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⁨📷⁩ ⁨BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)

Block: 928,407

DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 18Dec2025

Precedence: Routine (RR)

Controls: Public Release

QQQQ

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BLUF: EU Votes to Use Russian Assets / China Turns Hainan Island into FTZ / Mexican President Asks UN to Intervene in US-Venezuela Tensions / Brown U Shooter Still At Large / Trump Announces $1,776 'Warrior Dividend' / US Admits Liability in DC Air Crash / Fed Allows State Banks Permission to Engage in Crypto / SEC Allows Financial Firms to Control Your Keys / Bhutan Invests 10K BTC Into New City / MSTR Controls 3.2% of Bitcoin Supply / BTC ETFs Outflow, Price Down / Stocks Dump / Play Game, Lose Crypto / New Grok Rules Allow Your Inputs to Be Used by X / Bitcoin Lightning at ATH

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $87,629, 20.22 oz Gold, .20 Median US House

24hr Hi: $90,264 / Lo: $85,316

Volume: 44B (Up 19%)

Mkt Cap: $1.74T (Even)

HashRate: 1 ZH/s

Avg Fee Rate: 2 sats/vBtye (Even)

---Reports---

-International Events-

1. EU leaders convened to approve using frozen Russian assets to provide billions in loans to Ukraine, amid ongoing tests of the bloc's unity. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia would seize additional Ukrainian territory if European peace initiatives are dismissed. (Reuters)

2. China launches $113 billion free-trade experiment on Hainan island: China on Thursday split off a Belgium-sized island with an economy comparable to a mid-ranked country from the mainland for customs processing, part of a bid to join a major trans-Pacific trade deal and establish a new Hong Kong-style commercial hub. Officials hope that turning the southern province of Hainan into a duty-free zone will spur foreign investment, with goods that achieve at least 30% local value-added able to move on into the world's second-largest economy tariff-free. Foreign firms will also be able to operate in service sectors that are restricted on the mainland. (Reuters) (AC-It is an interesting study to observe how a communist tyranny has learned to harness the power of capitalist incentive structures, via operations in Hong and now Hainan, which is no small island. Advances in digital surveillance technologies may be a significant contributor to the CCP allowing such a large island seek economic rewards. It also highlights the weakness in the current Chinese economy.)

3. Mexican President Sheinbaum Calls UN To Get Involved In U.S.-Venezuela Tensions To 'Avoid Any Bloodshed': Sheinbaum said the UN has not "taken its role" in conflict resolution so to "always look for a peaceful solution among the peoples." Trump announced on Monday the blockade in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, saying the U.S. has designated the Venezuelan authoritarian government as a foreign terrorist organization and ordered a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers. (IBTimes)

-US Events-

1. A gunman responsible for a shooting at Brown University in the US remained at large on the fifth day of an intensive manhunt. Police appealed to residents for doorbell camera footage to aid the investigation. (Fox)

2. Trump announces $1,776 | 0.02 BTC ‘warrior dividend’ payout for military personnel: Donald Trump announced in a prime-time White House address that more than 1.45 million military service members will receive $1,776 each as a `Warrior Dividend` before Christmas.

Trump said the payments were funded by tariffs and the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill.' (GroundNews)

3. U.S. Government Admits Liability in Deadly D.C.-Area Air Collision: A federal court filing says the Army crew piloting a Black Hawk helicopter could have avoided the nighttime accident in January if it had been able to see and avoid a commercial jet. Because of the actions of the pilots, “the United States is liable to a plaintiff who is legally eligible to recover certain monetary damages” in an “amount yet to be determined and apportioned” among the victims, the filing said. (NYTimes)

-Regulatory and Legal-

1. Fed Updates Policy to Allow State Member Banks to Engage in Crypto-Related Activities: The Federal Reserve has replaced a nearly three-year-old policy to allow state member banks to engage in crypto-related activities, aiming to encourage responsible innovation. (Decrypt)

2. New SEC rules lets Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sach legally “control” your private keys without the safety net you assume exists: The SEC has refreshed its crypto asset FAQs, clarifying how broker-dealers like Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and others can satisfy custody and capital requirements for crypto asset securities, and addressing how the framework applies to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF activity. Regulators just quietly removed the primary "safe harbor" requirement, allowing banks to claim custody of your assets through paperwork rather than physical possession. (CryptoSlate)

-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-

1. Bhutan pledges 10K Bitcoin to develop its ‘mindfulness city’: Located in the town of Gelephu in Southern Bhutan, Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) was launched in 2024 as Bhutan’s new economic hub to stop the exodus of young Bhutanese from the country by creating high-value local jobs. The city offers regulatory flexibility for crypto and fintech firms and serves as a space to further Bhutan’s Bitcoin mining. (CoinTelegraph)

-Institutional Concerns-

1. Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin Treasury Strategy Now Accounts for 3.2% of BTC Supply: Strategy owns 3.2% of all Bitcoin, spending nearly $2 billion | 22,904 BTC in the past two weeks to grow its BTC treasury to 671,268 BTC. (BitcoinMag)

2. U.S. Spot Crypto ETFs See Outflows: U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs recorded combined outflows exceeding $580 million | 6,641 BTC on Monday, reflecting a broader trend of capital exits from these products. (CoinGecko)

-Economic Indicators-

1. US 10-Year Yield Muted Ahead of CPI Report: The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note remained subdued around 4.14% on Thursday, holding declines from earlier in the week as investors positioned ahead of the highly anticipated November CPI report, which is expected to show that price pressures remain above the Federal Reserve’s target. (TradingEconomics)

2. Tech Rout Drags Wall Street Lower: US stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 falling 1.2% to mark a fourth consecutive session of losses. The Nasdaq dropped 1.8%, while the Dow Jones ended 228 points lower, also extending its losing streak to four sessions. The tech sector led the declines amid persistent concerns over AI-related valuations. (TradingEconomics)

-Security Concerns-

1. Singapore Entrepreneur Loses Crypto Holdings to Malware Dressed Up as a Game: Mark Koh, a Singapore-based entrepreneur, lost all of his crypto holdings to malware disguised as a game-testing scam. Despite taking precautions, his software wallets were drained of $14,189 within 24 hours, likely due to a combination of authentication token theft and a Google Chrome zero-day vulnerability. (Decrypt)

-Technology and Science-

1. X claims the right to share your private AI chats with everyone under new rules – no opt out: By classifying prompts as "Content," the platform seizes ownership of your inputs, limiting your ability to recover damages to a strict $100 maximum. (CryptoSlate) (AC-Deeply troubling. Upload your resume or cover letter to Grok, and X can use if for whatever it wants. ChatGPT also allows this, but X has been touting it's privacy and freedom values, with this latest move not supporting those values.)

-Bitcoin Community-

1. Bitcoin’s Lightning Network Capacity Hits New-All Time High: Bitcoin’s Lightning Network has hit a record 5,637 BTC in capacity, driven by increased capital from institutions, even as user adoption and node growth lag behind. (BitcoinMag)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 17/100 (Down 11 pts)

Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR

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