Subnostr

Bitcoin Veterans 2y ago

BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)

Block: 820,999

DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 13DEC23

Prcedence: Routine (RR)

Controls: Public Release

QQQQ

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BLUF: Sen. Warren's bill gaining momemtum / All eyes on Fed for Interest rates /

Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $41,212, 20.75oz Gold

24hr Hi: $41,958/ Lo: $40,715

Vol: $23.637B (down 24.5%)

Mkt Cap: $806.982B (down 1.53%)

HashRate: 471.4 EH/s

Avg Fees: 40,956 sats/tx

Nodes: 17,012

---Reports---

-International Events-

1. Houthi mission attacks spook global shipping: Yemen’s Houthi forces have attacked several commercial ships crossing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait in recent days, creating a new front in the battle between Israel and Hamas and complicating efforts by the U.S. and its allies to secure the critical shipping lane. (WSJ)

2. Israel’s military has begun pumping seawater into Hamas’s vast complex of tunnels in Gaza, according to U.S. officials briefed on the Israeli military’s operations, part of an intensive effort to destroy the underground infrastructure that has underpinned the group’s operations.

3. Ukraine’s biggest wireless network operator said attackers knocked its service offline Tuesday, disrupting critical infrastructure through an assault that coincided with the Ukrainian president’s latest visit to Washington.

-US Events-

1. $200M to Ukraine: Zelenskyy's visit to the White house yesterday drew much attention and resulted in Pres. Biden announcing $200M in aid to Ukraine. Significant amounts of aid are still being held up by Congress and political maneuvering (AP)

2. Committee wants to test banks in case of China conflict: U.S. House Panel urges Federal Reserve to stress test banks for resilience in a potential conflict with Focus on assessing economic impact of sanctions and U.S. financial market’s vulnerability in China-related tensions. Recommendations include safeguarding U.S. technology and enhancing economic defenses against global power dynamics. (Cryptopolitan)

-Regulatory and Legal-

1. Crypto Bill Gains More Support: Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announced on Monday “an expanded coalition of Senate support” for her bipartisan Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act. Senators Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) have joined the bill as cosponsors. Besides Warren, Marshall, Manchin, and Graham, the bill’s existing cosponsors comprise Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tina Smith (D-MN), Angus King (I-ME), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and John Fetterman (D-PA).

2. U.S. Presidential Candidates Chat About Crypto, Target Federal Regulators: The trio, two Republicans – entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson – and Democrat Rep. Dean Phillips, promised to ease regulatory pressures on crypto companies during the hours-long event hosted by the Coinbase-backed Stand with Crypto Alliance. (CoinDesk)

-Technological Updates-

1. Bitcoin's Difficulty Drops for First Time Since September: The latest figures reveal that on Dec. 9, 2023, at block height 820,512, Bitcoin experienced a 0.96% decrease in its difficulty rating. This decline marks the first since Sept. 19, 2023, interrupting a streak of six successive difficulty hikes. (CoinDesk)

-Institutional Concerns-

1. BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Now Invites Participation From Wall Street Banks: A change to the structure of proposed spot bitcoin ETFs would enable authorized participants (APs) to create new shares in the fund with cash, rather than only with cryptocurrency, essentially opening the door to banks who cannot hold crypto directly. (CoinDesk)

2. Saudi Aramco, the largest oil and gas company, might be on the brink of investing in digital assets. The company, which has a market capitalization of over $2 trillion, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SBI Holdings, a financial services company in Japan, to explore a collaboration in various fields of investment, including digital assets.(Bitcoin.com)

-Economic Indicators-

1. Fed officials will release a new policy statement and economic and rate projections at the conclusion of their two-day meeting, Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference at 2:30 p.m. will be heavily parsed for clues about when and why the central bank might shift its policy stance next year.(WSJ)

2. S&P 500 Rises to Highest Level Since January 2022: All three indexes closed at fresh 52-week highs for a third session in a row. The S&P 500 and Dow rose to their highest closing levels since January 2022, while the Nasdaq reached its highest close since March 2022. The major indexes are going on their seventh consecutive week of gains. (WSJ)

3. Interest costs drive U.S. budget deficit to all-time high: Deficit hits a record $314 billion in November, the highest since March. Surge in deficit driven by increased interest costs on government debt and higher spending in key areas like Medicare and Social Security. Economists express concern over the growing deficit, which is projected to stay near $2 trillion annually without legislative changes. (Cryptopolitan)

-Security Incidents and Concerns-

1. Crypto hacking figures dropped significantly from the $4 billion recorded last year to about $1.7 billion thus far this year, indicating an effect of increased security in the industry. (CoinGape)

2. Bitcoin Ransom Threatens Spider-Man 2 Developer: Pay 50 BTC Else: Insomniac Games has fallen victim to a hacking incident, with the hacking group Rhysida demanding a ransom of 50 Bitcoin (equivalent to approximately US$2 million). Rhysida has threatened to leak sensitive information about the upcoming Marvel’s Wolverine game unless the payment is made within seven days. (Bitcoinist)

-Bitcoin Community-

1. Bitcoin Whales Quietly Buy While Market Panics About Plunge On-chain data shows the Bitcoin whales (>1000BTC) have grown in number while the rest of the market has been panicking about the latest plunge (Bitcoinist)

2. Bitcoin Ordinals Smash Records With $36 Million Trading Frenzy: The Bitcoin Ordinals market experienced an unprecedented surge, reaching a staggering $36 million in trading volume on Dec. 12, setting a new record. This surge was primarily attributed to the recent listing of BRC-20 SATS (Ordinals) on Binance (U.Today)

-Bitcoin Sentiment-

1. Greed/Fear Index: 65/100

-Analyst Comments (AC): With multiple news events still on hold (ETF approval, Interest rate policy), the price action of BTC is in a consoldation phase, while it seems whales continue to accumulate quietly.

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