DIB 25 FEB 2025

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 885,250
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 25Feb2025
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: North American Tariffs Move Forward / Macron, Trump Optimistic on Ukraine / Fort Bliss May be Used for Migrants / MS-13 Member Arrested for Murder in TX / NSA Employees Fired for Sex Chat at Work / Michael Saylor Shares Plan with Crypto Task Force / South Dakota Says No to BTC Reserve / BTC ETFs Bleed in Feb / Bitcoin Hits Low / Crypto Hacks Picking Up / Google Drops SMS Verification / Apple Turns off Encryption in EU to Comply

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $88,934, 30.38 oz Gold, .21 Median US House
24hr Hi: $96,087 / Lo: $86,873
Vol: $78B (Up 210%)
Mkt Cap: $1.76T (Down 7%)
HashRate: 752 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 7 sats/vBtye (Down 12%)

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Trump says tariffs on Canada and Mexico ‘will go forward’: U.S. President Donald Trump intends to implement tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports on March 4 despite opposition. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has warned of dollar-for-dollar retaliation if tariffs are enforced against Canada. (GroundNews)

2. Trump, Macron strike optimistic tone on Ukraine after talks: Macron mentioned that he saw “substantial progress” following discussions with his counterpart in Washington, but he warned any potential agreement with Moscow must not amount to surrender for Ukraine. France has already spoken with the UK about sending peacekeeping troops as part of security guarantees and Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin would “accept” that arrangement. (DW)

-US Events-
1. Trump Plans to Use Military Sites Across the Country to Detain Undocumented Immigrants: President Trump’s team is developing a deportation hub at Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas, that could eventually hold up to 10,000 undocumented immigrants as they go through the process of being deported, according to three officials familiar with the plan. Fort Bliss would serve as a model as the administration aims to develop more detention facilities on military sites across the country — from Utah to the area near Niagara Falls — to hold potentially thousands more people. (NYTimes)

2. 7X Deported Suspected MS-13 Gang Member Arrested for Murder in East Texas Migrant Colony: A multi-agency manhunt for a seven-time deported Salvadoran illegal alien wanted for murder came to a head Monday night, with the subject taken safely into custody. The suspected MS-13 gang member took off on Monday after allegedly stabbing a neighbor in the Colony Ridge subdivision. Colony Ridge is reported to be Texas’ largest migrant colony. (Breitbart)

3. NSA Confirms Investigation into Employees’ ‘Secret Sex Chats’: An NSA spokesman stated the agency is taking administrative action against employees who abused the system, emphasizing expectations for compliance with laws and policies. Sources revealed that discussions included topics like polyamory and kink, occurring mostly on taxpayer time. (GroundNews)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Michael Saylor Pitches Crypto Framework To SEC Task Force, Highlights Legitimacy, ‘Rational’ Guidelines: In the three-page document titled Digital Assets Framework, Principles, and Opportunity for the United States, the tech billionaire laid out specific terminologies and principles he believed the SEC crypto task force should consider when working on a regulatory framework. The SEC has since confirmed that the task force did meet with Saylor and the tech executive submitted the proposal during the Friday meeting. Saylor’s proposal has five key points: Taxonomy: Clarity for growth, Legitimacy: The rights and responsibilities of service providers, Practicality: Ensure “rational” compliance to drive innovation, Vision: An opportunity to join the “renaissance”, Opportunity: The US as a global digital hub. (IBTimes) (AC-Saylor responded quickly following Coinbase’s similar appeal to the Task Force, which certainly had more crypto and institutional nuance than Saylor’s pitch.)

-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
1. South Dakota Rejects Bill Allowing State Investments in Bitcoin: South Dakota lawmakers voted to defer a bill allowing state Bitcoin investments, following a similar outcome in Montana. State Representative Logan Manhart proposed the bill to diversify the state’s financial portfolio with up to 10% in Bitcoin investments. (Decrypt)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. Bitcoin ETFs Approaching $1 Billion in Losses in February: Outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs have surged to over $928.9 million in the past three weeks, coinciding with Bitcoin’s tight trading range of $94,000 to $98,000 in February. The recent $1.4 billion Ethereum hack at Bybit has further impacted Bitcoin’s value, now trading at a 13% discount from its all-time high. (Decrypt)

-Economic Indicators-
1. Bitcoin plunges to three-month low as market volatility triggers $1.3 billion in liquidations: Bitcoin’s price slipped below $90,000 in the past 24 hours, reaching a level last seen in mid-November 2024. The market downturn extended to other major digital assets, including Ethereum, BNB, Solana, Cardano, and XRP, all of which experienced declines of between 5% and 13%. (CryptoSlate)

2. US Futures Point to Weak Open: US futures fluctuated around the flatline on Tuesday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq extended their losing streak to three sessions on Monday, as geopolitical and trade tensions weigh on sentiment. President Trump confirmed that tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports, previously paused for a month, will take effect next week, while reports surfaced that the US is tightening restrictions on China’s chip industry. (TradingEconomics0

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. AI, pig butchering scams pushed to a record $12.4B in 2024: The ‘Crypto Scam Revenue 2024’ report by Chainalysis revealed that the actual figure lost to ‘crypto’ scams was $9.9 billion. However, the analytics firm expects to identify more illicit addresses linked to last year’s scams and push the figure to $12.4 billion. High-yield investment scams (HYIS) and pig-butchering retained their positions as the two largest types of scams, accounting for over 80% of all funds lost by victims in 2024. (CoinGeek)

2. Crypto Neo-Bank Infini Suffers $50 Million Hack: Infini, a crypto neo-bank, lost $49.5 million in a hack by a former developer exploiting administrative privileges. The attacker used compromised access to drain funds from the platform, leading to the theft of $49.5 million from the Morpho MEVCapital USDC Vault. (Decrypt)

3. Gmail SMS Authentication Is Shutting Down in Favor of QR Code Verification: Google is now planning to phase out the use of SMS authentication for Gmail, and the company is looking towards using other methods that are far safer and more convenient than text messages. (TechTimes)

-Technology and Science-
1. Apple turns off iCloud encryption feature in UK following reported government legal order: Apple turned off the option for its British users to protect their iCloud accounts with end-to-end encryption on Friday, in the wake of a reported legal order from the British government. The feature, known as Advanced Data Protection (ADP), will no longer be accessible for Apple customers in the United Kingdom. (TheREcord)

-Bitcoin Community-
NSTR

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 25/100 (Down 24 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): It seems there is no definitive answer to the 11% drop of Bitcoin price over the last 48 hours, but speculation includes the decline of several US states to establish a Bitcoin reserve, the $ETH hack of ByBit, and unease over tariffs being instituted. The reengineering of US-EU-Russia ties is also causing unease. On a more conspiratorial level, options include the sale of USG Bitcoin that may or may not have been stolen from the Marshals service or price manipulation to enable nation-state or other large actors to buy Bitcoin at a discount. One more option is the concern over reported increases in quantum computing and its threat to the Bitcoin network. No matter the actual cause, the old adage of “buying into fear” may be applicable for the studied and courageous.

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