DIB 29 MAR 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)

Block: 836,792

DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 29Mar24

Precedence: Routine (RR)

Controls: Public Release

QQQQ

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BLUF: Russia Strikes Ukraine Power Plants / SBF Get 25 Years / US to Restart Nuke Power Plant / Gold at ATH / Anti-CBDC Politics Increasing / Search BTC Wallet Balances, Transactions on Google

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $70,174, 31.46 oz Gold, .16 Median US House

24hr Hi: $71,546/ Lo: $69,605

Vol: $30B (Down 30%)

Mkt Cap: $1.38T (Down 1%)

HashRate: 560 EH/s

Avg Fees: 8,498 sats/tx (Down 67%)

Nodes: 18,308

—Reports—

-International Events-

1. Russian attacks damage Ukraine’s power plants: Russia fires dozens of drones and missiles at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight. At least six people are injured, and power is cut in several central and western regions of Ukraine. (AlJazerra)

2. Russia seriously considers opportunity to reinstate death penalty after Crocus City Hall attack: Russian officials believe that the moratorium on the death penalty that was introduced in Russia in 1996 in connection with the entry into the Council of Europe should be suspended. State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin believes that there is no need for any referendum here — it would only be enough for the Constitutional Court to lift it. (PravdaRU)

-US Events-

1. FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Gets 25 Years Prison Sentence: The sentence, though significant, represents only the opening chapter in a saga likely to continue through appeals and potential early release considerations. Federal good behavior credits and the First Step Act, a prison reform bill, could significantly reduce his sentence. (Bitcoinist)

2. In Historic Reversal, US To Restart A Shut Down Nuclear Power Plant For The First Time Ever: On Wednesday the federal government announced that it would provide a $1.5 billion loan to restart a nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan. NJ-based Holtec International acquired the 800-megawatt Palisades plant in 2022 with plans to dismantle it, but with support from the state of Michigan and the Biden administration, the emphasis has shifted to restarting the nuclear power plant by late 2025 instead. (ZeroHedge)

-Regulatory and Legal-

1. Crypto Advocate Challenges Warren in Senate Race: John Deaton’s entry into the Massachusetts Senate race, marked by a personal investment of $500,000 and an appeal for equal contributions from his followers, represents a significant challenge to the status quo, embodying his commitment to confronting established political elites and advocating for transformative change. (BlockchainReporter)

2. US PCE Inflation Data is to be released later today.

3. Gold Hovers Near All-Time Highs: Gold held above $2,230 an ounce in holiday-thinned trade on Friday. (TradingEconomics)

-Institutional Concerns-

1. Bitcoin ETF blowout wows even BlackRock’s Larry Fink: the explosive growth of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, especially the firm’s, caught even the seasoned Wall Street executive off guard. mean, look, we’re creating now a market that has more liquidity, more transparency. And I’m pleasantly surprised. And I would never have predicted it before we filed it, that we were going to see this type of retail demand,” (FoxBusines)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-

1. CBDC Prohibition Is Gaining Momentum in US: “CBDCs are a desperate reaction by governments to prevent decentralized currencies from threatening the monopoly of national currencies. They enable maximum government control over people’s lives through the direct provisioning of money and financial services.” A group of House conservatives are trying to tie a vote on Rep. Tom Emmer’s (R-MN) central bank digital currency bill to a deal on broader cryptocurrency legislation. (Forbes)

-Economic Indicators-

1. Applications for U.S. Unemployment Benefits Dip to 210,000 in Sign Job Market Remains Strong: The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims dipped by 2,000 to 210,000. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 750 to 211,000. Overall, 1.8 million Americans were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended March 16, up 24,000 from the week before. (AP)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

1. Bitcoin wallets drained as infostealer malware targets Call of Duty players: Unidentified cybercriminals have released an information stealer malware targeting gamers who cheat in Call of Duty, resulting in the theft of bitcoin (BTC) holdings from affected players. The malware has already compromised hundreds of thousands of accounts, with the numbers continuing to grow. (CryptoBriefing)

-Bitcoin Community-

1. Google’s inclusion of Bitcoin wallet balances sparks privacy debate: Google has expanded its features to allow users to search wallet balances across multiple blockchains, such as Bitcoin, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon and Fantom. When entering the wallet address, search results display the token balance by network along with the last updated time. Users can search three Bitcoin address formats — P2PKH, P2SH and Bech32 — and view current balances and recent transactions. (CoinTelegraph)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 79/100 (Down 1 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): With BTC wallet balances and transactions now searchable on Google, it would be wise to keep wallet addresses as private as possible in the public domain.