DIB 7 JAN 2025

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 878,231
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 07Jan25
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Trudeau Resigns, Bitcoiner in PM Running / South Korea President Barricades Himself / Earthquake Kills 95+ in Nepal, Tibet / First US Bird Flu ‘Death’ / Congress Certifies Trump Win / President Carter Lays in State in DC / EU AML Rules Affect G7 Countries / Czech National Bank Eyes Bitcoin Reserve / Bitcoin Reserve Companies Increase / BTC ETC Inflows Over $1B / Credit Card Defaults Up 50% / Google Chrome Extensions Hacked / China Heavy Cyberattacks on Taiwan

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $100,730, 37.99 oz Gold, .23 Median US House
24hr Hi: $102,712 / Lo: $98,729
Vol: $49B (Up 59%)
Mkt Cap: $1.99T (Up 2%)
HashRate: 800 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 3 sats/vBtye (Down 25%)
Nodes: 21,039

—Reports—
-International Events-
1. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Resign: Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday as both prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Trudeau said he will remain as caretaker PM until the Liberal Party selects its new leader. (Breitbart)

2. South Korea Faces Political Crisis as Arrest of Impeached President Stalls: Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol remains barricaded in his Seoul residence as investigators race against tonight’s midnight deadline to execute an arrest warrant over his failed December martial law declaration. If arrested, Yoon would become South Korea’s first sitting president to face detention, potentially destabilizing Asia’s fourth-largest economy and impacting key US alliance in the region. (GroundNews)

3. Powerful earthquake rocks remote region of Tibet and parts of Nepal, killing at least 95: The 7.1-magnitude quake struck at 9:05 a.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) and was followed by multiple aftershocks. The region close to the epicenter is sparsely populated but small villages are nestled in isolated and often hard to access Himalayan valleys. About 6,900 people are estimated to live in 27 villages within a 20-km (12-miles) radius of the epicenter. (CNN)

-US Events-
1. Louisiana reports first bird flu-related death in US, state agency says: The first death due to H5N1 bird flu in the US has been reported in Louisiana, involving a person older than 65 with pre-existing conditions who was exposed to wild birds. The bird flu outbreak has been detected in all 50 states, with significant impacts on egg production and prices, particularly in California, where egg prices have risen by 70%.(GroundNews)

2. Congress certifies Trump’s presidential election victory: Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the presidential election to Trump in November, presided over this year’s vote, while Vice President-elect JD Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, sat in the front row of the House chamber. (NBC)

3. President Carter to lie in state at US Capitol ahead of National Cathedral funeral: Former President Jimmy Carter’s body will be brought to the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday afternoon where he will lie in state for three days before a state funeral in Washington, D.C. Carter died last week on Dec. 29, at the age of 100. His death came just over a year after the passing of his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter. (Fox)

-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Former Bitcoin Supporter Leads Polls in Canadian PM Race: Following Justin Trudeau’s resignation announcement, Conservative Party leader and PM frontrunner Pierre Poilievre’s past advocacy for cryptocurrency and Bitcoin has resurfaced, including his 2022 promise to make Canada a crypto hub and his criticism of central banking policies. (Blockonomi)

2. New EU Rules Could Threaten Your Bitcoin Security: The Financial Action Task Force Travel Rule, is designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Based in Paris, France, the FATF is an unelected international organization established by the G7 countries in 1989. This expansion placed bitcoin and other digital assets under FATF’s scope, viewing them as potential threats to the established financial order. Countries refusing to comply with FATF recommendations risk exclusion from the global financial network. The application of the FATF Travel Rule to bitcoin undermines its core principles, particularly its emphasis on user privacy and financial freedom. This regulatory push risks turning bitcoin into yet another instrument of surveillance, eroding the very freedoms it was created to protect. (Forbes)

-Central Bank Digital Currencies/World Currencies-
1. Czech National Bank governor weighs Bitcoin for future reserve strategy: The central bank governor, Aleš Michl, recently said he was considering investing in Bitcoin as part of the bank’s diversification strategy. The Czech National Bank’s board, composed of seven members, would need to approve any decision to acquire Bitcoin. (CoinTelegraph)

-Institutional Concerns-
1. KULR Acquires $21 Million Worth of Bitcoin: KULR, a company adopting a bitcoin-first strategy, has recently acquired $21 million worth of BTC as part of its accumulation program. The company aims to allocate 90% of its free cash reserves to bitcoin. KULR follows in the footsteps of pioneers like Microstrategy, Metaplanet, and Semler Scientific, companies that have also adopted bitcoin-first strategies. (BitcoinCom)

2. Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs attract over $1 billion in combined daily inflows as BTC consolidates back above $100,000: Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the U.S. generated $1.1 billion worth of combined net inflows on Monday. (TheBlock)

-Economic Indicators-
1. US Credit Card Defaults Soar to Record Levels: Credit card default rates in the United States have reached a 14-year high. In the first nine months of 2024, lenders collectively had to write off $46 billion in severely delinquent loans. Data from the FDIC indicates that this figure represents a 50% increase compared to the previous year. Capital One, for example, the total amount in default, which stands at $7.68 billion, corresponds to 5.36% of credit card loans. (CoinTurk, FT)

2. US 10-Year Yield Stays Elevated Ahead of Key Jobs Data: The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note remained above 4.6% on Tuesday, staying near an eight-month high as investors braced for key economic data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Widespread cyberattack targets Google Chrome extensions, compromises 2.6 million devices: The campaign affected at least 33 extensions and potentially compromised data from approximately 2.6 million devices. The attack, which began on Christmas Eve, exploited a vulnerability in the Chrome Web Store’s developer authentication system. The compromised version of Cyberhaven’s extension, version 24.10.4, was available for 31 hours, from December 25 to December 26. During this period, Chrome browsers with Cyberhaven installed would automatically download and execute the malicious code. (Techspot)

2. Taiwan Hit With 2.4 Million Cyberattacks a Day – China’s Digital War on the Island Intensifies: The cyber threats for most of the attacks were contributed by Chinese forces. The Government Service Network (GSN) of Taiwan was the first to be targeted by cyber forces. These attacks have crippled important services and raised alarms about Taiwan’s vulnerability in the digital age. According to Reuters, telecommunications, transportation, and defense sectors were among the top targets, showing the broad scope of China’s cyber ambitions. (TechTimes)

-Technology and Science-
NSTR

-Bitcoin Community-
1. Retail Bitcoin Transactions Drop To Lowest Level Since 2021: Top analyst Axel Adler said retail activity for transactions under $10K has dropped to its lowest point since the summer of 2021—a period marked by widespread market panic following China’s mining ban. This decline in retail participation indicates that smaller investors are staying on the sidelines for now. (Bitcoinist)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 78/100 (Up 2 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR
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Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report