Block: 841,362
DTG/ICOD: 0800EST 29Apr24
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
__________________________
BLUF: International Criminal Court Interested in Israel / Ukraine Situation Worsens / US Protests Continue / Australia Next for BTC ETFs / Japanese Yen Sinks to 36 Year Low Against USD / Solo BTC Miner Wins Reward
Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $62,224, 26.61 oz Gold, .14 Median US House
24hr Hi: $63,935/ Lo: $61,955
Vol: $21B (Up 17%)
Mkt Cap: $1.23T (Down 2%)
HashRate: 593 EH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 28 sats/vBtye (Down 74%)
Nodes: 18,823
---Reports---
-International Events-
1. Israel concerned over possible ICC arrest warrants related to Gaza war: The International Criminal Court - which can charge individuals with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide - is investigating Hamas' Oct. 7 cross-border attack and Israel's devastating military assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza, now in its seventh month. In response to Israeli media reports that the ICC might soon issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli government and military officials, Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Sunday warned Israeli embassies to bolster their security because of the risk of a "wave of severe antisemitism". (Reuters)
2. Ukraine pulls back forces in east as front line situation worsens; Kyiv desperately awaits U.S. weapon supplies: “The situation at the front [has] worsened,” Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Telegram.
3. Humza Yousaf resigns as Scotland's first minister: He said he had "underestimated" the level of hurt after ending a power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens last week (BBC)
-US Events-
1. Hundreds of students arrested in US Gaza war protests, scuffles at UCLA: Police were out in full force, some using chemical irritants and Tasers to disperse students, as more universities join the movement. On Sunday, the mood turned ugly when some demonstrators broke through a barrier that had been set up to separate the two factions, according to Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications. People from both sides then pushed and shoved each other, shouting slogans and insults and in some cases trading punches. Campus police armed with batons eventually separated the sparring groups. (AlJazerra)
-Regulatory and Legal-
1. South Korea Plans To Establish Permanent Crypto Investigative Unit Amid Rising Crimes: South Korea is combating the increasing incidents of cryptocurrency-related crimes and fraud cases by transitioning its temporary crypto investigative unit into a permanent one, according to a local report. (Yahoo)
-Institutional Concerns-
1. Australian Securities Exchange Could Approve Spot-Bitcoin ETFs Before 2024-End: Local entity, DigitalX Ltd. applied in February, the report said. VanEck resubmitted an application in February, it announced last month. Sydney-based BetaShares told Bloomberg it is working toward launching a product on the ASX. (CoinDesk)
-Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-
1. Bank of Japan launches CBDC API Sandbox: The central bank ran two previous proofs of concept (PoCs) for the digital yen, the latest ending a year ago. Examples of additional functionality explored in the current phase include privacy and scalability. On the privacy front, the central bank wants to separate personal data from payment data, mentioning the digital euro as an example. However, the paper also explores potentially selling data including details about purchases if users provide consent. (LedgerInsights)
-Economic Indicators-
1. Yen Rebounds After Hitting 34-Year Low of 160 to Dollar in Thin Trade: The yen rebounded to 155.07 to the dollar Monday afternoon after earlier touching its weakest level since April 1990. Trading volumes were thin as it was a public holiday in Japan. The yen was 158.34 to the dollar late Friday in New York. The dollar has strengthened in recent weeks as signs of strong U.S. inflation eroded hopes for a near-term rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The U.S. central bank’s two-day policy meeting is scheduled to start Tuesday. Some analysts have said that even if Japanese authorities intervene to support the yen, the effect could be limited, as the primary driver of the dollar/yen pair is the interest rate differential between the U.S. and Japan. (WSJ) (AC-Even though the price action was 'after hours', it seems the BOJ intervened when the Yen hit the 160 mark.)
2. US Futures Edge Higher to Start the Week: US stock futures edged higher on Monday as the major averages came off a winning week, while investors look forward to more corporate earnings, economic data and the Federal Reserve’s policy decision this week.
-Security Incidents and Concerns-
1. Crypto Hacking Group Lazarus Impersonates Fenbushi Capital Exec: Lazarus Group created a fake LinkedIn profile under the name “Nevil Bolson,” claiming to be the founding partner at Fenbushi Capital. The group then used the impostor profile to chat privately with targets, discussing investments before suggesting a meeting. The hackers insert malicious links disguised as meeting links or event pages, which launch phishing attacks when clicked. (MilkRoad)
2. Why China Is So Bad at Disinformation: China’s state-sponsored disinformation campaign has been running at a massive scale for seven years—but no one is looking at it. “I would describe China's disinformation campaigns as Russia 2014. As in, they're 10 years behind,” says Clint Watts, the general manager of Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center. “They're trying lots of different things but their sophistication is still very weak.” Over the last 24 months, the campaign has switched from pushing predominately pro-China content to more aggressively targeting US politics. (Wired)
-Technology-
1. Elon Musk’s Bold Plan for X Payments: A Game-Changer for Crypto Adoption?: X's potential integration of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum, XRP, and dogecoin into its upcoming payment system has sparked speculation and excitement within the crypto community. X has already acquired money-transmitter licenses in 25 U.S. states. (Blockonomi)
-Bitcoin Community-
1. Solo Bitcoin miner wins the 3.125 BTC lottery: A single Bitcoin miner has defied the odds by solving a Bitcoin block alone, netting them the full 3.125 Bitcoin block reward. The solo miner netted around $200,000 in rewards for validating block 841,286. The feat is remarkable because mining a valid block solo is an extremely rare event akin to winning the lottery. It is so rare that it has only occurred 282 times out of the 841,300 blocks produced since Bitcoin’s inception 14 years ago. (CoinTelegraph)
-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 67/100 (Down 3 pts)
Analyst Comments (AC): The economies of the world seem to be teetering on the edge of a major correction. The Yen/USD is foremost an indicator of economic stress that may have complicated consequences. The data coming from the US is hinting at a new period of stagflation ahead, while the EU is in a political and economic funk. China is not much better. All this points to a period of economic contraction and limited liquidity which may lead to more uncommon or extreme political or economic reactions. Look for continued flight to safer assets and possible draconian government overreach.
Follow us on NOSTR: npub1qktts9naunvjdwsktq5xjdhwh539xt4x0mqj4yxq0q9dvm03ljvs6sms0r
____________________
Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
NNNN
*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report
