DIB 30 MAY 2024

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 845,781
DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 30May24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
__________________________
BLUF: Hong Kong Activists Found Guilty / Mayor Candidate Shot, Killed in Mexico / ANC Losing Supermajority in SA / Trump Jury Deliberates / Assault at Jewish School in NY / $900M For US Green School Buses / UST Weakness Leads to Stocks Selloff / Bitcoin Off-Ramps Challenging

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $67,892, 29.04 oz Gold, .16 Median US House
24hr Hi: $67,101 / Lo: $68,348
Vol: $27B (Down 4%)
Mkt Cap: $1.34T (Even)
HashRate: 597 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 30 sats/vBtye (Up 20%)
Nodes: 19,456

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. 14 pro-democracy activists found guilty of subversion in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case: The defendants are among 47 politicians, academics and other pro-democracy figures who were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion over their involvement in an unofficial primary election. Those who were convicted, along with 31 others who pleaded guilty, will be sentenced at a later date, with potential prison terms ranging from three years to life. (NBC)

2. Mayoral candidate shot dead at election campaign rally in Mexico’s Guerrero State: Alfredo Cabrera was murdered on Wednesday in the town of Coyuca de Benitez. A video published by local media showed a person approaching him at the campaign event, shooting him several times at point-blank range. (AlJazeera)

3. First results in South Africa’s election suggest it is heading for biggest political shift since apartheid: Early results from South Africa’s election suggest the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party could lose its majority for the first time in 30 years. With results in from 13% of polling stations at 10 a.m. local time, support for the ANC stood at 42.5%. (CNN)

-US Events-
1. Jury in Trump Trial Dismissed for the Day After Deliberating for Hours: The jury in former President Donald Trump’s business records trial was dismissed for the day on Wednesday after deliberating for hours and requesting to be given testimony from David Pecker — the former publisher of the National Enquirer — and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. (Breitbart)

2. Man Charged After Attempted Attack Outside Jewish School in New York: A man who police say drove onto a sidewalk and tried to strike pedestrians outside an Orthodox Jewish school in New York City was arrested on Wednesday on charges including attempted murder, reckless driving and hate crimes. (NYT)

3. Biden admin prioritizes $900 million for green school buses as illiteracy plagues US schools: On Wednesday, the White House unveiled nearly $900 million in awards to 530 school districts to replace thousands of aging, gas-fueled school buses with “cleaner” electric models. (Fox)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. South Korean Universities Face Banking Hurdles in Converting Crypto Donations to Cash: South Korea’s regulations prohibiting corporations from opening virtual asset exchange accounts are making it impossible for local universities to liquidate their large cryptocurrency donations. Financial authorities cite money laundering concerns as the reason for maintaining the ban. (BitcoinCom)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. NYSE Partners With Coindesk for Bitcoin-Tracking Financial Products: The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has teamed up with Coindesk Indices to develop cash-settled options contracts that track bitcoin prices. These contracts, based on the Coindesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX), are currently in the planning stage and awaiting regulatory approval. (BitcoinCom)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-
NSTR

-Economic Indicators-
1. 10-Year Treasury Yield Surges: The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note rose to over 4.63% on Wednesday, the highest level since the start of May, and triggering sharp selling pressure for government bonds worldwide as a strong macroeconomic backdrop and concerns of stubborn inflation prolonged expectations of higher interest. (TradingEconomics)

2. US Stocks Fall Sharply: US stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq losing 0.8% and the Dow Jones sinking about 400 points, as bond yields continued to rise following disappointing bond auctions yesterday. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. A 35-year-old Chinese man was arrested as the alleged mastermind behind a gargantuan botnet used to steal billions from zombie computers: An international law enforcement team has arrested a Chinese national and disrupted a major botnet that officials said he ran for nearly a decade, amassing at least $99 million in profits by reselling access to criminals who used it for identity theft, child exploitation and financial fraud including pandemic relief scams.The U.S. DoJ quoted FBI Director Christopher Wray as saying Wednesday that the “911 S5” botnet — a network of malware-infected computers in nearly 200 countries — was likely the world’s largest. (Fortune)

2. Hidden cameras found surveilling more Southern California homes spark concern: Another hidden camera aimed at a home, this time in Garden Grove, has residents on edge, with many homeowners wondering if it has anything to do with burglary tourism rings that have been making headlines in Southern California. The camera was found in the bushes and was camouflaged to prevent it from being seen, but who put it there and how long it’s been there is another unknown. The camera was found just a day after a report on Glendale Police arresting four men with a similar camera and battery pack camouflaged with leaves. In the Glendale case, the four men arrested were Colombian nationals who authorities believe are burglary tourists. (KYLA)

-Technology-
1. Telegram Wallet enforces new KYC rules, switches provider: Wallet users will have to disclose their name, phone number and date of birth to use all of the wallet’s default features, except for withdrawals. The “extended” version, asks for a user’s national identification to unlock transactions up to 100,000 euros ($108,000) daily and 1 million euros ($1.08 million) monthly. (CoinTelegraph)

-Bitcoin Community-
1. Jack Dorsey Backed Bitcoin Miner OCEAN Opens El Salvador Hub: The mining pool, run by Bitcoin core dev Luke Dashjr, has based its new hub in the capital city of San Salvador. The company said the new hub will help with its commitment to decentralize BTC mining globally. (Decrypt)

2. Texas Man Charged with Failing to Report Large Cryptocurrency Gains: Court documents reveal that Frank Richard Ahlgren III, from Austin, Texas, was recently charged for allegedly filing false tax returns and for structuring cash deposits to circumvent currency transaction reporting requirements. This indictment was handed down by a federal grand jury, calling into question activities between 2017 and 2019 where Ahlgren underreported or failed to report the sale of bitcoin valued at $4 million, despite realizing substantial taxable capital gains from the transactions. (PRNewsWire)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 73/100 (Up 1 pt)

Analyst Comments (AC): One of the possible targets discused for the fight against bitcoin adoption has been about the “on-ramps” into bitcoin, or the conversion of fiat money to bitcoin. A couple of articles today focus instead on the “off-ramps” of bitcoin into fiat and the difficulty involved. South Korean universities for example, are having trouble opening trading accounts to turn bitcoin donations into cash. Another man in Texas did not disclose capital gains on bitcoin conversions to US dollars, inciting criminal charges. More efforts, research and tehcnology might be focused on the free exchange of digital assets and currencies since we are quite far from being on a bitcoin standard globally.

Follow us on NOSTR: npub1qktts9naunvjdwsktq5xjdhwh539xt4x0mqj4yxq0q9dvm03ljvs6sms0r
____________________
Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
NNNN
*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report