BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 886,726
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 07Mar2025
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Europe Looks to Re-Arm / USAID Money Cut Off to Dictator Oppositions / DOS Uses AI to Revoke Student Visas of Protestors / China Spies Arrested in US Army / US Crypto Summit Today / NY Looks to Criminalize Rug Pulls / Trump Signs EO for Bitcoin Strategic Reserve and Crypto Stockpile / Russia Pilots 'Digital Gold' Token / Stocks Down, Imports Up / USSS Seizes Russian Crypto Exchange / DuckDuckGo Launches Privacy-Based AI / SpaceX Starship Explodes / Some Countries Don't Tax Crypto, Bitcoin
Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $89,338, 30.62 oz Gold, .21 Median US House
24hr Hi: $91,430 / Lo: $84,717
Vol: $57B (Up 22%)
Mkt Cap: $1.77T (Down 1%)
HashRate: 790 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 3 sats/vBtye (Up 50%)
---Reports---
-International Events-
1. Europe scrambles to rearm as Trump threatens security guarantees and Russian threat looms: European leaders have vowed to rearm the continent at historic emergency talks held after the United States threatened to rip up 80 years of security guarantees over the trajectory of Russia’s war in Ukraine. With Russia posing what French President Emmanual Macron called an “existential threat” to Europe, the continent is now scrambling to prepare for the once-unthinkable prospect of defending itself in a potential future conflict without the help of America. (CNN) (AC-When viewed through the lens of a globalist vs. nationalist power conflict, articles like this appear inauthentic and bombastic at best.)
2. US Ends Aid Supporting Opposition To Latin American Authoritarians: The cancellations affected projects assisting political prisoners in Cuba, church groups opposing Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, and activists challenging Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro. The programs were managed by the International Republican Institute and funded by USAID. (IBTimes)
-US Events-
1. US to reportedly use AI to revoke visas of students it sees as Hamas supporters: The State Department revoked the visa of a student participating in protests supporting Hamas, following President Donald Trump's directive to cancel such visas. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced an AI-driven 'Catch and Revoke' program to identify and cancel visas of foreign students supporting designated terrorist organizations. (GroundNews)
2. U.S. Army Soldiers Arrested for Alleged Theft and Bribery: I can now report that today the FBI, along with our interagency partners led by AG Pam Bondi, arrested two active duty U.S. Army soldiers and one former U.S. Army soldier for theft of government property and a bribery scheme. These individuals have been charged with stealing America’s defense intelligence capabilities and empowering adversaries like China in betrayal of our country. (Patel, DirFBI on X)
3. White House Crypto Summit Today: The White House Crypto Summit is scheduled for today, March 7, 2025, at 1:30 PM EST and hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump and Crypto Czar David Sacks. This is the first ever crypto event by the U.S. government and is supposed to cover a wide range of topics, including regulatory framework, financial stability, and further developments. (CoinGape) (AC-Two high impact announcements for Bitcoin would be dropping the capital gains tax on sales and use as legal tender. Probability is low to moderate.)
-Regulatory and Legal-
1. New York Bill Proposes Criminal Penalties for Crypto Rug Pulls: Legislation introduced by New York lawmakers targets rug pull scams in the cryptocurrency space, aiming to protect investors from fraudulent activities associated with virtual tokens. The bill, proposed by Assemblymember Clyde Vanel, seeks to establish criminal penalties for offenses involving cryptocurrency fraud. (Decrypt)
-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
1. Trump Signs Order Establishing ‘Digital Fort Knox’ Bitcoin Reserve Funded by Seized Assets: President Donald Trump enacted an executive directive on Thursday, instructing federal agencies to launch a U.S. strategic bitcoin repository and a complementary repository for other digital currencies, solely funded by assets seized in civil or criminal cases. The reserve is projected to hold approximately 198,109 BTC pending a federally mandated audit. Authorities are authorized to acquire additional bitcoin via fiscally neutral strategies, while the secondary repository—limited to non-bitcoin assets from seizures—focuses on prudent Treasury management. (BitcoinCom)
2. Russia Begins Piloting Digital Gold System for International Settlements: The program, currently in its pilot stages, is part of a test to examine the feasibility of using gold assets for finalizing international exchanges involving Russia. Capital Lab partner Evgeny Shatov stated that digital gold assets can help the nation bypass sanctions and reduce its dependence on the dollar. (BitcoinCom)
-Institutional Concerns-
1. Trump’s Bitcoin reserve order reshapes institutional crypto investment: President Donald Trump’s executive order establishing a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a National Digital Asset Stockpile is expected to be a catalyst for wider Bitcoin adoption, according to investment analysts and crypto industry leaders. Large institutional investors, such as wealth managers, financial institutions and pension schemes, now have “no excuse” for not increasing exposure to Bitcoin and other crypto assets endorsed by the Trump administration. With the sell pressure reduced, the probability of the US government and individual states procuring Bitcoin has increased, Rasmussen said, adding: “Probability the government outlaws Bitcoin is definitively zero.” (CoinTelegraph)
-Economic Indicators-
1. US Stocks Plunge on Trade Uncertainty: US equities plunged on Thursday, as trade uncertainty and tariff policy shifts from the Trump administration fueled investor anxiety. The S&P 500 fell 1.8% and the Nasdaq sank 2.6%, both hit their lowest level since November, while the Dow Jones dropped 428 points. (TradingEconomics)
2. US Posts Record Trade Gap on Soaring Imports: The US posted a record trade deficit of $131.4 billion in January 2025, up from a downwardly revised $98.1 billion shortfall in December 2024 and exceeding forecasts of a $127.4 billion gap. Imports surged 10% to an all-time high of $401.2 billion, driven by anticipation of upcoming tariffs. (TradingEconomics)
-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. U.S. Secret Service Seizes Russian Garantex Crypto Exchange Website: A coalition of international law enforcement agencies has seized the website associated with the cryptocurrency exchange Garantex ("garantex[.]org"), nearly three years after the service was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in April 2022. Founded in 2019, Garantex was previously subject to U.S. sanctions for facilitating transactions from darknet markets and illicit actors such as Hydra and Conti. (HackerNews) (AC-Possibly related to the ByBit hack proceeds.)
2. DuckDuckGo's AI Tools Bring Privacy-Centered Experiences That Are Now Available to the Public: The new 'Duck(.)ai' tools are making waves in the tech industry as they offer a privacy-focused generative AI experience while leveraging smart and powerful features to access. Its main focus is offering a secure and worry-free experience that does not collect user data at all. It keeps this information exclusive to its owners, staying true to its core of privacy and security. (TechTimes)
-Technology and Science-
1. SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft explodes midflight for a second time, disrupting Florida air traffic: The uncrewed Starship mission lifted off at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET) from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas. After about 2 ½ minutes of firing, the Super Heavy booster separated as planned from the Starship’s upper stage, setting itself up for a successful landing within the “chopstick” arms of “Mechazilla,” or SpaceX’s launch tower near Brownsville, Texas. It has not been confirmed where exactly the vehicle exploded during Thursday’s mission. But the explosion was visible from parts of Florida and over the Caribbean, according to reports from residents of those locations that were shared with CNN. (CNN)
-Bitcoin Community-
1. As US Crypto Summit Looms, Here's The State Of Crypto Taxation Around The World: Countries with the Highest Crypto Taxes: Japan-15% to 55%, Denmark-37% and 52%, and Germany applies a 45% tax rate if assets are sold within a year. Several countries have chosen to exempt cryptocurrency from taxation. These include: Brunei, Cyprus, El Salvador, Georgia, Germany (if held for more than a year), Hong Kong, Malaysia, Oman, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates. (ZeroHedge)
-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 34/100 (Up 9 pts)
Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR
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Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report