Block: 837,675
DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 04Apr24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Taiwan Earthquake Damage Revealed, Tremors Continue / Israel Using AI to Target Hamas / Jan 6th 'leader' gets 7 years / Race to Become 1st Bank to Offer BTC ETFs / BIS Starting CBDC for Cross-Border Payments / Private Key Comprimises Lead to Large Losses
Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $66,363, 28.94 oz Gold, .15 Median US House
24hr Hi: $66,914/ Lo: $65,103
Vol: $29B (Down 31%)
Mkt Cap: $1.3T (Even)
HashRate: 557 EH/s
Avg Fees: 4,767 sats/tx (Down 13%)
Nodes: 18,103
---Reports---
-International Events-
1. Taiwan earthquake – latest news: Death toll rises to 10 as island rocked by over 300 ‘terrifying’ aftershocks: More than 1,000 people have sustained injuries in the biggest earthquake recorded on the island in 25 years, while over 40 people remained trapped on Thursday. Over 300 aftershocks since Wednesday morning have forced “terrified” people on the island to sleep in tents outside their houses or in emergency shelters. (IndependentUK)
2. Taiwan condemns 'shameless' China's thanks for global sympathy on quake: China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.N., Geng Shuang told the UN, "We thank the international community for its expressions of sympathy and concern,", which immediately angered Taiwan. This shows China has no goodwill towards Taiwan, the Taiwan ministry added. (Reuters)
2. Israel is using artificial intelligence to help pick bombing targets in Gaza, report says: The Israeli military has been using artificial intelligence to help identify bombing targets in Gaza, according to an investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call, citing six Israeli intelligence officials involved in the alleged program – who also allege that human review of the suggested targets was cursory at best. The officials said that the AI-based tool was called “Lavender” and was known to have a 10% error rate. (CNN)
-US Events-
1. Deadly storms and tornadoes leave a path of destruction from Georgia to Illinois: At least three people were killed and several were injured after a powerful storm system spawned tornadoes and damaging storms from the South to the Ohio Valley. (CNN)
2. Man who used megaphone to lead attack on Capitol police sentenced to more than 7 years in prison: A Washington state man who used a megaphone to orchestrate a mob's attack on police officers guarding the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot was sentenced on Wednesday to more than seven years in prison. Johnatakis led other rioters on a charge against a police line, "barked commands" over his megaphone and shouted step-by-step directions for overpowering officers, the judge said. (CBS)
-Regulatory and Legal-
NSTR
-Institutional Concerns-
1. Morgan Stanley wants to beat UBS to become first Bitcoin ETF bank: Morgan Stanley is hoping to beat UBS in becoming the first wirehouse to fully approve the Bitcoin ETF. “Several sources confirm that Morgan Stanley is set to approve Bitcoin ETFs on its platform in the next two weeks,” an insider wrote on March 26. (Cointelegraph) (AC-Although this report is speculative, the groundwork is laid for such a move, and banks have publicly stated that it is their desire to offer BTC ETFs)
2. Hedge Funds Hold Record Bearish Bitcoin Bets, Data Show: Hedge funds boosted their net short positions in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's (CME) standard bitcoin futures contracts to 16,102. That's the most since the futures began trading in late 2017, according to CFTC figures published last week. The record buildup in short positions likely reflects hedge funds' renewed interest in the carry trade. (CoinDesk) (AC-Common among many investment funds, carry trade is a counter-trade to protect investments from downside action acting as a type of insurance)
-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-
1. Seven central banks in BIS Project Agora to tokenize cross border payments: Today, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub unveiled Project Agorá, to tokenize cross border payments. This is the first project in line with its concept of a Unified Ledger. It seeks to unite seven central banks and commercial banks on a shared, programmable infrastructure to facilitate cross-border transactions. The project will encompass most of the major currencies, including the USD, Euro, GBP, and Yen. Consequently, the participating central banks are the Bank of France, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, Bank of Mexico, Swiss National Bank, Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. (LedgerInsights)
-Economic Indicators-
1. Gold Hits Record High, Silver Sees Substantial Gains: The price of gold continues to hit unprecedented highs, with one troy ounce of .999 fine gold now trading at $2,298. Silver is also beginning to ride the wave of gold’s recent uptrend, with its value climbing 3.64% on Wednesday surpassing the $27 per ounce mark. (BitcoinCom)
2. US Companies Cut the Most Jobs in 14 Months: US-based employers announced plans to cut 90,309 jobs in March 2024, the most since January 2023, compared to 84,638 in February. (TradingEconomics)
-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Private keys are a $239m security risk, CertiK report says: Private key compromises accounted for almost half of financial losses in onchain security breaches in Q1 2024. Private key compromises surged by a whopping 1,171% from the first quarter of 2023, when private key compromises amounted to about $19 million. (DLNews)
-Bitcoin Community-
NSTR
-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 70/100 (Down 1 pts)
Analyst Comments (AC): Manage your private keys well, keep them off digital plaforms, and don't lose them.
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Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report
