📷 BTC Daily Intelligence Bulletin (DIB)
Block: 934,220
DTG/ICOD: 1200Z 29Jan2026
Precedence: Routine (RR)
Controls: Public Release
QQQQ
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BLUF: Iran in US Sights / UK's Starmer Hails China / Iran Spies Arrested in Turkey / Feds Put on Leave Over Shooting / Sen. Klobuchar To Run For MN Governor / Deal-making May Keep US Government Open / White House Pushing Crypto Deal on Monday / UK Ministry of Truth Pull Coinbase Ads / Coinbase Matches Trump Baby Bonus in Bitcoin / Nomura Seeks US Bank Status / Fed Holds, Dollar Drops / ICE Using New Tech Too / Clawdbot Chaos Confuses Everyone
Market Data: Price: 1 BTC= $87,974, 17.85 oz Gold, 4.162 BTC/Median US House
24hr Hi: $90,439/ Lo: $87,612
Volume: 42B (Even)
Mkt Cap: $1.75T (Down 2%)
HashRate: .965 ZH/s
Avg Fee Rate: 3.8 sats/vBtye (Up .6 sats)
---Reports---
-International Events-
1. US Military Escalates Presence in Middle East Amid Iran Tensions: US President Donald Trump warned Iran that time is running out for a nuclear deal, stating US forces are prepared for potential strikes as an armada arrives in the Gulf. Iran responded by asserting its military is ready with fingers on the trigger, amid reports of US conducting drills and building up forces. Saudi and Israeli officials visited Washington to discuss possible strikes on Iran, while Russia urged talks and warned against force. (Retuers)
2. Starmer and Xi hail a reset in ties, helped by large AstraZeneca investment: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and China's President Xi Jinping hailed a reset of ties on Thursday, pledging to build an economic partnership with deals including a major investment by AstraZeneca that they said would benefit both countries. Starmer, whose centre-left Labour government has struggled to deliver the economic growth it promised, has made improving relations with the world's second-largest economy a priority, despite misgivings about espionage and human rights. (Reuters) (AC- Canada, UK, BRICS and China. Everyone seems to be kowtowing to the presumed new world leader.)
3. Turkey Arrests Six on Charges of Spying for Iran: The espionage ring was allegedly targeting Incirlik Air Base, a critical facility used by both Turkish and American forces. The alleged spies were coordinating their efforts with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist organization. (Breitbart)
-US Events-
1. Federal Agents Involved in Alex Pretti Shooting Placed on Leave: Two Border Patrol agents who fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis were placed on administrative leave pending investigation. Video emerged showing Pretti spitting at agents and damaging their vehicle days prior. (NBC)
2. Klobuchar launches Minnesota governor bid after Walz ends re-election run amid massive fraud scandal: Longtime Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Thursday formally jumped into the 2026 race for Minnesota governor, three weeks after the stunning move by Gov. Tim Walz to drop his re-election bid amid political fallout from a massive fraud scandal. (Fox)
3. Trump and Schumer Move Toward Possible Deal to Avert a Shutdown: The president and the top Senate Democrat were discussing an agreement to split off homeland security funding from a broader spending package and negotiate new limits on immigration agents. (NYTimes)
-Regulatory and Legal-
1. White House to Convene Crypto and Banking Leaders for Legislation: The White House plans a meeting with banking and cryptocurrency executives next Monday to push legislative progress on crypto regulations. (Reuters)
2. UK Regulator Bans Coinbase Ads Over Cost-of-Living Messaging: The ASA upheld 35 complaints against Coinbase's August 2024 campaign featuring satirical ads about housing costs, living expenses, and wage stagnation. The regulator ruled the ads irresponsibly implied crypto could solve financial hardship by pairing economic concerns with "IF EVERYTHING'S FINE DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING" next to Coinbase's logo. (Decrypt) (AC-These ads are simply too truthful for the Ministry of Truth.)
-CBDCs/World Currencies/Strategic Reserves-
1. Coinbase to Join Trump Accounts Push, Eyes Bitcoin Payments for Children: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong indicated the company intends to support the initiative within Coinbase and with its employees. Armstrong wants to match the federal government’s $1,000 | 0.01 BTC seed money for eligible children and wants to do it in Bitcoin. Trump Accounts are one of the provisions that came out of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (BitcoinMag)
-Institutional Concerns-
1. Japanese Banking Giant’s Crypto Subsidiary Applies for US Banking Charter: The subsidiary, Laser Digital, is based in Switzerland and owned by the Nomura Group, the Tokyo investment banking and brokerage giant. On Tuesday evening, Laser announced it had filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form a national trust bank. The bank, Laser Digital National Trust Bank, would focus on digital assets and offer custody and spot trading services, the company said. (Decrypt)
-Economic Indicators-
1. Fed Pauses Rate Cuts: The Fed left the federal funds rate unchanged at the 3.5%–3.75% target range in its January 2026 meeting, in line with expectations, after three consecutive rate cuts last year that pushed borrowing costs to their lowest level since 2022. (TradingEconomics)
2. Dollar Slips as Bessent Boost Fades: The dollar index fell 0.3% to around 96 on Thursday, paring gains from the previous session as the lift from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s reaffirmation of a strong dollar policy proved short-lived. Bessent dismissed speculation of any US intervention to sell the dollar against the yen, in contrast to President Donald Trump’s indications that the administration is comfortable with a weaker greenback.(TradingEconomics)
-Security Concerns-
1. ICE Deploys Mobile Facial Recognition App in Field Operations: ICE agents in Minnesota used the Mobile Fortify facial recognition app to scan individuals, including citizens and immigrants, during detentions. The app's non-refusal policy and data access prompted backlash from privacy advocates. (TheGuardian)
2. Clawdbot Chaos: A Forced Rebrand, Crypto Scam and 24-Hour Meltdown: A few days ago, Clawdbot was one of GitHub’s hottest open-source projects, boasting more than 80,000 stars. It's an impressive piece of engineering that lets you run an AI assistant locally with full system access through messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Discord. Today, it’s been forced into a legal rebrand, overrun by crypto scammers, linked to a fake token that briefly hit a $16 million | 182 BTC market cap before collapsing, and criticized by researchers who found exposed gateways and accessible credentials. (Decrypt)
-Technology and Science-
NSTR
-Bitcoin Community-
NSTR
-Bitcoin Sentiment-
1. Fear(0)/Greed(100) Index: 26/100 (down 3 pts)
Analyst Comments (AC): NSTR
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Analyst: BV2A
END REPORT
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*NSTR-Nothing Significant To Report