DIB 27 MAR 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 836,513
DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 27Mar24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: IDF Hit IRGC Targets in Syria / Gaza Air Drops Kill Again / Japan Pacifist No More / US Ship Crash Causes Speculation / EU Crypto AML Law Passes / HSBC New Token Backed by Gold /

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $70,214, 32.16 oz Gold, .16 Median US House
24hr Hi: $71,134/ Lo: $69,335
Vol: $34B (Down 24%)
Mkt Cap: $1.38T (Down 1%)
HashRate: 593 EH/s
Avg Fees: Unavailable– sats/tx (%)
Nodes: 18,233

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Israeli Air Force responsible for overnight strikes on Iran-linked operatives in eastern Syria: The strikes in the Deir Ezzor and al-Bukamal area targeted assets belonging to Iran’s Unit 4000, the Special Operations Division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Intelligence Organization, and the special operations unit of the IRGC’s Quds Force in Syria, known as Unit 18840, according to Israeli defense sources. The US has denied involvement in the strikes. (TimesOfIsrael)

2. Gaza aid drop in sea leads to drownings: Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office says 18 Palestinians have been killed while trying to collect desperately-needed aid that was airdropped over northern Gaza. Twelve people drowned when they went into the sea to retrieve food packages, the other six were trampled to death in “stampedes” when other aid packages landed on the ground, a statement said. The US says two C-17 aircraft dropped 46,000 “meals ready to eat” (MREs) over the north on Monday, while the UK says one of its A400M aircraft dropped 10 tonnes of water, rice, cooking oil, flour, tinned goods and baby formula. (BBC)

3. Japan approves plan to sell fighter jets to other nations in latest break from pacifist principles: Japan’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it’s developing with Britain and Italy to other countries. Japan has long restricted arms exports under the country’s pacifist constitution, but has rapidly taken steps to deregulate amid rising regional and global tensions, especially from nearby China. (AP)

-US Events-
1. Safety investigators to probe whether dirty fuel contributed to Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse: The lights on the Dali began to flicker about an hour into the ship’s trip early Tuesday. A harbor pilot and assistant reported power issues and a loss of propulsion prior to the collision, according to a Coast Guard briefing report. The ship did not have enough time to drop anchors to stop drifting, according to the officer, and crew members issued a mayday call before the crash happened. One body of the six presumed dead workers on the bridge has been recovered. (Fox)

2. Gov. Youngkin Vetoes Virginia Democrats’ ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed Democrat lawmakers’ “assault weapons” ban on Tuesday, along with a number of other Democrat-backed gun controls. (Breitbart)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. EU Anti-Money Laundering Laws Ban Provision of Services for Anonymous Cryptocurrency Accounts: A new set of anti-money laundering laws passed by the EU has banned crypto asset service providers from servicing and providing custody to anonymous cryptocurrency accounts. The approved proposal for the “prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing” alleges these assets present “risks of misuse for criminal purposes.” (BitcoinCom)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. HSBC’s Gold Token Goes Live for Retail Investors in Hong Kong: HSBC is claiming bragging rights for being the first bank to create a blockchain-based real world asset aimed at retail investors. The HSBC Gold Token, minted on the bank’s Orion digital assets platform, is available via HSBC Online Banking and HSBC HK Mobile App. (CoinDesk)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-
NSTR

-Economic Indicators-
1. US Mortgage Applications Fall for 2nd Week: Mortgage applications in the US fell by 0.7% on the week ending March 22nd, extending the 1.6% drop in the previous week to further trim the sharp mortgage demand from earlier in the month. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Munchables Insider Steals $62.5 Million, Then Returns It in Bizarre Web3 Heist: The web3 game Munchables is hosted on the Blast layer-2 platform. According to blockchain researcher ZachXBT, the attack resulted in the disappearance of 17,400 ETH, worth $62.5 million. The developer responsible for the theft has since returned the funds without any conditions. (CoinPedia)

2. Hackers Are Targeting Bitcoin Hot Wallets—Here’s How: The founder of the Ordinal Rugs project said hackers targeted members of the Bitcoin Rock Discord server on Tuesday, stealing $1.47 BTC, around $103,003, and 4 BTC, around $208,196, worth of Ordinal inscriptions from their wallet. (Decrypt)

-Bitcoin Community-
NSTR

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 83/100 (Up 2 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): There is a lot of speculation concerning the container ship “Dali” running into the Francis Scott Key Bridge yesterday. The MSM has already said that speculation is dangerous (CNN), while Fox is hinting that ‘dirty fuel’ is the culprit. There are innumerable possible explanations for the incident, and it is prudent to not discard any of them. This could be an intentional act, an act of incompetence, or simply an accident beyond control. What is known are the facts of the crash and the consequences, which are significant. The infrastructure in the US has been host to an increase of safety incidents from planes falling apart, train derailments, and now a critical ship/bridge disaster. It is evident that if the US is being targeted via its infrastructure, it is not obviously attributable, meaning skillful actors. If the US is not being targeted, then incompetence in US government management has increased. Neither conclusion should be withheld from the populace that is subject to the dangers involved.

Follow us on NOSTR: @Bitcoin Veterans
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Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report