DIB 8 APR 2024
BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 838,293
DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 08Apr24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: IDF Withdraws from South Gaza / Ecuador Police Storm Mexican Embassy to Arrest Former VP / Elon Musk Attacks Brazil High Court Judge, Causes New Investigation of X / Eclipse Fever Hits US / Biden to Announce New College Loan Forgiveness / NJ 4.8 Earthquake / Coinbase Secures Dealer License in Canada /
Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $72,435, 30.93 oz Gold, .17 Median US House
24hr Hi: $72,595/ Lo: $68,920
Vol: $31.5B (Up 59%)
Mkt Cap: $1.42T (Up 4%)
HashRate: 695 EH/s
Avg Fees: 4,677 sats/tx (Down 2%)
Nodes: 17,529
—Reports—
-International Events-
1. IDF withdraws all ground troops from southern Gaza, leaving just one brigade in the enclave: Overnight, the IDF withdrew all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip, after four straight months of fighting in the Khan Younis area. The Nahal Brigade is tasked with securing the so-called Netzarim Corridor, which enables the IDF to carry out raids in northern and central Gaza. (TimesOfIsrael)
2. Ecuador faces outrage after storming Mexican embassy to arrest former VP: Police stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, a controversial figure who had been seeking asylum there.
3. Ukraine denies a Russian claim that it launched drone strikes on a major nuclear power plant: Andrii Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency suggested there had been no attack, saying Russian forces routinely fabricate strikes on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. However, the strikes on this occasion were confirmed by U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency, though it didn’t attribute responsibility for the attack to either side. (TheHill)
4. Brazilian judge opens investigation into Elon Musk after billionaire calls for his ouster over censorship: Earlier Sunday, Musk wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Judge Alexandre de Moraes had “brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil” after he ordered that the social media platform block certain accounts. If X fails to comply with the order to block certain accounts, the company will be fined the equivalent of $19,740 a day, the judge said. (Fox)
-US Events-
1. Eclipse Fever Sweeps the U.S.: Experts estimate that more than a million people from inside and outside North America will travel towards the path of totality. Hotels, AirBnBs, rental car agencies and campgrounds are booked along the path of the eclipse. The eclipse will be viewable this afternoon from San Antonio, Texas to Montreal, Canada. Vehicle traffic throughout the US will be severely impacted. (Various)
2. Biden will announce new student loan forgiveness plan impacting tens of millions of Americans: Biden will share the details of the aid package at an event in Madison, Wisconsin. Although Biden’s Plan B for student loan forgiveness will be narrower than his initial effort (likely less than $20K for each student), tens of millions of borrowers may still see their balances erased or lowered if the program survives legal challenges this time. (CNBC)
3. N.J. earthquake aftershock tally climbs to 38 after Friday’s big tremor. More expected: More earthquake aftershocks continued to rattle New Jersey on Saturday afternoon and evening bringing the two-day total to 38 smaller tremors following the 4.8 magnitude earthquake on Friday. East Coast Earthquakes are rare. (NJNews)
-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Cathie Wood Praises Crypto Regulation in Hong Kong: During her address at Hong Kong’s Web3 carnival, Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, commended the regulatory efforts of institutions like the SFC to clarify the crypto industry. She emphasized the SFC’s role in establishing a robust framework for crypto trading under institutional supervision.
2. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Says US an Outlier As Major Economies Adopt Clear Crypto Regulatory Frameworks: Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer for the top US crypto exchange, says the majority of the Group of Twenty (G20) members are way ahead of the United States in helping the crypto industry flourish. (DailyHODL)
-Institutional Concerns-
1. Bitcoin ETF Inflows Bounce Back as Halving Excitement Intensifies: Half a Trillion Dollars up in April: Friday capped off a positive week with a substantial inflow, showing continued investor interest in BTC ETFs. Following an initial dip with $84.7 million in net outflows on April 1, the ETFs made a strong recovery, amassing $569.4 million in net inflows since then.
2. Coinbase Reaches ‘Crucial Milestone’ in Canada With Restricted Dealer Registration: Coinbase has officially been registered as a Restricted Dealer by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). This makes Coinbase the largest and first international cryptocurrency exchange registered in Canada. (BitcoinCom)
-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-
1. Zimbabwe switches to gold-backed ZiG currency: Last year Zimbabwe issued gold backed digital tokens, ZiG, and subsequently allowed them to be used as the official means of payment for local transactions. Now the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is using the ZiG brand as its new local currency to replace the Zimbabwean (Zim) dollar. It follows monthly inflation rates in the local currency surpassing 50% last month. After the previous notorious collapse of the Zimbabwean currency, the country switched to the U.S. dollar in 2009. It reintroduced the Zim dollar in 2019.(LedgerInsights)
-Economic Indicators-
1. Treasury Yields Higher, Inflation Awaited: The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note was above 4.4% to kick off a busy week. Inflation rate (CPI), producer prices, the Michigan consumer confidence and FOMC minutes will be keenly watched for further insights on price pressures and the Fed’s next steps. (TradingEconomics)
-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. US Environmental Protection Agency hack exposes data of 8.5 million users: The leaked database has personal information of users including name, email, phone numbers, and address. The breach, which has reportedly exposed personal and sensitive information belonging to EPA’s customers and contractors, was claimed by a hacker operating under the alias “USDoD” on Sunday. (CSO)
-Bitcoin Community-
1. Miners Offload Bitcoin in Anticipation of Reward Halving, Says Cryptoquant: Some miners are selling more [bitcoin] before the halving. Daily sales to OTC desks hit 1.6K bitcoin in late March, the most since August 2023. (BitcoinCom)
-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 76/100 (Up 5 pts)
Analyst Comments (AC): The next few weeks will entail a lot of happenings. The Bitcoin Halving is only 12 days away, the eclipse in the US is on many minds, inflation data may trigger Fed responses, while the middle east continues in turmoil. This is a good time to review security protocols for businesses, families, and yourself. Create backups of key data and localize storage if possible. Research and utilize ‘freedom technologies’ if centralization concerns you. Maintain your connection to sources of sanity, such as family and friends, nature and grounding beliefs.
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Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report