BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 859,834
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 04Sep24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: US DOJ Charges Hamas for Deaths of Hostages / Shakeup in Ukraine Ministers / Jailbreak in DR Congo Leads to 129 Deaths / Newsom Declares Emergency in CA / Aide to NY Governors Arrested in China Spy Ring / Qatar Courts Crypto with Regs / China and South Africa Meet Over BRICS / Turkey Applies to Join BRICS / PCE Up, Stocks Down / London Transport Hit With CyberAttack / Boeing Sends Starliner Home Without Astronauts / Bitcoin HashRate Hit ATH
Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $56,633, 22.73 oz Gold, .13 Median US House
24hr Hi: $59,314 / Lo: $55,673
Vol: $33B (Up 46%)
Mkt Cap: $1.12T (Down 4%)
HashRate: 634 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 3 sats/vBtye (Down 25%)
Nodes: 19,367
---Reports---
-International Events-
1. Justice Department announces terrorism charges against senior Hamas leaders after hostage deaths: The US Department of Justice on Tuesday unsealed a sweeping set of charges against six leaders of Hamas. The case, originally filed in New York federal court in February, accuses the Hamas officials of a range of terrorism-related offenses stretching from 1997 through the present conflict with Israel that began on October 7. “The Justice Department has charged Yahya Sinwar and other senior leaders of Hamas for financing, directing, and overseeing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the national security of the United States,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. (IndependentUK)
2. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba resigns as Russian strikes kill 7 people in Lviv: Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, 43, didn’t give a reason for stepping down. His resignation will be discussed by lawmakers at their next session, parliamentary Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on his Facebook page. Four other Cabinet ministers tendered their resignations late Tuesday, making the Cabinet reshuffle likely the biggest since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. (AP)
3. DR Congo Jail Break Attempt Leaves 129 Dead: An attempted jail break from DR Congo's largest prison has left at least 129 people dead and led to women being raped, the interior minister said Tuesday. The circumstances around the bid to bust out of the Makala prison in the capital Kinshasa, which holds 10 times the number it is meant to house, in the early hours of Monday remain unclear. The authorities have given no indication as to how many inmates escaped or attempted to do so. (IBT)
-US Events-
1. Newsom declares state of emergency in Rancho Palos Verdes after additional power shutoff following landslides: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proclamation of a state of emergency would allow the state government to “utilize and employ” state resources to provide assistance to nearly 300 people who live and work in the area without gas and electricity. After SoCalGas cut off its gas service to the community due to the land movement in early August, Southern California Edison Sunday terminated its electricity supply to 140 homes and 53 businesses in the Portuguese Bend community before expanding the power shut-off to an additional 105 houses in the Seaview community Monday. (NBC)
2. Former aide to Democratic NY governor charged with being an agent for communist China: The office of Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was infiltrated by an agent working for the communist Chinese government, according to the FBI. On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced the arrest of Linda Sun for allegedly acting on "behalf of the government of the People’s Republic of China." Sun worked for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and as the deputy chief for the current governor. She is accused of money laundering conspiracy, violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and alien smuggling. Sun's husband, Chris Hu, was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and misuse by means of identification. (Blaze)
-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Qatar improves regulatory clarity for cryptocurrency with newly released framework by major SEZ: The “QFC Digital Assets Framework 2024” offers more clarity and sets the legal and regulatory foundation for crypto assets, including tokenization, property rights in tokens, custody arrangements, transfer and exchange. The QFC is an “onshore business and financial center” located in Doha. It offers its own legal, regulatory and tax environment, allowing up to 100% foreign ownership and 100% repatriation of profits. According to its website, the QFC charges a rate of 10% corporate tax on locally sourced profits. (TheBlock)
-Central Bank Digital Currencies-
1. China and South Africa Boost BRICS Ties: Key Outcomes from Xi's Meeting With Ramaphosa: China and South Africa committed to deepening cooperation within the BRICS framework during South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s second state visit to China, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The leaders emphasized the importance of expanding BRICS and enhancing economic coordination to support sustainable development. (BitcoinCom)
2. Turkey Seeks to Join BRICS to Strengthen Global Influence: Turkey has reportedly formally requested to join the BRICS economic bloc to expand its global influence and establish new alliances beyond its traditional Western partners. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration views the shifting geopolitical landscape as an opportunity to strengthen ties with both Eastern and Western nations while remaining committed to NATO. Erdogan emphasized the importance of balanced international relations. (BitcoinCom)
-Institutional Concerns-
1. Bitcoin ETFs Shed $288 Million in Fifth Day of Negative Flows: The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) ETF reported a single-day net outflow of $50.4 million, while Fidelity's FBTC saw an even larger outflow of $162.3 million. These outflows have reduced the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs to $52.7 billion/ (Decrypt)
-Economic Indicators-
1. US Core PCE Prices Rise as Expected: The US core PCE price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge to measure underlying inflation, rose by 0.2% from the previous month in July of 2024, in line with market expectations and consistent with the 0.2% increase in June. (TradingEconomics)
2. Stock Futures Point to Further Losses After Broad Selloff: Investors are nervous after Tuesday's selloff, with U.S. stock futures falling and markets in Asia and Europe on the retreat. Tuesday’s tumult was driven by U.S. data that highlighted ongoing manufacturing weakness. (WSJ)
-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Transport for London Hit With an Ongoing Cyberattack; Claims Data Is Safe: The local government agency heading Greater London's transportation, Transport for London (TfL), revealed that it was hit with an ongoing cyberattack. Not much is known regarding the attack against the transportation authorities, and it is yet to identify what kind of cybercrime has occurred. (TechTimes)
-Technology and Science-
1. Bloomberg Terminal Integrates Polymarket's Prediction Data: Bloomberg Terminal has integrated Polymarket's prediction data, bringing it into mainstream political discourse. This move allows a broad audience of mainstream news consumers to access Polymarket's data, which is increasingly being relied upon as a source of truth. Polymarket traders are currently betting that Donald Trump will win the 2024 U.S. presidential election with a 51% probability. (Decrypt)
2. Boeing Starliner to Return Crewless This Week; Astronauts to Stay in ISS: NASA confirms that the Boeing Starliner is set to return to the planet after massive delays this week, September 6, but it will be crewless on its flight home. This return date is exactly three months since Boeing's spacecraft docked at the International Space Station last June 6, a mission that saw significant issues as helium leaks manifested along the way. (TechTimes)
-Bitcoin Community-
1. Bitcoin Hash Rate Hits New All-Time High Even as Price Falls: Bitcoin's hash rate has reached an all-time high of 742 exahashes per second, indicating a stronger and more secure network. The high hash rate makes it difficult for attackers to control the network, as they would need significant computing power to match it. Despite the recent dip in Bitcoin's price, the network's resilience and security provide reassurance for long-term investors. (Decrypt)
-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 27/100 (Up 1 pts)
Analyst Comments (AC): With Turkey's bid to join BRICS, the full picture of the counterweight global effort to US hegemony is coming into focus. BRICs is drawing more and more applicants that are looking for alternatives to the US dollar, economic power and military might that have defined the last 60 years of geopolitics. BRICS is lining up to be a serious contender to the legacy US power, yet cooperative systems such as BRICs may lack the unity of mind and effort to pick up hegemonic status. This factor leads into the debate over the transition phase, usually marked by global conflict, and if a cooperative system like BRICS could hold power for long, or would one nation pick up the mantle of power for the next period of hegemony? Could China rise to the occasion? Russia? Or a new form of the USA?
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Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report
