BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 862,947
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 26Sep24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
__________________________
BLUF: Israel Says No to Ceasefire / Putin Ups the Stakes For the West / Biden Guarantees More For Ukraine / Hurricane Helene Seeks to Destroy / NYC Mayor Adams Indicted / Man Tosses Backpack Bomb in Santa Barbara Courthouse / Israel to Go Cashless / UST Yield Dropping / Chinese Hackers Target US ISPs / BTC Mining Difficulty Drops
Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $64,540, 24.09 oz Gold, .15 Median US House
24hr Hi: $64,489 / Lo: $62,669
Vol: $27B (Down 9%)
Mkt Cap: $1.27T (Up 1%)
HashRate: 621 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 2 sats/vBtye (Even)
Nodes: 19,104
---Reports---
-International Events-
1. Israel's Netanyahu says troops will keep fighting Hezbollah "with full force" as U.S., France propose cease-fire: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office deflected international calls for a cease-fire with Hezbollah Thursday, hours after President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron issued a joint statement calling for them to back a temporary truce proposal with wide international support. Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz said definitively on social media early Thursday: "There will be no cease-fire in the north." (CBS) (AC-There is a high likelihood of a ground incursion into Lebanon by the IDF in the near future.)
2. Putin outlines new rules for Russian use of vast nuclear arsenal: Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia could respond with nuclear weapons if it were attacked with conventional arms in the latest changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine. On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “this should be considered a definite signal” to the West. (AlJazeera)
3. Biden announces nearly US$8 billion aid in weapons for Ukraine, including JSOW and Patriot munitions: Biden specifically asked the US Department of Defense to allocate the remaining security assistance funds to Ukraine before the conclusion of his term. I also have authorized US$5.5 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority to ensure this authority does not expire, so that my Administration can fully utilize the funding appropriated by Congress to support the drawdown of US equipment for Ukraine and then replenish US stockpiles," Biden said. (UkrainskaPravda)
-US Events-
1. Hurricane Helene strengthening on track to Florida and Southeast: Helene could be the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in over a year – and time is running out for those in its path to prepare. The eye is expected to make landfall this evening with its primary target located around Tallahassee, FL. (CNN)
2. Eric Adams Is Indicted After Federal Corruption Investigation: Eric Adams, a retired police captain who was elected as New York City’s 110th mayor nearly three years ago on a promise to rein in crime, has been indicted in a federal corruption investigation. The indictment remained sealed on Wednesday night, and it was unclear what charge or charges Mr. Adams will face. When the indictment is made public, Mr. Adams, a Democrat, will become the first New York City mayor to face a federal charge while in office. (NYTimes)
3. Man tossed bomb into California courthouse, injuring six: Six people were injured after a 20-year-old man tossed a backpack that exploded at a security screening area of a courthouse in Santa Maria on Wednesday, authorities said. The blast from the backpack was caused by “an intentionally set improvised explosion device,” a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said in a social media post. The man was identified as Nathaniel McGuire, a Santa Maria resident who was arrested July 28 after deputies found him carrying a loaded revolver that was not registered. (LATimes)
-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Crypto Haven Dubai Turns Strict on Marketing Crypto Investments: Starting next week October 1, virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in the United Arab Emirates will have to prominently state that “virtual assets may lose their value in full or in part, and are subject to extreme volatility”. (CoinGape)
2. Israel Goes Cashless: Israel’s promoting a new plan to abolish 200 shekel banknotes, forbid possession of physical gold & silver, and use AI for enforcement, while Gaza's state of cash deteriorates. The official excuse? fighting financial crimes and black money in the Arab society. (BitcoinMag)
-Central Bank Digital Currencies-
1. Hong Kong CBDC Pilot Enters Phase 2 With New Firms to Advance Digital Currency Use Cases: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has moved into Phase 2 of its e-HKD pilot program, expanding its exploration into tokenized deposits and e-HKD. With 11 groups of firms selected, the initiative delves into practical applications such as offline payments and asset settlement. (BitcoinCom)
-Institutional Concerns-
1. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF dominates ETF flows yesterday with $184.4 million inflow amid positive Ethereum ETF movements (CryptoSlate)
-Economic Indicators-
1. US 10-Year Treasury Yield Falls Back Below 3.8%: The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell back to below 3.8% amid increasing expectations the Fed will deliver another 50bps reduction in the fed funds rate in November. The odds for such a move increased to about 60%, much higher than around 39% in the previous week. (TradingEconomics)
-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Chinese Hackers Infiltrate U.S. Internet Providers in Cyber Espionage Campaign: Nation-state threat actors backed by Beijing broke into a "handful" of U.S. internet service providers (ISPs) as part of a cyber espionage campaign orchestrated to glean sensitive information, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Investigators are exploring whether the intruders gained access to Cisco Systems routers, core network components that route much of the traffic on the internet. The end goal of the attacks is to gain a persistent foothold within target networks, allowing the threat actors to harvest sensitive data or launch a damaging cyber attack. (HackerNews)
-Technology and Science-
NSTR
-Bitcoin Community-
1. Bitcoin Network Eases Up: Difficulty Falls 4.6% at Block 862,848: Bitcoin miners got a bit of a breather on Wednesday as the network’s difficulty dropped by 4.6% at block height 862,848. For the next two weeks, the process of finding a block subsidy is 4.6% easier than it was during the previous 2,016 blocks, which had the highest difficulty level ever recorded. (BitcoinCom)
2. MARA Stock Eyes 3x Rally As Marathon Digital Plans Big AI Push: MARA stock could see a 3x surge if Bitcoin reaches $90,000, as Marathon Digital unveils advanced cooling technology to meet rising AI demand. (CoinGape)
-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 50/100 (Down 17 pts)
Analyst Comments (AC): For the FBI to not overlook the corruption now so common throughout the political class (simply research net worth values of politicians over time), NYC Mayor Adams likely did something out-of-step of his party's guidelines. This could be one possibility: "Adams’ support for cryptocurrency has been a defining aspect of his tenure. Shortly after taking office in January 2022, he pledged to receive his first three paychecks in Bitcoin and Ethereum." -Decrypt)
Follow us on NOSTR: npub1qktts9naunvjdwsktq5xjdhwh539xt4x0mqj4yxq0q9dvm03ljvs6sms0r
____________________
Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
NNNN
*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report
