DIB 24 JUL 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 853,707
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 24Jul24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ

BLUF: Russian Intel Officer Bombed in Moscow / Netanyahu to Address Divided Congress / Secret Service Director Resigns / Trump Rallies in NC / TN Rep Files Impeachment Articles on VP Harris / Trump Files Complaint With FEC / Mt Gox Returns $3.2B Worth of BTC / Riot Mining Buys Block Mining

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $66,397, 27.50 oz Gold, .15 Median US House
24hr Hi: $67,359 / Lo: $65,484
Vol: $31B (Down 31%)
Mkt Cap: $1.31T (Down 1%)
HashRate: 653 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 19 sats/vBtye (Up 210%)
Nodes: 18,802

—Reports—
-International Events-

  1. Russian military intel officer injured in car bomb as Kyiv hits Putin’s Crimea ferry: A Russian military intelligence officer has been critically injured in a car bomb explosion in Moscow. Kremlin-approved media reported that the officer, believed to be the deputy head of a military unit specialising in communication, was wounded after an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated inside his car. The bombing comes as Ukrainian forces have “seriously damaged” a ferry in occupied Crimea which was being used by Russian forces to transport military equipment. (Independent)
  2. Israel’s Netanyahu Confronts Altered Political Landscape in U.S.: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday drops one of the world’s most polarizing politicians into the middle of an unprecedented U.S. political shake-up, a risky combination as he tries to win support from both parties for his country and its war. (WSJ)

-US Events-

  1. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigns: The move comes as lawmakers and an internal government watchdog move forward with investigations into the agency’s handling of Trump’s protection and how a gunman came close to the killing the 2024 Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania this month. Deputy Director Ronald Rowe has been tapped to lead the agency. (CNN)

2.Trump takes fight against Harris to North Carolina rally: Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, will hold his first campaign rally since Harris emerged as his near-certain Democratic foe in the 2024 election. The former president will appear at an event in Charlotte, North Carolina, a state that will be an important battleground in the Nov. 5 election. (Reuters)

  1. Tennessee Republican files articles of impeachment against VP Harris: Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Harris on Tuesday. The filing expands on previously introduced articles that target Harris’s record on immigration, a GOP rallying cry against the vice president. He added a second article in the new filing, which claims Harris covered up President Biden’s mental well-being, constituting a “breach of public trust.” (TheHill)
  2. Trump Campaign Files Complaint over Transfer of Biden Campaign Funds to Harris: Former President Donald Trump’s campaign filed the complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), claiming that the $96 million that sat in the Biden campaign’s account that was transferred to Harris is a violation, according to Bloomberg News. (Breitbart)

-Regulatory and Legal-

  1. Kamala Harris is catching up on crypto as she runs against Donald Trump: Entrepreneur and Bitcoin enthusiast Mark Cuban stated in an interview with Decrypt that the Harris camp had contacted him with questions about crypto. (Quartz)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies-

  1. Russian Lawmaker: Our CBDC Won’t Be Cross-border Ready Until 2026: Per the state news agency TASS, Anatoly Aksakov, the Chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on the Financial Markets, said that “Russians will be able to make payments abroad with digital rubles in two years at the earliest.” (CryptoNews)

-Institutional Concerns-

  1. Mt. Gox sees $3.2B BTC in outflows in just two hours: Mt. Gox again began shifting funds on July 23, moving over 47,500 Bitcoin worth almost $3.2 billion to two unknown addresses at 5:05 am and 6:27 am UTC. On July 22, Mt. Gox began preparing to repay creditors through Bitstamp, according to onchain fund holding movements. With the latest $3.2 billion in BTC shifted out of the Mt. Gox address, the tally amounts to over $12 billion sent out since July 16 to distributing entities helping return funds to creditors. (CoinTelegraph)
  2. Musk evaluates possible Tesla $5 billion xAI funding amid its steady Bitcoin reserves: Elon Musk appears to be considering whether his Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing company, Tesla, should invest $5 billion in his artificial intelligence (AI) startup, xAI. In a parallel development, the earnings call also revealed that Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings remained unchanged for the eighth consecutive quarter, with no purchases or sales between April and June 2024. Tesla owns $184M worth of Bitcoin. (CryptoSlate)

-Economic Indicators-

  1. Mortgage Rates at Over 5-Month Low: The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages declined by 5bps to 6.82% in the week ended July 19th, 2024, from 6.87% in the previous period. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

  1. CrowdStrike Explains Friday Incident Crashing Millions of Windows Devices: Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike on Wednesday blamed an issue in its validation system for causing millions of Windows devices to crash as part of a widespread outage late last week. (HackerNews)

-Technology and Science-

  1. In a seafloor surprise, metal-rich chunks may generate deep-sea oxygen: In an unexpected twist, metal-rich nodules found on the seafloor are generating oxygen, new research suggests. This meager but steady supply of the vital gas may help support seafloor ecosystems in areas currently targeted for deep-sea mining, scientists say. These nodules can act like batteries that split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen. (ScienceNews)

-Bitcoin Community-

  1. Bitcoin Miner Riot Scoops Small Kentucky Rival for $92 Million as Sector Sags: Riot Platforms said Tuesday it had acquired Kentucky-based Block Mining for $92.5 million, as headwinds faced by smaller Bitcoin miners continue to pose challenges for the sector. (Decrypt)
  2. Ferrari to Extend Cryptocurrency Payments to Europe: The Italy-based luxury sports car manufacturer began accepting crypto in the U.S. last October, in partnership with BitPay. Bitcoin {{BTC}}, ether {{ETH}} and USD coin {{USDC}} were the tokens accepted. Ferrari is now extending the program to Europe “to support dealers in better addressing the evolving needs of its clients,” (CoinDesk)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

  1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 69/100 (Down 1 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR

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