Block: 856,030
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 09Aug24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Russia Struggles on New Front / New Bangladeshi Leader Sworn In / Venezuela's Maduro Bans X / Polls Show Harris Takes Lead Over Trump / States Sue to Stop Immigrant Health Care / Can Trump Control the Fed? / Dems 'Crypto for Harris' Launched / 'Chokepoint 2.0' Underway / Putin Legalizes Bitcoin Mining / CBOE Files for BTC Options / BTC, Stocks Rebound / MSFT, Palantir Team Up for DoD AI Project
Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $60,757, 24.96 oz Gold, .14 Median US House
24hr Hi: $62,673 / Lo: $56,740
Vol: $43B (Up 12%)
Mkt Cap: $1.2T (Up 6%)
HashRate: 596 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 4 sats/vBtye (Down 20%)
Nodes: 19,693
---Reports---
-International Events-
1. Russia struggles to repel deep incursion by Ukraine on fourth day of cross-border attack: Mykhaylo Zhyrokhov, a military analyst, told the BBC that Russia had been forced to redeploy some troops to the Kursk region from the front line in eastern Ukraine. Elsewhere today, Ukraine's military says it's hit a military airfield deep inside Russia, destroying guided bombs stored in warehouses. The Ukrainian military reports a huge blaze and multiple detonations at the Lipetsk airfield, more than 350km (217 miles) from Ukraine's border. (BBC) (AC-The surprise front and deep attacks by Ukraine are putting Russian forces on a reactionary footing, while taking pressure off the front lines of Russian efforts within Ukraine.)
2. Interim leader Muhammad Yunus takes the helm in Bangladesh, to seek peace and prepare elections: The key tasks for Yunus now are restoring peace in Bangladesh and preparing for new elections following the ouster of Hasina, who fled to India after weeks of student protests over job quotas grew into an uprising against her increasingly autocratic 15-year rule. (AP)
3. Venezuela's Maduro blocks X access in country for 10 days: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday took tensions with social media platform X and its owner Elon Musk to new heights, banning the platform in the South American country for 10 days amid furore over a disputed presidential election. Maduro said he signed a resolution presented by regulator Conatel which "has decided to take social network X, formerly known as Twitter, out of circulation for 10 days" and accused Musk of inciting hate, civil war, and death. (Reuters)
-US Events-
1. Polls show Kamala Harris moving ahead of Donald Trump in 2024 US election: As Kamala Harris named Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor, as her running mate, recent polls showed the vice-president moving ahead of Donald Trump in the race for the White House. Among recent national head-to-head polls, SurveyUSA put Harris up three points ahead of Trump, 48%-45%; August polls in the seven battleground states where the election is expected to be decided presented a more mixed picture. (TheGuardian) (AC-Polls have been notoriously suspect over the last few election cycles.)
2. 15 states sue to block Biden’s effort to help migrants in US illegally get health coverage: Fifteen states filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Biden administration over a rule that is expected to allow 100,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to enroll next year in the federal Affordable Care Act’s health insurance. (AP)
3. Trump’s Plans Stir Fears for Fed Independence, Inflation: Donald Trump’s assertion that as president he should have more say over how the Federal Reserve sets interest rates would, if carried out, reverse a longstanding custom by which the central bank enjoys political autonomy to fight inflation with often unpopular rate increases. (WSJ)
-Regulatory and Legal-
1. Democrats Launch 'Crypto for Harris': Senior White House officials have reportedly engaged with cryptocurrency leaders to discuss industry concerns, facilitated by Representative Ro Khanna. This initiative continues the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to engage with the crypto sector. Additionally, the Democrats have launched a “Crypto for Harris” initiative to help Vice President Kamala Harris gain support from the cryptocurrency community. (BitcoinCom)
2. Federal Reserve Cites Significant Deficiencies in Customers Bancorp’s AML Compliance: The U.S. Federal Reserve Board has found “significant deficiencies” in Customers Bancorp, Inc.’s management of risk and adherence to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. These issues, particularly troubling for the bank known for its crypto-friendly stance, were detailed in an enforcement action filed on Thursday. One crypto advocate added: 'The Fed and FDIC are systematically dismantling all crypto-friendly banks one after the next.' (BitcoinCom) (AC-Dubbed 'Chokepoint 2.0', the second major administrative effort to restrict or stop US financial institutions from supporting crypto or bitcoin transactions seems to have begun. The effort seeks drive any digital asset activity only through designated and co-opted institutions.)
3. Putin Signs Law Legalizing Cryptocurrency Mining in Russia: According to a report by Russian news agency TASS, the law introduces several key concepts, including digital currency mining, mining pools, and mining infrastructure operators. Mining activities are now recognized by Russia as part of turnover rather than the issuance of digital currency. (BitcoinMag)
-Central Bank Digital Currencies-
NSTR
-Institutional Concerns-
1. CBOE re-files for spot Bitcoin ETF options in sign SEC may be engaging: Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyfarrt said he expected options on spot Bitcoin ETFs to become available in Q4. “Final deadline for SEC decision is ~Sept. 21 but there's more steps needed after that from OCC and CFTC. (TheBlock)
-Economic Indicators-
1. US 10-Year Yield Set for Weekly Rise: The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note eased toward 3.95% on Friday, but was still set to rise for the week as better-than-expected US labor market data allayed fears of a recession, prompting markets to rotate back into riskier assets. (TradingEconomics)
2. Bitcoin Climbs Back Above $60K: Bitcoin rallied more than 10% to above $60,000, hitting a one-week high as better-than-expected US jobless claims data allayed fears of a looming economic downturn, prompting investors to get back into risk assets. (TradingEconomics)
3. Wall Street Rebounds Firmly: US stocks staged a strong rebound on Wednesday as positive labor market data alleviated fears of a significant economic slowdown following Monday's sharp sell-off. The S&P 500 climbed 2.3% to mark its best day since November 2022, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 surged 3.1% and the Dow Jones jumped 683 points. (TradingEconomics)
-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. New Crypto Scam Targets Users via QR Codes, $120K Lost: The scam follows a specific pattern designed to exploit user trust. The scammer proposes an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction, which is a direct transfer of tokens from one wallet to another, instead of going through an exchange. This type of transaction has a great exchange rate, higher than the market rate, to get the victim’s attention. To gain further trust, the scammer offers a small amount in USDT, a stablecoin tied to the dollar, and proposes a commission in TRX, the Tron network token, in exchange for future long-term cooperation. (BitcoinSensus)
-Technology and Science-
1. ChatGPT’s controversial advanced voice mode is finally here: ChatGPT is about to get even chattier. OpenAI announced this week that it will finally start rolling out a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that allows the chatbot to engage in real-time voice conversations with its users. (CoinGeek)
2. Microsoft and Palantir to Upgrade AI in Defense and National Security: Through this new collaboration, Palantir's technologies will be integrated with Microsoft's Azure cloud computing services, including advanced language models like GPT-4 from OpenAI. Military, intelligence, and national security agencies will be able to harness the power of cloud-based AI while maintaining the necessary levels of security and control required for their critical missions. (Decrypt)
-Bitcoin Community-
NSTR
-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 48/100 (Up 28 pts)
Analyst Comments (AC): Media reporting is fixated on the US Presidential election season. Since world and US events seem to be stabilized following the economic turmoil of Monday, media has turned back to the political conflict of 'democracy'. Meanwhile the time distance from Trump's assassination attempt is working to keep it from people's minds and answers are still out of reach. The theater of media and politics continue to drive wedges between citizens and keep us from finding common ground. The antidote is local community work and neighborhood networks. Love on your neighbors this weekend.
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Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report
