over the last few years, like “Power Projection Theory” and “Digital Matter Theory.” That will be when we see the price run away to $100M.”, he posted on X. (X)

-Bitcoin Community-
NSTR

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 49/100 (Down 6 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): Crypto’s biggest ever hack was conducted last week, where suspected North Korean group Lazarus has been implicated in the theft of almost $1.5B of Ethereum. The effects of the theft are rolling through the centralized exchanges and even the geopolitical landscape. Over $6B in crypto or cash have left ByBit exchanges. Bitcoin is slightly down but largely unaffected and as are those who hold their own keys to their Bitcoin. There is still much to learn, as well as consequences to observe about this event, but the safety of self-hosted, cold storage of Bitcoin is easily validated through this event. “Not your keys, not your coin”.

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Analyst: BV2A
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report