DIB 4 MAR 2025

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 886,277
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 04Mar2025
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Tariffs War Escalates, Markets Drop / US Military Aid to Ukraine Paused / Largest Wildfire in Japan in 30 years / Trump to Address Congress Tonight / Fort Benning Returns / TSMC to Invest in US / Crypto Task Force to Televise Roundtable / Gold Inbound to NY / IMF Tells Bukele No More Bitcoin / Is Trump Negotiating Bitcoin Accumulation? / Trump Jr Says ‘Join Crypto or Die’ / Wrench Attack on OF Creator in TX Turns Bloody / ByBit Hacked ETH Goes Dark After BTC Bought / SpaceX Starship Launch Held /

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $83,368, 28.57 oz Gold, .19 Median US House
24hr Hi: $93,664 / Lo: $82,467
Vol: $72B (Down 6%)
Mkt Cap: $1.65T (Down 10%)
HashRate: 802 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 5 sats/vBtye (Even)

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Canada will retaliate with 25% tariffs on billions worth of U.S. goods as Trump’s tariff deadline passes: China also imposed 10-15% tariffs on U.S. Agricultural imports, including chicken and pork, starting March 10, in response to U.S. Tariffs on Chinese goods. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canada will implement 25% tariffs on over $20 billion worth of U.S. Imports as retaliation. U.S. Stock markets fell sharply amid escalating trade tensions, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.8% and Nasdaq decreasing 2.6%. Trump emphasized that there would be no negotiation room left for Canada or Mexico regarding the tariffs, which aim to address issues of fentanyl trafficking. (GroundNews)

2. Trump Pauses Military Aid to Ukraine Following Zelensky Feud: Last week, the Trump administration had planned to sign an agreement that would have tied the United States economically to Ukraine through a minerals trade deal, but the deal imploded when Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky began to litigate the terms of diplomacy during a White House press conference. In the days since, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he does not believe Zelensky has any desire to broker a peace deal with Russia. “This is not permanent termination of aid, it’s a pause,” the official said. “The orders are going out right now.” (Breitbart)

3. Japan battles largest wildfire in decades: More than a thousand people have been evacuated as Japan battles its largest wildfire in more than three decades. The flames are estimated to have spread over about 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) in the forest of Ofunato in the northern region of Iwate since a fire broke out on Wednesday. (TheGuardian)

-US Events-
1. Trump to deliver prime-time address before Congress as policy shake-ups test key alliances: The speech comes as Trump is making a sharp break from the previous administration, both on the international and domestic fronts. The theme of Trump’s speech is “the renewal of the American Dream,” a senior administration official said. (NBC)

2. Defense Department changes Fort Moore’s name back to Fort Benning: The Pentagon announced Monday that Fort Moore, formerly named Fort Benning for a Confederate general, will again be named Fort Benning, although it will now honor a different Benning. Defense Secretary Hegseth in a statement said the base will now honor Cpl. Fred G. Benning, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism in action during World War I, when he served in the U.S. Army in France in 1918. Benning died in 1974. (CBS)

3. TSMC To Invest $100 Billion To Expand Chip Manufacturing In US, Trump Announces: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer, plans to invest $100 billion in the United States, in addition to the $65 billion it had previously announced. The investment will support the development of three new advanced chip plants, expanding beyond TSMC’s existing facility and two ongoing projects in Arizona. (IBTimes)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. SEC Crypto Task Force live-streaming roundtable to find ‘solution’ to Gensler’s legacy: The US SEC announced Monday that its Crypto Task Force will host a series of roundtables addressing key regulatory areas for digital assets. The inaugural session, focused on defining security status, will take place on March 21. The session will be streamed live on SEC.gov, and a recording will be posted later. (CryptoSlate)

-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
1. New York Becomes the World’s Gold Vault: World Gold Council data indicates that over 600 tons of gold have entered the vaults of New York since December. John Reade, the council’s market strategist for Asia and Europe, explained that this is an extraordinary situation in anticipation of a possible total tariff implementation. (BitcoinCom)

2. IMF deal to ban public sector ‘Bitcoin accumulation’ in El Salvador: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is looking to restrict Bitcoin purchases by El Salvador as part of an extended $1.4 billion funding arrangement with the country. “Going forward, program commitments will confine government engagement in Bitcoin-related economic activities, as well as government transactions in and purchases of Bitcoin.” Despite the IMF’s stance, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has continued acquiring Bitcoin. On March 3, Bukele announced a new purchase, bringing the country’s total holdings to 6,100 BTC. (CoinTelegraph) (AC-The economic battle is real.)

3. Trump’s Mention of XRP, ADA and SOL May Be Bait to Secure BTC, ETH Reserve: Trump seems to have taken a page out of his real estate negotiations in pitching XRP, ADA and SOL as candidates for crypto reserve to win over approval for bitcoin. “Ask for 1,000 to settle at 500.” This classic real estate negotiation strategy involves starting with an extreme demand, creating leverage over the counterparty to ultimately seal the deal at a lower price, which was your intended goal all along. (CoinDesk) ((AC-Maybe.)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. Eric Trump Warns Wall Street: ‘Embrace Crypto Or Die’: Trump made the remark after his father, US President Donald Trump, announced that the US government is moving towards the creation of a Strategic Crypto Reserve. “For the first time, retail investors win. Traditional finance better catch up, or it will quickly become extinct. The world no longer runs on a Mon-Friday, 9 to 5,” Trump said in a post. (Bitcoinist)

-Economic Indicators-
1. Bitcoin, ether lose over 10% as Trump’s tariffs take effect: Bitcoin fell 10% and ether lost 14.7% as Trump kicked off a trade war with tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports taking effect Tuesday. Trump’s tough actions on tariffs have “further fueled risk-off sentiment,” an analyst said. (TheBlock)

2. US Stocks Slide Further as Trump Confirms Tariffs: Stocks in the US saw a steep sell-off on Monday after President Donald Trump’s confirmation of new tariffs, fueling fears about the economy. The S&P 500 dropped 1.7%, its worst day since Dec, the Nasdaq 100 lost 2.6%, and the Dow fell 649 points. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Police Investigating After OnlyFans Creator Says Home Invaders Demanded Bitcoin at Gunpoint: Kaitlyn Siragusa, a popular online streamer and content creator known as Amouranth, said that she was nearly robbed of her crypto on Sunday after three armed men broke into her Texas home. The 31-year-old streamer stated that she was asleep when three unknown males entered the residence by shooting a patio window and then kicking in the bedroom door. Siragusa stated that the suspects demanded access to her cryptocurrency account but were unable to access the funds. She was subsequently pistol-whipped and then led the suspects to an area where her husband was, according to the police spokesperson. Upon encountering the suspects, Siragusa’s husband fired one shot at them using his own weapon. According to Siragusa’s complaint, she believes one suspect was struck before they all fled on foot. (Decrypt)

2. Bybit CEO says 20% from $1.4 billion theft has ‘gone dark’ as hackers swap to bitcoin: Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said that 20% of the stolen $1.4 billion worth of crypto has “gone dark,” while 77% remains traceable, and 3% has been frozen. (TheBlock)

-Technology and Science-
1. SpaceX’s Starship: The most powerful rocket ever built calls off first flight attempt since explosive mishap: SpaceX is standing down from the eighth uncrewed test flight of its gargantuan Starship megarocket. The mission was expected to lift off during an hourlong launch window that opened at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET) from SpaceX’s Starbase facilities in South Texas. (CNN)

-Bitcoin Community-
NSTR

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 15/100 (Down 18 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): World economic changes are upsetting all markets. Bitcoin is acting inversely to gold as the latter is still widely viewed as the primary instability hedge. The confusing barrage of narratives conflating Bitcoin with ‘crypto’ are still deceiving people at large scale resulting in the rotation of investible dollars out of Bitcoin. The situation requires a step back from the turmoil of the present and grounding in the economics of first principles of scarcity and fungibility. In unsettling times, these two pillars are key to wealth retention and accumulation, no matter the chaos surrounding financial markets.

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