DIB 26 AUG 2024

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BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 858,521
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 26Aug24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ

BLUF: Telegram CEO Arrested in Paris / Israel, Hezbollah Exchange Heavy Fire / Syrian National Arrested for Stabbing in Germany / RFK Jr Drops Campaign, Supports Trump / USSS Agents Put on Admin Leave / Trump Looks to Nullify Abortion Concerns / Bitcoin Miners Raided in Thailand / Wyoming Looks to Issue Stablecoin / Fed Chair Signals Rate Cut, Stocks Up, BTC Up / MacOS Malware Targets Crypto Wallets / SpaceX Chosen to Rescue Stuck Astronauts / The ‘Fight You’ Stage Arrives

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $63,931, 25.29 oz Gold, .15 Median US House
24hr Hi: $64,996 / Lo: $63,356
Vol: $21B (Up 9%)
Mkt Cap: $1.26T (Even)
HashRate: 660 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 13 sats/vBtye (Up 187%)
Nodes: 19,566

—Reports—
-International Events-

  1. Authorities extend detention of Telegram app founder Pavel Durov after Paris arrest: French judicial authorities on Sunday extended the detention of the Russian-born founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, after his arrest at a Paris airport over alleged offences related to the messaging app. Durov is accused of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform and was stopped after arriving in Paris from Baku on his private jet on Saturday night. Durov lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and holds citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Rumble founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski said he “departed from Europe” after French police arrested Telegram’s CEO and the country “threatened” the video-sharing site. (TheGuardian/CoinTelegraph)
  2. Hezbollah and Israel exchange heavy fire as Cairo peace talks end without deal: A round of high-level talks in Cairo meant to bring about a ceasefire and hostage deal to temporarily end the 10-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza ended on Sunday without a final agreement, a US official said. Hezbollah claimed it had hit an Israeli military intelligence site near Tel Aviv as part of a barrage of hundreds of rockets and drones, while Israel claimed its dozens of strikes had been pre-emptive to avert a larger attack. (IndependentUK)
  3. German feds take over festival stabbing case, citing suspected terrorism: A 26-year-old Syrian man turned himself in after a deadly attack at a festival. Officials are investigating him on suspicion of being an Islamic State member. Federal prosecutors on Sunday identified the suspect as Issa Al H. and said he is “strongly suspected of membership in a terrorist organization abroad” — referring to the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the assault Saturday. (WaPo)

-US Events-

  1. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Drops Out of Presidential Race, Endorses Donald Trump: “I promised the American people that I would withdraw from the race if I became a spoiler,” Kennedy said at a rally here Friday. “In my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic path to electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control.” On Friday, Kennedy said he would seek to remove his name from the ballot in competitive battleground states—but leave it on others, letting voters back him in solid blue or solid red states where he wouldn’t affect the outcome. In some polling, RFK had around 5% of the vote, most of which may now go to Trump. (WSJ)
  2. Several Secret Service employees put on administrative duties following Trump assassination attempt: Multiple Secret Service personnel from the Pittsburgh Field Office and one member of Donald Trump’s security detail involved in the advance planning for Trump’s July 13 rally have been reassigned to administrative duties and ordered to work from home, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. (KCCIDesMoines)
  3. Trump would veto federal abortion ban, JD Vance says — as campaign tries to ‘end the culture war’ over abortion: Republican vice presidential hopeful Sen. JD Vance indicated that former President Donald Trump would vote any federal legislation to ban abortion nationwide — yet another illustration of how the 45th president is seeking to distance himself from hardliners in his party on the wedge issue. ((NYPost)

-Regulatory and Legal-

  1. Thailand Seizes Illegal Bitcoin Mining Facility After Rampant Power Outages: The development marks the fourth time authorities have busted an illegal Bitcoin mining operation around the same region this year. It follows a recent high-profile clampdown that led to the seizure of 650 crypto-mining devices worth over $5 million and the arrest of three individuals.

-Central Bank Digital Currencies-

  1. Wyoming Aims to Launch ‘Dollar-Dependent’ Stablecoin in Q1 2025: Wyoming plans to launch a dollar-based stablecoin, the Wyoming Stable Token, in Q1 2025. The digital asset aims to provide faster and cheaper transactions for individuals and businesses in the state. Governor Mark Gordon emphasizes the importance of adopting this “dollar-dependent” stablecoin to stabilize the market and bring debt onshore. (BitcoinCom) (AC-This is an interesting development given the state’s support of Bitcoin and crypto in recent times. This may prove to short-circuit CBDC efforts in the US and may have the effect of giving the populace a method to adopt digital transactions on a familiar currency. It could also have the effect of being a stepping stone to a CBDC.)

-Institutional Concerns-

  1. Bitcoin ETFs in US Saw a Significant Increase in Daily Net Inflows After Bullish Comments From Fed: U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a surge in daily net inflows, reaching over $252 million on Friday, the highest level since July 23. This increase in inflows can be attributed to favorable comments made at the Jackson Hole symposium, which boosted risk assets, including bitcoin. Trading volumes for these ETFs also reached their highest level since July 19, with BlackRock’s IBIT leading in both trading activity and inflows. (Decrypt)
  2. Hong Kong Bitcoin ETFs Reach $256 Million in Assets Under Management: Hong Kong’s three spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have reached over HK$2 billion in assets under management since their launch earlier this year. The largest of the Hong Kong Bitcoin ETFs is the ChinaAMC Bitcoin ETF, with over $142 million in net assets. (Decrypt)

-Economic Indicators-

  1. US 10-Year Yield Holds Decline: The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note held its recent decline to below 3.8% on Monday following dovish comments from the Federal Reserve chief. (TradingEconomics)
  2. US Stocks Rise On Powell’s Rate Cut Signals: Stocks in the U.S. rallied on Friday, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled that interest rate cuts are imminent, reinforcing expectations that the central bank will begin easing monetary policy in September. The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, the Dow Jones gained 462 points, and the Nasdaq advanced 1.4%. (TradingEconomics)
  3. US New Home Sales Soars to Over 1-Year High: Sales of new single-family houses in the United States soared by 10.6% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted 739 thousand homes in July of 2024, well above market expectations of a 1% increase. It was the sharpest increase in sales since 2022, and the highest number of homes since May 2023. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

  1. MacOS Malware ‘Cthulu Stealer’ Is Draining Crypto Wallets: According to a recent Cado Security report, this malware specifically targets macOS systems. Cthulhu Stealer is distributed as an Apple disk image (DMG) file, disguising itself as legitimate software such as CleanMyMac, Grand Theft Auto IV, or Adobe GenP, according to the Cado report. Upon execution, the malware uses osascript to prompt users for their system password and MetaMask credentials. It then creates a directory in ‘/Users/Shared/NW’ to store stolen information. The malware’s primary function is to extract credentials and cryptocurrency wallets from various sources, including browser cookies, game accounts, and multiple cryptocurrency wallets. (Decrypt)

-Technology and Science-

  1. Elon Musk’s SpaceX to Rescue Astronauts Stranded in Space on Boeing Starliner: NASA administrator Bill Nelson announced at a press conference on Saturday that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will return to Earth in February of next year on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Wilmore and Williams have been stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since their Starliner spacecraft experienced five thruster malfunctions and five helium leaks. The astronauts blasted off from Florida on June 5, and they were initially slated to return to Earth on June 13. Boeing employees labeled the decision to have SpaceX rescue the NASA astronauts as being “shameful.” (Breitbart)

-Bitcoin Community-
NSTR

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

  1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 55/100 (Up 21 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): The arrest of Pavel Druov has shaken freedom proponents in the social media domain, causing Rumble CEO to depart Europe and many others to signal support of Durov. The most obvious next freedom tech titan is Elon Musk, who also refuses to censor his platform X as Telegram was asked to do. The war against all freedom tech, from bitcoin to social media, seems to be ramping up both in the US and abroad. This is the ‘fight you’ phase of any paradigmatic change, and one long expected for bitcoin. One key indicator of the highly probable success of bitcoin and freedom tech is the number of ‘martyrs’ being created in both spaces, and yet support continues to rally, and the effort continues to grow, revealing an ‘anti-fragile’ nature. Now is the time to garner support for these efforts and to teach others of the shift to come, but also prepare for the fight at our doorstep and immediately ahead.

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

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